Wide Angle Adapter

I've just received my Canon WD-58 and attached it to my PD150P and with all due respect to Chris Hurd the lens shows considerable barrel distortion, something I never noticed with the Sony converter that came with the PD100. The distortion is not subtle; I'd post a .jpg here but apparently this feature is not enabled on this board.

Also, I tried to find out beforehand what sort of protective filter or shade I could get for the WD-58 and couldn't find any info on thread size. As it turns out, the WD-58 has no threads on the front element. Even though the PD100's wide angle converter has a dodgy and easily breakable shade at least it has one!

[Chris Hurd]

Hmm... is it too late to return it? You should be able to get a full refund. I don't actually have a PD150, but a good friend of mine in Austin uses this WA with his VX2000 and I've never heard him complain about it.

[Lou Bruno]

I use the WD-58 and have NO distortion issues at all. Is there a small possibility that the lens is not sitting properly on the thread?

LOU

Chris,

I bought the converter for my next assignment, a three country tour of East Timor, Indonesia and Thailand. But since I'm not in the States and was unsure of the availability of the lens in Australia I had my sister send one on to me from the US. I may be too late both to return it and to get another converter in time.

In this same thread, Jeff Smith mentioned that "The .58 that Chris mentioned might have too much distortion for your taste". Perhaps, like golden-eared audiophiles, we are the only two who can see (hear) the distortion.

I've put up a page so others can see what I'm beginning to rant about:

http://www.geocities.com/m_natsume/canon_wd-58.html

I just bought my vx2000 and looking for a good external mic, somethihg like a shoot gun mic? do i have to add any adaptor to use a shoot gun mic? what are those XRL about?? Also, does anyone know any good tripod for this camera?

[Mike Rehmus]

The easiest shotgun microphone to use with the 2000 has to be the Sennheiser MKE-300 which costs around $180 from the major resellers. It connects directl into the 1/8" microphone socket without any adapters. It has a shoe adapter so it mounts directly onto the VX-2000.

A less expensive shotgun would be the Philmore which sells at discount for around $80. Not nearly as good as the Sennheiser, it does work OK but is quite large.

The next step up would be something like the AT-835B which, at around $235 plus a mount of some type, costs a lot more. It has a XLR output so you need at least a wire-style adapter if not a transformer adapter before you can plug it into the VX-2000.

For a tripod, I recommend the Libec TH-M20C if you want a light, quick-setting ENG-style tripod with a ball and claw arrangement for leveling. If you want a more flexible but slower setup tripod, take a look at the Manfrotto or Bogens.

Consider purchasing a 58 mm UV filter to be permanently mounted on the front of your lens. It is the sacrificial glass should something nasty try and touch your lens.

[Bryan Beasleigh]

I was trying some mics todat at Cinequip in Toronto. Terry their sound man set up an MKE300 which I found to be totally useless. The mount transmits everything including operationg the controls. You really need something with a shock mount.

I ran a ME66 and a AT835B straight into the VX2K (XLR to mini stereo) with no problem. We tried the BeachTek and the only difference was a slight signal strength loss. Of the 2 mics the ME was more open but also more prone to distort (sibilance among other things).

The mic I really liked was the EW112 evolution wireless by Sennheiser for an extra 225canadian ( $140 US ) you can buy a plug in tranmitter that'l make any mike wireless.

The base kit was $450 US or 725 can$. That would be about the same as B&H but with prestty darn good service.

The soubd guy wasn't too impressed by the Beach Tec.

[Mike Rehmus]

We use a MKE-300 at the local community college with no noise pickup problems at all. Any of the shotguns will pick up air borne noise. The MKE is probably one of the hottest microphones around so it's extra sensitivity may be the culprit. We tent to operate the cameras with remote controls so maybe that solves the problem.

I have the Evolution system and it is good. But it does effect the sound quality somewhat. They don't have a shotgun in the series so I can only guess that you were working with the lav and body transmitter (I don't have the model number lookup table immediately to hand right now).

The plug-in transmitter (sugar cube) has a few limitations. On low output microphones it sometimes cannot transmitt a really strong audio signal. Even though one can select the microphone sensitivity. It DOES work very well with my AT 835B however.

The Studio 1 XLR adapter box seems to work very well. I've used it a lot over the last year with a VX-1000 and both Lavaliere, the Evolution wireless, and an AT 835B all owned by the local community college theatre group.

I've heard a few disparaging remarks about the BeachTek but many people like them too.

[Bryan Beasleigh]

Funny , thst was the combo I was thinking of. the AT835 with the plug in (sugar cube). I really like the freedom offered by the Evolution.

Just clip it on someone and send them where ever. same with the AT on a pole.

Are the limitations liveable? Does the convenience outweigh any loss?

Would I be better off getting a better mic to go with the transmitter? (lottsa questions :))

The plug in xmitter is a skp100
The body pack is an SK100
the mike was a lav model ME2

Thanks for the input
beas

[Mike Rehmus]

Any wireless is subject to interference so that can be a problem
so you really do need to have a wired alternative available to you.

You will also need a shock-mount for the pole. The combination of the microphone and cube transmitter is a bit heavy for the very nice AT 8410A shock mount. There is another, less expensive mount that would be better in this case. Or you could replace the shock cords with a slightly stronger version

Be very careful with the lav microphone. Not that it is too fragile but the replacement cost is listed at $350 US.

Buy an extra set of antennae for the transmitter and receiver (be careful, there are different ones for each frequency set) and get a spare output cable. The antennae are easy to lose and the output cable does get a bit of wear and tear.

I've already had a director drop the body pack transmitter about 3 feet onto a concrete floor. I cannot even find a mark on it. Operation is unimpared.

Don't forget to use a headphone :-))

[Bryan Beasleigh]

"Consider purchasing a 58 mm UV filter to be permanently mounted on the front of your lens. It is the sacrificial glass should something nasty try and touch your lens.'

i had one before I bought the cam. One thing bugged me though the filter threads are soft plastic and very easy to cross thread. have you experience that. I'll try and find a 58mm male to 58mm female to thread in and leave.

[Mike Rehmus]

I'd expect to spend around $40 or so for a good filter. At that price, they are metal threads. It is easy to grasp the filter tight enough to distort the ring and prevent it from unscrewing. You can get a filter wrench that will remove a stubborn filter.

I have always found that If I apply a combination of squeeze and pressure on the face, not edge of the filter frame that I can eventually get them off. Many have a bit of knurling right at the front outside edge that helps one get a grip.

[Bryan Beasleigh]

You misunderstand,the Sony lens has a crappy, cheap plastic filter thread. My filter has a metal thread. I'm really surprised that a camera of that value is so bloody cheap in areas.

My old TRV20 has a metal filter ring.I'm trying to find if others have experienced this. Normally a filter screws on with ease. This lense you have to reverse thread the sucker (turn the filter backwards untill the threads line up then forward.)

I've had manual cameras since I was 12 years old. (45 years, I guess that makes me older than dirt.)but I'm relatively new to video and eager to learn. There are a whole new set of rules with video and audio production. It's actually a lot more exciting.

Your doing an excellent job Mike, thanks for the quick and fact filled responses.

Beas

About wide conversion lense for VX2000:

which wide conversion lense is good for the VX2000? so far i just know two models: VCL-MHG07A and VCL-HG0758. Why is the VCL-HG0758 so much expensive than the VCL-MHG07A? Is the VCL-MHG07A good enough for my VX2000?



About shotgun for VX2000:

i was looking for some kind of shotgun that i can use it with a shock mount AND can mount it directly to the VX2000. Because in some environments i can't hold the mount. Does AT-835B do that? How about Sennheiser's MKE-300? Which one is better?

Thanks for your advises.

Leo

About wide conversion lense for VX2000:

which wide conversion lense is good for the VX2000? so far i just know two models: VCL-MHG07A and VCL-HG0758. Why is the VCL-HG0758 so much expensive than the VCL-MHG07A? Is the VCL-MHG07A good enough for my VX2000?



About shotgun for VX2000:

i was looking for some kind of shotgun that i can use it with a shock mount AND can mount it directly to the VX2000. Because in some environments i can't hold the mount. Does AT-835B do that? How about Sennheiser's MKE-300? Which one is better?

thanks for your advise.

Leo