The BIG wide angle Lens adapter shootout!

[l_-_l]

Anybody there owning the Panasonic W4307H Wide-Angle lens adapter that could report about quality and eventually post some samples at various zooms? I would be very thankful!

[AlphaWolf]

I'm new to the whole lens thing. What is the visual difference between a lens adapter that says HD and one that doesn't, all other things equal (.45x, Wide Angle, macro capable, etc.)?

Edit: Never mind. Turns out the lens I was looking at was the same as the one 24Peter mentioned. It just didn't advertise the AF and HD.

FWIW, they're selling it, Merkury Optics 58mm, on Amazon now.

[zephyrnoid]

OK. I'm posting the preliminary report here and linking to it from other relevant posts. This is my FAST Summary. Since I only just got the Canon WD-H43 tonight, I have to do a round of exteriors with all 4 lenses before closing out the testing phase completely. Still, I know enough now to give you some summary conclusions. The details will follow in a dedicated Web page that will be linked from here.

The contenders:
1) Canon HV20 Built-in lens ( Control )
2) Canon WD-H43 .7X
3) Raynox HD6600Pro .66X
4) Raynox HD7000Pro .7X

Evaluation Parameters
- Corner Resolution
- Center Resolution
- Chromatic Aberration ( esp. color fringing)
- Barrel Distortion
- Resolution at Full Wide Interiors & Outside
- Resolution slightly zoomed in
- Resolution almost completely zoomed in

Conclusions:
A- The Raynox HD6600Pro scored the highest number of points overall.
It represented the best balance between minimized barrel distortion , minimized color fringing, and best resolution at full-wide interior and exterior shots with acceptable close-up resolution.
B- The Canon WD-H43 scored the second highest number of points, barely beating the Raynox HD6600Pro in overall resolution and excelling in close-focus resolution over all the lenses including the HV20 at full wide and focused close-up.
C- The Raynox HD7000Pro came in third place, being almost imperceptibly less than the HD6600Pro outdoors at full wide and significantly inferior to all the other lenses close-up and slightly zoomed in.
Considering the significantly larger front thread diameter and .7X vs .66 angle of view, the HD7000Pro was not deemed as good a value for the money as the HD6600Pro. The Canon WD-H43 had significantly greater barrel distortion but with slightly better resolution than the HD6600Pro.
I would consider it an effective .8X lens at best.
NOTE: The Canon WD-H43 & Raynox HD6600Pro, both enhanced resolution that the HV20 lens alone could not hold at full wide & Close-up focus.

Tomorrow I hope to shoot an outdoor trial to eliminate any question of thier relative performance in near-infinity focus settings. That will be it and I will then wrap the report up over the weekend. Whew!

[winGstar]

I have been used WD-H43 for about 1 month.
In my experience, it has a little ghost(flare) issue in outdoor shooting.

My conceren is that WD-H43 always makse a diamond-like shape flare spot on the upper-middle position on the screen during the outdoor shooting with sunny day regardless solar incident angle.
During the shooting, it can be easily found slightly under the AF mark on the HV20 monitor screen.

I have a little request to zephyrnoid.
If you have enough time to test in the outdoor, could you add an evaluation parameter for flare/ghost problem with respect to the all WA lens contenders

[24Peter]

Edit: Never mind. Turns out the lens I was looking at was the same as the one 24Peter mentioned. It just didn't advertise the AF and HD.

FWIW, they're selling it, Merkury Optics 58mm, on Amazon now.

Got link? I don't see the one I have on Amazon. Make sure whatever you're buying has 58mm rear threads and 67mm front threads.

[AlphaWolf]

Got link? I don't see the one I have on Amazon. Make sure whatever you're buying has 58mm rear threads and 67mm front threads.

Here's the link

Merkury WA 58MM BLAK 0.45 SMALL (CL-58WB) 58m CH

Technical Details

* 0.45x Magnification Broadens Your Field Of View
* Milti-Coated Optical Glass
* 58mm Mount
* Black Finish
* Macro Capabilities


The page doesn't list all the details, but the box says HD, AF, Macro, and 62mm front. It costs $32 new.

[zephyrnoid]

Not possible to do the outdoors flare test. I just finished the WD-H43 outdoors shoot( to match the others) and I'm burned out! Now to write it all up. I shall however shoot an indoor scenario with deliberate introduction of a spectral light source to gauge relative flare between all four lens arrangements-hopefully that'll be enough- that's how much I care !

I have been used WD-H43 for about 1 month.
In my experience, it has a little ghost(flare) issue in outdoor shooting.

My conceren is that WD-H43 always makse a diamond-like shape flare spot on the upper-middle position on the screen during the outdoor shooting with sunny day regardless solar incident angle.
During the shooting, it can be easily found slightly under the AF mark on the HV20 monitor screen.

I have a little request to zephyrnoid.
If you have enough time to test in the outdoor, could you add an evaluation parameter for flare/ghost problem with respect to the all WA lens contenders

[Charles Gerungan]

Did you guys see the comparison pictures on the Raynox site? They recommend using the 52 mm version with an adapter over the 43 mm version when using an HV20. Quite the difference.

[seider]

Did you guys see the comparison pictures on the Raynox site? They recommend using the 52 mm version with an adapter over the 43 mm version when using an HV20. Quite the difference.

the 43 is burry on the sides, while the 52 is nice and sharp the whole way though. iv just made up my mind about which size im getting!
Thx

[ccirelli]

Hey gang,

Any opinions on this lens?:

http://cgi.ebay.com/43mm-0-45X-Wide-...ayphotohosting

I read through this thread so I am trying to narrow down to some specific choices. I can't drop $200 on the Canon lens, so I'm looking to find the best lens in the $40 - $60 range.

Thanks for any opinions you can provide!

craig

[Judy]

Hi Everyone,

OK, so now I'm pretty confused. If I understood Zephyrnoid's post on December 5th, the Canon WD-H43 .7X did quite well in his testing.

I want to keep the camera light, and there're two Canon WA adapters which have very similar model numbers. There's the WD-H43 and the WD-43. I "think", but am not sure that it's the WD-43 which is the lighter of the two, is that correct? That is NOT the WA adapter which was tested, is that also correct?

Let's assume for discussion, that function and not cost is the most important variable here. If that were so, which WA lense performs the best, assuming you want good sharpness, decent low light performance and the ability to get reasonably close to the subject? I'm not saying that money is unlimited here, but given that I tend to keep these things a long time, I can splurge a little on an auxillary lense.

Thanks.

Judy

[zephyrnoid]

Gosh! I think my review pretty much placed the stamp of approval on the Raynox HD6600 which I have for sale in the MarketPlace.It it were otherwise, I would have said so. I have 20hrs into that review already. The 6600 is the lightest, followed by the 7000 and the heaviest is the WD-H43. But it's silly to call it heavy- it aint

... If that were so, which WA lense performs the best, assuming you want good sharpness, decent low light performance and the ability to get reasonably close to the subject? I'm not saying that money is unlimited here, but given that I tend to keep these things a long time, I can splurge a little on an auxillary lense.

Thanks.

Judy

[Judy]

I wanted to make extra sure before any purchases. Am I correct that I should also get a UV filter (72 mm) to protect the lense if I decide to purchase it?

[ccirelli]

The "Black Beauty" Merkury has a 62mm front filter size and doesn't say titanium or high definition anywhere on it. At full wide thru about 50% of the zoom it is indistinguishable from the Canon WD-H43. Above that the corners/edges start to degrade. Little or no CA though. And if you remove the macro lens, the wide angle part turns into a wicked cool semi fisheye. However, it has been very challenging trying to find an adapter ring to attach the wide angle sans macro to the camera. Will explain more later. However, the wide angle alone is only about 25% zoom through.

Just ordered this from eBay - got it for $19, plus another $3 or so for the 43 to 52 step-up. If I don't like it, the seller offers a 7-day (from date of delivery) return policy.

Can't go wrong for $19! Here is the link the one I ordered in case anyone is interested. Hopefully this lens will do the trick.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...%3D1%26fvi%3D1

[ccirelli]

I wanted to make extra sure before any purchases. Am I correct that I should also get a UV filter (72 mm) to protect the lense if I decide to purchase it?

Depends on what your lens costs, and how / what you are shooting. Personally, I wouldn't bother on a cheaper lens. If you get the Canon for $200, or one of the Raynox lenses? Maybe a good idea.

But keep in mind, if you get a cheap filter - you are putting cheap glass in front of your good glass. Defeats the purpose of buying a good lens in the first place.

So, if you are going to use a filter for protection - spend the money on a good one.

[zephyrnoid]

The lens protection via a front-end placed filter is always contentious.Here's why:
- a piece of glass in FRONT of your lens adds to the optical path, especially with wide-angled lenses. This can result in unwanted image degradation , especially if there are stray rays entering the lens (sun in the corner of the scene for example).
- not adding such a filter of course, exposes the lens to the environment, always a risk in certain situations.
My favorite solution has been to always put a lens hood on it. The Hd6600Pro for example uses a 72mm hood that can easily be found if you hunt around E-bay or via online retailers. I prefer stiff hoods and use both a round metal WIDE ANGLE hood or a Cokin P Series if I need to add filters up front.
This gives you the option of NOT putting anything in front of the lens unless you decide that the risk warrants such a tactic.*The other day I was shooting the HV20+6600 without my hood ( a still capture actually) and couldn't understand why I had this bright spot in the lower right corner of the image. After 2 or three shots I realized that I forgot to stick the hood on and sure enough , even the 1.5cm depth of hood eliminated the flare instantly.

I wanted to make extra sure before any purchases. Am I correct that I should also get a UV filter (72 mm) to protect the lense if I decide to purchase it?

[Judy]

Why do you prefer the stiff hood vs a rubber one?

Judy

[24Peter]

Just ordered this from eBay - got it for $19, plus another $3 or so for the 43 to 52 step-up. If I don't like it, the seller offers a 7-day (from date of delivery) return policy.

Can't go wrong for $19! Here is the link the one I ordered in case anyone is interested. Hopefully this lens will do the trick.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...%3D1%26fvi%3D1

Just to be clear, I've stepped away from that lens and am using a 58mm Merkruy high defintion wide angle with a 67mm front thread. The 58/67 is about 85% zoom through with no issue, though I routinely go to 100% b/c I don't mind the rt/lft edges a tiny bit soft. With the 52mm version you can't go much beyond 50% without the edges (including top and bottom which you don't have at all on the 58/67) degrading.

[Goose]

The lens protection via a front-end placed filter is always contentious.Here's why:
- a piece of glass in FRONT of your lens adds to the optical path, especially with wide-angled lenses. This can result in unwanted image degradation , especially if there are stray rays entering the lens (sun in the corner of the scene for example).
- not adding such a filter of course, exposes the lens to the environment, always a risk in certain situations.
My favorite solution has been to always put a lens hood on it. The Hd6600Pro for example uses a 72mm hood that can easily be found if you hunt around E-bay or via online retailers. I prefer stiff hoods and use both a round metal WIDE ANGLE hood or a Cokin P Series if I need to add filters up front.
This gives you the option of NOT putting anything in front of the lens unless you decide that the risk warrants such a tactic.*The other day I was shooting the HV20+6600 without my hood ( a still capture actually) and couldn't understand why I had this bright spot in the lower right corner of the image. After 2 or three shots I realized that I forgot to stick the hood on and sure enough , even the 1.5cm depth of hood eliminated the flare instantly.

Hi mate

I bought a cheap rubber hood from ebay for the front of my 6600 and it comes into view at full wide. Can you link to any specific hoods that dont?

cheers

[zephyrnoid]

2 reasons
1- a stiff hood of aluminum is thinner and lighter.
2- a stiff hood will take the blows without compressing. I actually damaged a $1,000 camera lens once when I walked into a scaffold while peering through the lens. the hood just compressed and Wham! smashed my lens right into a junction joint. Worst day of my life since it happened in the first hour of a one-day shoot. I lost the lens + a day!
For the 50mm the FotoDiox is darn nice, I use it on the HV20 normally. I like that after it take a big shock it will likely 'break away' from the lens front. That's a good thing.
Another plus for metal hoods Vs rubber hoods. I often will flag a stubborn flare from the sun or a hairlight with black foil. that can be gaffers taped way more easily on metal than rubber.

Why do you prefer the stiff hood vs a rubber one?

Judy

[Judy]

2 reasons
1- a stiff hood of aluminum is thinner and lighter.
2- a stiff hood will take the blows without compressing. I actually damaged a $1,000 camera lens once when I walked into a scaffold while peering through the lens. the hood just compressed and Wham! smashed my lens right into a junction joint. Worst day of my life since it happened in the first hour of a one-day shoot. I lost the lens + a day!
For the 50mm the FotoDiox is darn nice, I use it on the HV20 normally. I like that after it take a big shock it will likely 'break away' from the lens front. That's a good thing.
Another plus for metal hoods Vs rubber hoods. I often will flag a stubborn flare from the sun or a hairlight with black foil. that can be gaffers taped way more easily on metal than rubber.

Would this be the type you'd recommend? I want something that is relatively compact for travel.
http://cgi.ebay.com/72-mm-72mm-Alumi...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks,

Judy

[zephyrnoid]

That's exactly the one I use on the HD6600Pro! ONLY you'de be paying 1/2 what I paid. What a deal.
Here's a hot tip for you and the other HV20 shooters.
Carefully run some vaseline jelly or lip balm into the threads of the hood. It makes it go on Muuuuch more smoothly and minimizes the binding that sometime happens when Alu threads are used!
In fact, let me tell you I run vaseline into all my gear-bag zippers with the same effect- NO BINDING!
Happy Holidays! There's another HV20'r in the area, why not search 'HV20LUG', we're trying to form a local HV20 user group- meeting at The DogfishHead Ale House in G'Burg, MD

Would this be the type you'd recommend? I want something that is relatively compact for travel.
http://cgi.ebay.com/72-mm-72mm-Alumi...QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks,

Judy

[3cmosHV50]

I guess I got lucky, but for me the Digital Concepts Model No. 2146w manufactured by Sakar in japan, Black with Titanium Logo,works amazingly well. I've tried other lenses, but this one is really the best of all worlds, very little edge blurring or distortion, picked it up on ebay for around 40. It requires a 43 to 46 mm adapter, as it is designed to mount to a 46 mm camera. The addition of the adapter doesnt hurt with vignetting, but it doesnt help either, still a nice cheap alternative , most bang for the buck candidate, I think this particular model deserves more testing, will post some footage as soon as i get a computer that can handle HD..

[dmoreno]

Zephyrnoid, thanks for all this valuable info. After checking your reviews I am seriously considering buying the Raynox 6600. Are you using Raynox HD6600PRO 43? o a larger size using a stepup ring?

[Goose]

That's exactly the one I use on the HD6600Pro! ONLY you'de be paying 1/2 what I paid. What a deal.
Here's a hot tip for you and the other HV20 shooters.
Carefully run some vaseline jelly or lip balm into the threads of the hood. It makes it go on Muuuuch more smoothly and minimizes the binding that sometime happens when Alu threads are used!
In fact, let me tell you I run vaseline into all my gear-bag zippers with the same effect- NO BINDING!
Happy Holidays! There's another HV20'r in the area, why not search 'HV20LUG', we're trying to form a local HV20 user group- meeting at The DogfishHead Ale House in G'Burg, MD

Cool - do you know if this hood will come into view at full wide?

Cheers