Century Ultra Fisheye Woes

C

ChrisO

New member
Is anbody else having trouble with the .3 fisheye getting the lens cap rabs into the frame at the ultra-wide setting? Also, the corners of the field have some other vignetted disturbance in them as well.

It seems silly to me that a lens would be sold to make full use of the widest setting and then there are obstructions in the frame that force the owner to zoom tighter until they are gone.

Chris
 
Re: Century Ultra Fisheye Woes

it says on the century site that it will vignette at it's widest setting, which is sort of shady if you ask me..
by rabs do you mean the lens shade? i know with the bayonet mounted vx2k version i had to reposition the shade so that the longest "claws" were centered pefectly when the lens was snugly mounted on. it came totally off centered and caused wierd vignetting before repositioned.
 
Re: Century Ultra Fisheye Woes

Thanks,

That was supposed to say TABS. As in, the lens cap flanges.

I'm just astounded that they would market a lens that does this and hit you for the bucks with a smile.

Chris
 
Re: Century Ultra Fisheye Woes

oh ok, understood :)
haha should have realized the "r" is right next to the "t"

yeah, that is some expensive glass i must say.. you would think it would come without any quirks. although the mark I for the the old vx1000's was known to vignette as well, although it was only in the overscan so it wasn;t noticeable on the tv. just how bad is it on the dvx? can you see it on a TV?
are you shooting skating by any chance?
 
Re: Century Ultra Fisheye Woes

I was pretty pissed about this as well. I mean for skateboarding its ok, but I do not do a whole lot of filming for skateboarding any more. Its really agrivating to have to zoom in when I am using the lens outside of the realm of skateboarding. I kind of feel as if I wasted my money on the lens but I have a music video shoot with Maal the pimp and Big V from nappy roots and they are interested in using it so I suppose it was not such a waste after all.

As far as the claws getting in the way you have to make sure they are perfectly aligned at top and bottom. I wish it were like the Mark II in which you could remove the shade, but oh well its still a pretty amazing lens.
 
Re: Century Ultra Fisheye Woes

and according to the article barry mentions, it doesn't vignette! sample photos on that link...
 
Re: Century Ultra Fisheye Woes

hey goober, the shade isn't removable on the dvx's death?? taht;s odd, i didn;t kow that

thanks barry, that's a good resource. always love the DIY projects
 
Hello, Bill Turner Century here,

First of all let me say that we have tried to make clear to everyone that the Ultra Fisheye vignetts noticeably at full wide on the Panasonic DVX100/100a (and the new Sony HDV cameras) by stating that fact and showing sample frames on our website:

http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/prodv/dvx100/3x_ultra_fisheye/3x_ultra_fisheye.htm

We are sorry if you or anyone else is ever disappointed or dissatisfied with our products.

Because of this we have for years offered a 30 day money-back guarrantee - tho when buying thru a dealer, the buyer must find out what the dealers return policy is as we cannot force dealers to take product back for a refund or credit.

We do offer a less radical fisheye for the camera Stock Code: VS-FEWA-DVX which does not vignette even in underscan.

If anyone is having problems with the bayonet locking mechanism not lining up the protective ears on the ultra-fisheye properly, resulting in their getting into the frame, you should contact John Sioringas, Century Customer Service and Repair at jsioringas@centuryoptics.com or call him at 1-800-228-1254 ext. 126. This should be adjusted at n/c as a warranty repair if it is not the result of damage or abuse.

As an aside, we decided to offer the Ultra-Fisheye for the DVX100 based on customer demand and feedback from those who were show and tested protoypes. We have sold a significant quantity and really try to make sure that the buyer is aware of the degree of the vignetting.

Anyone should feel free to contact me personally at bturner@centuryoptics.com if you have anyfurther questions about this or any of our products.

Bill Turner
Century Division
Schneider Optics
 
Those protective ears can be easily lined up using the included screwdriver ... I am totally used to zooming in a little bit since I also have a VX1000 / MKI. Putting the lens on and adjusting the zoom goes hand in hand (I just wish there was a setting to lock the zoom on the camera so there's no way to accidently change it).
I also compared the Raynox with the Century on a TRV900 and after that experience I must say that trying to get a Raynox onto my DVX would never be an option, the glass quality is just not the same. Compared to a Century the Raynox looks like you are shooting through the bottom of a milk bottle.
 
i purchased the raynox lens a few years back when it first came out. i was very disapointed in it. i returned it and purchased the mark 1 for my trv 900. century makes very high quality products and i trust their products. i think its really cool that someone from century, like bill, would take the time to listen to customers on a message board. you dont see people from raynox and kenko doing that. that alone makes me want to support century optics much more. i just purchased the less radical fisheye from b&h. i've used both on a dvx and i decided to go with the less radical one for numerous reasons.
 
I did the DIY project with the $100 raynox and for the money it's not bad at all. If your on a budget and a little handy this is the way to go. I'm sure the glass is not as good as the Century but is the Century 8 times better?
 
For the special effect and limited use application that is the fisheye lens for any non-sports use,
I would tend to at least consider all affordable options first.... even macgyvering a rayonox fisheye.

......speaking of someone who owns ten schneider filters and a century matte box......
Century Fisheye is very nice, but I don't think it's eight times better if D-I-Y works well enough.
 
thisiswells said:
BTW, they had a prototype 170-degree HD fisheye on display at the NAB show this year.
Price? "$3,000.00"
Click to expand...
Yeah, that looked massive. I'm curious how the 16:9 fisheye looks though, hope someone will get it soon and post some grabs ...
 
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