Wide angle lens suggestions

A

accentphotography

Active member
I am getting a little mixed up on which lens to buy for my DVX100b. I just got a Century Optics VS-FEWA-DVX Fisheye Adapter and I realized that it seems more like an extreme wide angle but not so fisheye distorted as I thought (slight barrel on the outer edges and not a complete zoom thru). Now there is the 0.3x extreme fisheye that Century has (the Death Glider) but I have not figured out if it will give me the same wide angle as my lens or if it is meant to give extreme distortion.

I really think I need an intermediate wide angle for my wedding video so I was thinking about the 0.6x and the 0.7x Centurys or the Panasonic 0.8x AG-LW7208. I think the 0.7x Century is a zoom thru but I was not sure about the 0.6x or the Panasonic 0.8x.

Any suggestions about a better but not extreme distortion wide angle? Is the Panasonic 0.8x as sharp as the Century 0.7x or 0.6x? There are way too many choices out there.
 
I like the Century 0.7x the most. I have a Century .3x Ultra Fisheye Adapter for skate videos but I have used the 0.6 and 0.7 before. You get some barrel distortion on the 0.6, but on the 0.7, it is only noticeable if you have the side of the frame on something straight. I have never used the Panny 0.8x but in my opinion, 0.8 is almost nothing. Century Optics has a great reputation for awesome lenses so I would spend a little more for a lot better quality.
 
Thanks andy, I have found the Panay for $200.00 and a 0.6x for the same price but it seems the 0.7x is a little higher. I guess that is the better one as I believe that a lot glass is a good thing and it looks full of glass. Actually for them to make the lens that big means that they were pretty serious in the lens design. Now it comes down to the 0.7x or 0.8x. Barrel distortion is important.
 
Just FYI: I got the Cavision .6x and there is too much barrel distortion for my tastes. I'm probably going to get the Century .7 and give that a try.
 
Well the 0.7 has almost none and it basically depends if you NEED the .8 or.7 now... I would go fore the .7 but if you don't need it to be that wide then go for the panny.
 
btw, why are you going to need a wide agle lens?
if you are shooting weddings and you use a 0.7x wide angle lens it doesn't really sound right.
unless you are limited in space, you don't really need a 0.7x lens.
I think you should be fine with the stock lens you have if you are doing weddings.
 
Thanks everyone. On our Sony HDR-HC1 we use a add on wide angle that has complete zoom thru and it has been a blessing at times. Some of the rooms we go in before the wedding are pretty darn small (10x10 with 10 people). You never know the situation. So.... I just bought a Century .7x for $155.00 yesterday and I got a Century Fisheye for $250.00 last week. Now I am set ... except I cannot decide if I should get a 2nd DVX100b or a D90 that shoots video. I was planning on making or buying a 35mm adaptor but it seems cheaper and more functional to get the D90. The problem is that I want 30p and the D90 shoots 24p. I am a Nikon fan and I have a lot of Nikon so it works to stay with what I have already accumulated in lenses. The .7x was decided on by the fact of the complete zoom thru ability. I had that on an earlier wide angle lens and it is great. The fisheye that I have only goes to about 72 on the DVX100b zoom before it looses focus. Thanks!
 
I got that Century 0.7x WA. What a BEAST! It took the CG of the camera to a new reality. Man the camera is front heavy now. The lens is amazing. I got what looks more like a .5x but who is measuring and the zoom thru to maximum strength is not that much less than the max zoom without the lens. Now to start working out as I feel this lens will never come off (unless its fisheye time). Thanks Century! Beautiful chunk of glass.

Now if I can only find a hood that works and is light weight without going to a rail system. Suggestions??
 
i have a .6 im wiling to trade plus throw in a little cash. im filming a skate video and i need a much wider angle
 
Honestly you need the fisheye but not the one that looks like a orb. The one that is flat is great except the focus fails at about 72 on the zoom scale. It is VERY WIDE. And I feel it is distorted when you want and more rectilinear when you zoom in a little. It is light and fast to put on. That lens is not to expensive used. Thanks for the offer but I just got mine over the last week and I have been enjoying them a lot.

Google this: craigslist fisheye panasonic

Just make sure it is for a DVX100 and is not a 37mm or 58mm type of screw thread. I buy from Craigslist a lot. I just PayPal and the item is in the mail. Pretty darn convenient. I am sure that one day I will get scammed but after purchasing over 600 items off of the auctions and listings, I have not lost yet.
 
Accent, could you do me a favor and post two screencaps - one with and one without the .7x. If it's not too much to ask! :)

I am interested in buying a wide angle, but I am having trouble finding a comparison shot on the web.

Also, the Century .7x is sold on Ebay for different camera's, the Sony cam in particular. It's just one lens, no? No different sizes for each brand?
 
The DVX100 model is a rotating bayonet lock where some of the others may be similar but for a particular model or threaded. I know that there are some cheap WA's out there that fit a 72mm thread that the DVX100 has. I will need to see what it takes to do a screen capture as I have never done that before. I could probably do a simple capture from my FCP desktop image as I can select the crop with the Mac. Do you post in your own link or does dvxuser have a upload image area?
 
To do a screen shot, do CTRL+SHIFT+F4 and then drag your mouse over anything and it will save that as a .png file on your desktop. That is only for MAC. On Windows, you have to do print screen and then paste it somewhere and then crop that... What a pain...
 
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