wide angle lens

[paulpost]

I hope there is someone there that can help a nuby in the world of wide angle lenses.
I can get for $29.99 a 0.5 wide angle lens 37mm thred and 46mm front diameter or a $69.99 0.5 wide angle lens with the same 37mm thred (that fits my cancorder) and a 55 mm front diameter, which is the better one and why?
Thanks

 

[meekal]

you sure it's not for your CANTcorder - hehehehe - JK - couldn't help myself on that one.... but......

seriously...

i can't help you with the actualy physics, but i can drop my $0.02 worth of what i've found.

1. if this is for U/W use make sure you you CANTcorder will still fit in the housing with the W/A lens on. most housing are built to pretty tight specs so it might not fit anymore with the lens on!

2. i've seen on some W/A lens you don't get to use the full use of the Wide Angledness (is that even a word?) of the lens... you end up with the 4 corners of the lens showing in the image. you have to ZOOM a bit to get rid of it and therefore lose the full ability of the lens. again, i don't know WHY, but i know it happens - especially on the elCheap0 W/A lens'

 

[Dugongberbulu]

Paul,

Before I try and answer, I have a :06: : what housing do you intend to put your camcorder into? how deep do you plan to dive? are you intending on adding a lighting system to your setup?

As mentioned by Meekal, this is probably help us let you know if its possible or not, as there are a lot of experienced people on this board (which I don't consider myself) who can help you.

Cheers! :bravo:

 

[MarkH]

I hope there is someone there that can help a nuby in the world of wide angle lenses.
I can get for $29.99 a 0.5 wide angle lens 37mm thred and 46mm front diameter or a $69.99 0.5 wide angle lens with the same 37mm thred (that fits my cancorder) and a 55 mm front diameter, which is the better one and why?
Thanks

It depends on the optics (if they are different name-brands). They seem to be a similar lens except for the 46mm/55mm threads which are just to screw on filters. Again, some brand names may have sharper optics, different coatings, etc, even though they are the same kind of lens. If they are the same name brand, then the price difference confuses me.

 

[paulpost]

Paul,

Before I try and answer, I have a :06: : what housing do you intend to put your camcorder into? how deep do you plan to dive? are you intending on adding a lighting system to your setup?

As mentioned by Meekal, this is probably help us let you know if its possible or not, as there are a lot of experienced people on this board (which I don't consider myself) who can help you.

Cheers! :bravo:

My housing is MPK TRV1 made by Sony and can accomodate any Sony "CANTcorder",
So "legroom" is not a problem, I use a cc filter and no lights.
My question was if are any advantages when the front lens has a bigger diameter or not.
I was thinking that more light can hit the CCD thus better picture, is it true or not?
My camcorder is Sony dcr trv 38.

 

[HowardE]

My housing is MPK TRV1 made by Sony and can accomodate any Sony "CANTcorder",
So "legroom" is not a problem, I use a cc filter and no lights.
My question was if are any advantages when the front lens has a bigger diameter or not.
I was thinking that more light can hit the CCD thus better picture, is it true or not?
My camcorder is Sony dcr trv 38.

Wider lens opening(bigger diameter)... More light... Yes.

 

[MarkH]

Wider lens opening(bigger diameter)... More light... Yes.

I thought aperture had an effect, but don't the light rays enter the add-on lens at the same angle (regardless of diameter)? If a screw-on lens was 6 feet in diameter, only part of it would be used, so no more light would enter than normal. I could be way off. If it was a primary lens (one with an adjustable iris/diaphragm), a larger diameter would allow a larger aperture and more light. I'm curious now...