Hi,

I just picked by a Sony HDR-SR11 at Best Buy today and had some questions I hope some of you can help answer. BTW, they priced matched Costco’s 1,049.99 price.

I need a case for the HDR-SR11 and was looking online at the following Sony Models.

Sony LCS-SRC Carrying Case
LCS-MX100 General Soft Carrying Case

Anyone have any experience with either of these cases? Looks like the LCS-SRC can only handle the camera and a spare battery. The LCS-MX100 may be more than I need, but I have not been able to find any reviews and I’m not sure what the interior looks like.

I also was thinking about picking up the following accessories:

Sony NPFH70 H Series Actiforce Hybrid InfoLithium Battery
Sony VCLHG0737C High-Grade Wide Conversion Lens
Sony BCTRP Battery Charger
Sony HDMI Male to Mini HDMI
Hoya 37 mm Introductory Filter Kit
Sony HVL-HIRL IR NightShot and Video Light

Anyone have good or bad to say about the above accessories. Are there others I should be adding to the list? Is the Hoya filter kit good, or should I buy better glass?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and consider my questions.

Howard

Sony LCS-SRC Carrying Case: [Own it] You're right, it's pretty small, but it's sturdy and perfect if you just need to bring your camcorder. Cheapest I found was at the Sony store with the 15% acc coupon.

Sony NPFH70 H Series Actiforce Hybrid InfoLithium Battery: If you're planning to get the FH70 and want a bag, you should look at this kit: ACCFH70. It includes the battery and the bag "LCS-VA30" for about $10 more than just the battery. The bag is a nice complement to the LCS-SRC for moving all your accessories. I own this kit and have been very happy (~$70 at B&H).

Sony VCLHG0737C High-Grade Wide Conversion Lens: Only 0.7x, big, heavy and kinda expensive. I wanted more wide, so I went with a Raynox 5050Pro. I got it at B&H for $85, but for some reason, they bumped the price up (maybe demand?). Still worth it at that price.

Sony HDMI Male to Mini HDMI: Get one from MonoPrice instead (~$6): http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041909&p_id=3653&seq=1&format=2
I own it, it works great.

Sony HVL-HIRL IR NightShot and Video Light: All current Sony lights that fits their AIS are poor and inadequate. I own the HVL-HL1 which will have similar light output, and ended up never using it because of the narrow spotlight of the light and little lumen. It's also eating through the batteries. I gather that the IR part of the light will have the same problems. I went with getting a shoe adapter and a 3rd-party light solution. Here's the adapter: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/468612-REG/Pearstone_SSA_AIS_Shoe_Adapter_for.html

I personally didn't buy a filter kit. It may interfere with your WA lens adapter; I would certainly read more about it before purchasing both. For example, note that there's no filter threading on the Sony 0.7x which meant hat you'll probably have to decide between a polarizer and you WA adapter. That was spelling annoying to me.

The only other accessory I purchased that's worth mentioning is a hand motion stabilizer. The Merlin is the cream of the crop, but it's at $800 and I wasn't ready to put that much money on something I didn't know I would use a lot. I went instead with the Hague MMC, which came out to about $150 with the s&h from UK. I'm definitely getting my money's worth and wish I would have gotten one way earlier. :) Of course, it's not perfect, and I sometimes have crazy ideas of getting a Merlin instead. :P But I think I'm too much of a cheapskate to put that much money on an accessory.

Hope this helps. :)

Eric,

Thanks for the quick reply. Your comments were very helpful.

You sold me on the Bag and battery kit ACCFH70. I will also go with the Raynox 5050Pro. Regarding the filter kit. I planned to use this without the wide angle lens attached. I am guessing you are leaving your Raynox 5050Pro on all the time. Does the Raynox 5050Pro perform well all the way from wide to telephoto?

Concerning the HDMI cable. I believe I need a HDMI standard Male to HDMI Mini male. How do I use the adapter you provided the link for? I would like a cable that is minimum 6 feet in length. I also want to order from one seller since I need it shipped tomorrow overnight so I will receive everything on Tuesday for our trip on Wednesday. I am planning on ordering from B&H.

Howard

Eric,

Thanks for the quick reply. Your comments were very helpful.

You sold me on the Bag and battery kit ACCFH70. I will also go with the Raynox 5050Pro. Regarding the filter kit. I planned to use this without the wide angle lens attached. I am guessing you are leaving your Raynox 5050Pro on all the time. Does the Raynox 5050Pro perform well all the way from wide to telephoto?

Concerning the HDMI cable. I believe I need a HDMI standard Male to HDMI Mini male. How do I use the adapter you provided the link for? I would like a cable that is minimum 6 feet in length. I also want to order from one seller since I need it shipped tomorrow overnight so I will receive everything on Tuesday for our trip on Wednesday. I am planning on ordering from B&H.

Howard

You're welcome. :)

I use my WA adapter about 50%-50%. It's pretty nice from wide to tele, but it does have slightly softer corners. It mostly depends if I can deal with the extra inch in front of the camcorder or not. :) Here's some information about the 5050Pro:
http://raynox.co.jp/english/video/hd5050pro/index.htm
http://raynox.co.jp/comparison/video/comp_hd5000pro.htm

It's a 0.5x, which means that you'll have some barrel effect in wide, but not as much as I expected (nothing fisheye). If you're not looking for that, they have a 0.66x called the 6600Pro that you might want to look at. It's obviously more expense and heavier, but it seems to have pretty good results.

As for the HDMI to mini-HDMI cable... I sent you the "adapter", which is useful if you have a HDMI cable around (which you could buy separately there for pretty cheap too). Here's the mini-HDMI to HDMI 6ft cable if you're interested:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10242&cs_id=1024201&p_id=3645&seq=1&format=2
All in all, it's a small fraction of the price Sony will ask and work as well.

Eric,

Thank you for the link to the Raynox site. After doing some comparisons I have decided the Raynox DCR-6600PRO is better suited for my needs. Unlike putting a filter between the camera and the wide-angle lens, are there any issues with putting a filter on the external ring of the wide-angle lens that I should be aware of? YIKES !!... 72mm filters are expensive.

Regarding the HDMI cable, I am going to see what else B&H Photo has since I have to purchase everything from one dealer. Need to have everything by this Tuesday.

Howard

The only problems I read about using both filters and WA lens were related to putting the filter in between the camcorder and the WA lens. I think you'll be fine screwing it on the outside (something you can't do with the Sony one).

I understand you need some of the accessories for Tuesday, but do you really need the cable for playback in that short of a timeframe? :) I just want to make sure you don't pay 10x what you could have paid at Monoprice for basically the same thing.

Hi Eric,

Well, I just ordered everything from B&H Photo and I should have it by Tuesday. I want to be able to check out the camera before we leave for Yosemite and our HD TV is the only playback source I have now so I need a HDMI cable. I understand I need the latest version of iMovie 08 to upload the files from the HDR-SR11 to my Mac.

BTW, I know what you mean about the Sony wide-angle lenses. I have one for my old Sony F717 and it is a behemoth and no threads to add a filter. It weights more than the camera with a battery installed.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-VCLHGD0758-0-7x-Conversion-DSCF717/dp/B00007AKB9%22%5Dhttp://www.amazon.com/Sony-VCLHGD0758-0-7x-Conversion-DSCF717/dp/B00007AKB9

Thanks again. Your suggestions have been very helpful.

Howard

A little late but I will concur, the bag + battery kit is a really good deal. It's roomy enough to fit the camera, extra batteries, cables, etc. I bought the kit and another spare battery so in total I have the included battery and 2 spare 70's, hopefully it'll give me enough juice when I go to Japan next week.

A little late but I will concur, the bag + battery kit is a really good deal. It's roomy enough to fit the camera, extra batteries, cables, etc. I bought the kit and another spare battery so in total I have the included battery and 2 spare 70's, hopefully it'll give me enough juice when I go to Japan next week.

And another thing you might want to look into is a battery charger. I bought an open box wall mount travel charger for around $25 and it's a really good thing to have. Don't have to rely on charging your batteries through the camera itself.

Eric,

Thanks for the quick reply. Your comments were very helpful.

You sold me on the Bag and battery kit ACCFH70. I will also go with the Raynox 5050Pro. Regarding the filter kit. I planned to use this without the wide angle lens attached. I am guessing you are leaving your Raynox 5050Pro on all the time. Does the Raynox 5050Pro perform well all the way from wide to telephoto?
...

Howard

Based on this thread, I bought the Raynox 6600. First foray into purchasing aftermarket lenses and the WA lens seems pretty good, even for indoor shooting, where you want to capture more in the picture (i.e., more kids in the video)

Does the sr11 with the WA lens attached fit ok into the ACCFH70 bag?

Based on this thread, I bought the Raynox 6600. First foray into purchasing aftermarket lenses and the WA lens seems pretty good, even for indoor shooting, where you want to capture more in the picture (i.e., more kids in the video)

Does the sr11 with the WA lens attached fit ok into the ACCFH70 bag?

I've played with the Raynox 5050Pro some more over the last few weeks and there is some blurring in the corners. I don't think the Raynox 6600 series will have as much, since the lens is better quality and there's less distortion.

The ACCFH70 is a huge bag for the SR11/12. I don't think you'll have any problems fitting the camcorder with the lens in it.

Thanks, erickjut for your reply.

What do you guys think of this:
http://www.portabrace.com/imagescaler.php?image=hip2new.jpg&type=pd_mainimage

http://www.portabrace.com/productA-HIP-2

Want to get something that is less...luggage-like.

With a Raynox WA lens with a width of 3inches, the 2.5 width might be a tight fit? Anyone know how tight these interior dimensions are for these semi-hard shell ProtaBrace cases?

ANy idea someone, does the camera while in the LSC-RSC case still fit in the larger case LCS-VA30 ? I will buy the LSC-RSC case anyway, but i want a lerger case to carry all of my camerastuff, so even dock, cables and 1 extra battery . Tnx,
Wim