Hi All,

I want to buy wide conversion lens for my HF-10 and I had difficult to make decision on following 3 lens. Before is I plan to buy canon one and after read this forum I had new idea because canon is high price and heavy weight.

1. Canon WD-H37 II 37mm Wide Angle Converter Lens
2. Raynox HD-5050PRO, 37mm, 0.5x, Super Wide Angle Conversion Lens
3. Raynox HD-3032PRO, 37mm, 0.3x, Semi-Fisheye Conversion Lens

Now I prefer Raynox HD-3032PRO becaue of widest angle but I afraid the video and photo quality is below canon.

Thanks in advanced.

You can check several video's of these lenses on vimeo.com which will give you an idea how they'd perform. Make sure that the video is shot with the HF10/HF100/HF11 since perf varies on different built-in lenses.

Of these 3 lenses I only have experience with the WD-H37 which should be similar to the WD-H37II. By the way the lens is fairly light (my WD-H43 on the other hand is pretty heavy). The WD-H37 is pretty good fully zoomed out and has no corner softness or CA. See this video how it compares without WA lens:

http://vimeo.com/855992

When you zoom above about 70% you get bad CA with at least the WD-H37. Regarding WD-H37II I've heard different feedback so not sure if it's similar/same perf. But this may not be a concern if you don't zoom much with a wide-angle lens.

The Raynox 5050 from what I've seen gives you obviously wider angle of view but has some corner softness/CA (something I couldn't live with unless I'd need that shot). The 3030 will give you a strong fish-eye effect and you get some picture degradation with such wide-angle lens. So depends on what you're shooting.

Have you considered the Raynox HD6600? Here's a link to a video I made with the HD6600 on my Canon HF100.

http://vimeo.com/3022539

Anthony

Looking at the video you see some corner softness on the left side with the HD6600 and slight CA. The red color shift at zoom is an example of CA and the WD-H37II has CA as well zoomed in.

Another video with the HD6600 and the HD3032 can be found here:

http://vimeo.com/1301328

It's an HV30 but I'd expect the HF10 to show a similar picture. You can see in this video that the HD3032 has bit more corner softness as expected and shows also some CA fully zoomed out.
The HD6600 in this video shows a little bit of corner softness and some CA zoomed out at least in 1 clip (i.e. at the bridge you can see slight blue shift).

It's a trade-off. Either you get more wide-angle or less corner softness/CA. And it depends type of recording how much WA you need.

2. Raynox HD-5050PRO, 37mm, 0.5x, Super Wide Angle Conversion LensI have the 5050 on a SR11. I'm not entirely happy. It cuts down on light and there is distortion. OTOH, the 6060 was not enough of a wide angle and I am happy with the Raynox.

My advice is that if you want a wide angle lens, don't scrimp. Spend the money.

Other points: Buy a filter to protect the wide lens but check whether the filter appears in the image (creates a vignette). For some filters, the screw-in part is too thick and will appear in the image. Similarly, with a wide angle, you cannot have a normal lens cover since it will appear in the image.

[Taken in a different sense, this vocabulary is hilarious... ]

i'm actually on the same boat here, comparing the canon wd vs the raynox hd5050. from searching through all these vimeo vids, the canon is probably your sure bet. you dont have to compromise between having vignetting and such artifacts on the sides when zooming. as long as you dont zoom all the way, these issues shouldnt be a concern. i'm leaning towards the canon since i dont really want to have any issues at all. the only downside is that you dont have any threads on the lens to put on a filter or a lens hood.

reviving an old thread.

any comparisons using a Raynox HD-5050LE vs Raynox HD-6060 vs HD-6600(with adapter).

I'm on a HF10 and I like the idea of using the 5050 without an adapter as it is exactly 37mm.

any concerns I should be aware of of?

Not sure about the 5050 LE or 6060, but here's a pretty nice comparison of the Canon WD-H43 vs. the Raynox HD6600 and Raynox HD7000 lenses on a Canon HV20. (Posted by one of the crew on the HV20.com forums):

http://www.imagometrics.com/FLReviews/HV20_Wide.htm

Not sure about the 5050 LE or 6060, but here's a pretty nice comparison of the Canon WD-H43 vs. the Raynox HD6600 and Raynox HD7000 lenses on a Canon HV20. (Posted by one of the crew on the HV20.com forums):

http://www.imagometrics.com/FLReviews/HV20_Wide.htm

crap! that website is down... bumping the old thread to get any new opinions for the best WA lens for the Vixia HF camcorders. I'm just starting out with deciding on if I should get a Vixia HF because I definitely want a WA lens. Anyone?