Any of you guys have experience with the "digital concepts" cheap (~$35) telephoto lens from ebay? I'm too new to post a link but its item #200101145730. Its 52mm with a 43 stepdown. I've read that such lenses can degrade HD resolution.

The HV20 already has great macro ability. If you zoom all the way out, you can almost set the lens on something achieving insane detail.

I could never understand how someone would spend umpteen dollars on a camera/camcorder that has a xyz brand high quality lens and stick a cheap whatever on the front. Whether it be a filter or converter, you need to get the best you can get or you will be lowering the quality of the original... period.

Spend the extra $ and get a good name brand lens that is made for HD. You will be happier in the long run.

Well many of us havent boughten lenses before, so thats why we make that mistake :) We buy cheap battery packs and tapes for our camera, and they work great, so why not the lenses?

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but glass lenses are old technology, and the reason a " cheap lens" doesn't work well isn't so much that its somehow "lowers" the resolution, because glass is theoretically almost infinite pixels.

The reason a cheap generic glass lens won't work, is because its not specifically designed to work with a specific model's electonic focus systems and existing built-in lens, etc. Right? What your paying for on the "expensive" lense is mostly for the custom R&D that company had to put in to make it work with THAT camera.

BTW, i bought 2 cheap EBay lenses, and they work perfectly - in the center of the image. Then they get out of focus more and more towards the perimeter of the image. :mad:

LOL so yea, stay away from the cheap lenses, and buy one specifically developed for your camera :)

Also, correct me if I am wrong, but glass lenses are old technology, and the reason a " cheap lens" doesn't work well isn't so much that its somehow "lowers" the resolution, because glass is theoretically almost infinite pixels.

The reason a cheap generic glass lens won't work, is because its not specifically designed to work with a specific model's electonic focus systems and existing built-in lens, etc. Right? What your paying for on the "expensive" lense is mostly for the custom R&D that company had to put in to make it work with THAT camera.

BTW, i bought 2 cheap EBay lenses, and they work perfectly - in the center of the image. Then they get out of focus more and more towards the perimeter of the image. :mad:

LOL so yea, stay away from the cheap lenses, and buy one specifically developed for your camera :)

Don't such add-on lenses fit on the front of the existing lens like a filter? There's currently an excellent thread comparing the HV20 with the JVC GZ-HD7 where it was mentioned that the HV20 had less color fringeing (or chromatic aberration) than the JVC.

It's not just a question of whether the lens will work. It's a matter of to what degree the add-on lens will degrade the picture. Whereas before you might have got a crisp and contrasty image, with the add-on lens you might begin to notice some chromatic aberration and almost certainly a softer and less contrasty image or, as in JohnR's cheap Ebay lenses, lousy performance towards the edges.

I am not an expert in optics so what I know is just from reading information donated by other more experienced people. I think you are right that it is not a matter of lowering resolution. If light has to pass thru anything it changes the *** of the light. The manufacturer creates a lens with specific attributes to it's shape (concave, convex etc), special coatings (like why the Canon may have less chromatic aberration than the other. This is due to the special coeating to both the glass and innards of the assenmly. If you put anything in front of the lens you are changing those specific characteristics.

In photography this is well known. That is why 1 lens costs 250.00 and another 1500.00. There is a major difference in the quality and it does show. A photo taken with a good lens will have a sharper image out of the camera without sharpening, a more consistent sharpness from center to edge, more accurate or natural colors, variations in contrast...

There is not a pixel count to glass but there is a resolving power measured in lines so it is similar to pixels but not measured in the same way. A better lens can resolve more resolution than a cheaper one. It reflects alot on sharpness.

Here are some links to a bit of info Canon gives about their 'L' lenses for photography and general lens info.
Canon L Lens Info (http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/technology/lseries.html )
A bit of info on MTF (http://www.photodo.com/topic_108.html)
An example MTF chart (http://www.photodo.com/product_177_p4.html)
Some general Lens Info (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_%28optics%29)