HV-30 Wide Angle

[Bobby]

Hi all. There were some related topics about this, but old and I thought it would be easier just to start again.

Just wanted to mention that I finally got a wide angle adapter for my HV-30. I had debated the Raynox units, but eventually stayed with the Canon product - the WD-H43.

My first impression is that it is BIG. And being metal it is also heavy. It certainly does change the balance and overall heft of the camcorder when installed.

At the time of purchase, the Canon and Raynox (with stepup ring) were almost the same price, so that was not a factor. The Raynox required a stepup ring, whereas the Canon was a single unit (less hassle). The Canon does NOT have front threads, but with something that big you wouldn't want to put filters on it unless you have very deep pockets. You can always mount a filter on the 43mm thread if needed. When I mounted the WA on the 43mm UV protective filter I already had on, there was no visible vignetting.

The Canon seems to be a better quality unit, optical wise. It has four groups of four elements, whereas the Raynox was 3/3G. I had also seen some posts about the Raynox citing quality and vignetting problems.

I don't have a full reading on video quality yet, but it certainly seems to do the job. There was not a lot of visible barrel distortion and in general it looked good.

[Steve Grisetti]

Thanks for the report, Bob!

[Rockdoc]

Thanks Bob! I have been looking at those for a while, and read the posts over on the hv20.com forum. This is helpful.

[Bobby]

Glad to help Jennifer; ask if you have a specific question.

There are so many posts on the HV20 forum about wide angle adapters that I just couldn't get through it. For me, it was a (believed) quality issue. More glass in the Canon, and the lack of stepup ring allows the internal elements to be placed at an optimum relationship rather than just grouped in the wider part. No quoted restrictions on zoom range either.

I purchased from Amazon (had reasons why); the Raynox 6600+ring was $147 and the Canon was about $10 more. People on the HV20 forum had talked about the Canon being about $200, so apparently there has been a price reduction once availability became common.

[JohnnyO]

Bob: Canon makes excellent lenses. I think you made the right choice. Good luck with your new toy.