Wind Cut & Wide angle lenses

[Carnage]

Figured I'd ask both questions in one thread,as quite possibly the first will have a simple answer.

 

Do you use a wind cut feature on your camcorder? I've noticed a bit of wind noise on your POVs, but not all that much. I've got the option on my camcorder, but haven't really tried it out much. Just wondering if it has any affect on sound quality or anything else. I'd guess that the biggest change would be battery life?

 

And secondly, what kind of wide angle lense do you use? I've been thinking about a WA lense, but am not sure what to look for. In particular I'm curious aobut what the various sizes will do in terms of quality/look.

 

What causes the fisheye/looking through a tube affect? I've noticed this most on pkdcoaster's POVs in the video forum. He mentioned somewhere that it doesn't show as much on a tv(which I confirmed). So what causes this? And how to avoid it? I'd like a lense that is well suited for both tv and pc(with a strong lean towards pc).

[WalrusMan]

I can answer the lense part of this question. Wide angle lenses all have that "fish eye" effect. That's because when you use a wide angle lense the glass is very bowed (was the best word I could think of). If you want a true straight shot, use the normal lense for your camera. If you don't mind much of the bending around the edges and the black areas around the corners, go with the wide angle lense.

[ParkTrips]

Robb uses this lens extension. You'll have to find one that specifically matches your camera. I rarely use mine, personally.

 

The fisheye comes from the wide angle lens as described above but you can avoid that if you want...

 

here is a useful thread

 

- Joe

[Erik Johnson]

Yeah I use the exact same wide angle lense I have (Thank's Robb). I used that lense for all the onride footage I took of Expedition Everest.

[Carnage]

Thanks for the comments guys.

 

Does the strength of the lense affect how much of a fisheye affect is given off? I don't really notice much on Robb's videos.

[pkdcoaster]

It really depends on the camcorder...the one I took all my POVs with that have "fisheye" only really shows up noticably on the computer and barely on the TV...But on my new camcorder you can not even see the edges so I believe it depends on the camera you use. The only way to really tell how much is going to show up is trial and error with different camcorders.

 

JEFF

[ParkTrips]

Does the strength of the lense affect how much of a fisheye affect is given off? I don't really notice much on Robb's videos.

 

For me, it depends on the optical zoom. Of course, when zoomed out all the way, you do get a really obvious fisheye effect. However, when you zoom in, it usually is less noticable, at least for my camera (I have trouble thinking it would be different for other lenses). Comparing a standard photo with a wide-angle photo (600+Kb), you can see there still is a little distortion, but not very obvious. You do get that nice, wider viewing area, but there are tradeoffs. My main issue with wide angle lenses is the focus, especially near the edges.

[Carnage]

Thanks for the Medusa videos in the video forum Jeff.

 

Makes the difference pretty obvious.

 

I might try and pick up a WA lense at some point, though only if I can get it for a decent price.

 

For those that use WA lenses, do you leave the lense on all the time? Or do you put it on only for specific uses like POVs?

[robbalvey]

The lens I use, as Joe noted above, doesn't have much of a distorted or "fisheye" look to it, so I tend to keep it on my camera all the time.

 

In fact, if you have any of our DVDs, almost ALL of the footage is shot with it on.

 

The most important feature I've found of the wide angle lens is that it really helps with image stability.

 

--Robb

[Carnage]

^ Is there a technical reason for the image stability? Just curious.

 

I would have guessed that camera shake wouldn't change all that much between lenses. I'll take your word for it, I just am always curious how things work.

 

So Robb you have a 0.6X WA lense. Jeff what type of WA lense do you use?

 

I'm guessing that the higher the number the more of a fisheye affect will be produced? So if I wanted something a bit more suited for PC's, a smaller number would be better then a crazy high number?

[pkdcoaster]

I use a Quantaray wide angle lens but there is no # or anything on it.....went searching and could not find any for sale that looked like mine...might be discontinued since I bought it over 6 years ago.

 

JEFF

[robbalvey]

To be honest, Carnage, I don't really know! All I know is that the lens was reccomended to me about 8 years ago, and I've used it ever since.

 

I'm not sure what the techincal reason is, but I know that with a wider field of view shaking is less noticble.

 

Just like without a wide angle lens if you zoom all the way out versus zooming all the way in, your zoom out is less sensitive to camera motion than zoomed in.

 

Hope that helps!

 

--Robb

[Carnage]

Just like without a wide angle lens if you zoom all the way out versus zooming all the way in, your zoom out is less sensitive to camera motion than zoomed in.

 

Actually that does make sense now that I think about it that way.

 

It'll probably just come down to trial and error. Won't really cost me all that much anways. On eBay I should be able to get a wide angle/telephoto set for about $60 including shipping. (haven't had all that much luck finding just a WA).

 

Though I might also make a trip down to a local mall that basically specializes in cheap imported stuff from Asia.