[Lenina]

I need a camcorder with wide angle lens that records to flash card (pref sdhc). 37mm or wider (35mm camera equivalent) would be ok. my current jvc camcorder is 42mm which is too narrow. panasonic sd9 would be ok but that too is 42mm. please does anyone know of one, pref under £600.
thanks
(nb i already tried to post this yesterday but i dont see it - so apologies if it appears twice)

[A n d r e w]

I can't think of a camcorder that has an especially wide lens - around about 40mm is fairly standard for the wide end of the zoom for consumer camcorders. However, you can pick up relatively inexpensive wide angle adapters that screw into the end of the camcorder's lens and alter the focal length by a factor of 0.5x or 0.7x. For example, a 0.7x adapter would give an approximate focal length of 30mm at the wide end - pretty wide. The downsides are added weight, and the less expensive adapters, and especially the wider ones (e.g. 0.5x adapters), introduce barrel distortion, where vertical lines become curved towards the edges of the picture. Overall sharpness may be a little reduced around the edges of the picture, though this is more noticeable when zooming (which defeats the purpose of the adapter anyway).

The Raynox range of wide angle adapters seems to be fairly reputable and affordable.

Cheers,
Andrew.

[Smith2004]

Courtaj is correct, most camcorders are around the 40-43mm mark. I have a Canon HG10 which is 43mm and found it quite restrictive, but with the wide angle add-on I have reduced it to 30mm and it is much more satisfying to use (I don't have to pan around etc.). Whatever camera you chose you might be best going for the lens recommended by the manufacturer, even though it might be more expensive than others on the market. Some cheaper versions can lead to a loss of resolution etc. If you're going for a HD camcorder then be particularly careful, as you will need a top quality lens.