Camcorder with WIDE field of view

theviewer1985

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Hey guys,

Quick summary - I film POV a lot. Usually use my Panasonic hcV700 - but started to hate the narrow field of view. So I switched to a gopro hero 4.

Although I LOVE the wide FOV of the gopro, i dont like it as my go too camera. Holding it isn't that comfy - I prefer the more traditional camcorder grip and most importantly, the mic picks up way to many hand movements.

So simple question, is there a good quality camcorder out there that has a super wide FOV. Preferably with options to change between narrow, medium, wide like the gopro?

Thanks :-D
 
The HC-V700 is a good quality camcorder. The zoom range starts at 28mm which is quite wide but if you want a wider angle, one way is to use add on lenses. An add on lens will not affect the operation of the zoom.
Have you considered something like:-
Neewer® 0.45x 49mm Professional 2IN1 Super Wide Angle Lens with Detachable Macro Close Up Conversion Lens for DSLR Camera. At £14.41 from Amazon it's worth a try.
 
The HC-V700 is a good quality camcorder. The zoom range starts at 28mm which is quite wide but if you want a wider angle, one way is to use add on lenses. An add on lens will not affect the operation of the zoom.
Have you considered something like:-
Neewer® 0.45x 49mm Professional 2IN1 Super Wide Angle Lens with Detachable Macro Close Up Conversion Lens for DSLR Camera. At £14.41 from Amazon it's worth a try.

Hi... thanks for the reply.

I actually didnt know I could attach a lens to the HCV 700. Are you sure you can? I did have a look and it seems like there is a screwable section around the default lens - but there doesnt seem to be much info on this on google. But if I am able to get a lens then this would be the perfect answer! Can the newer panasonic camcorders all take these lens's as we are thinking of upgrading to the 920 (or even newer if they exist yet)

Other than this, I am confused as during my research on Gopro's focal length it seems that the widest FOV is equivalent to a 14mm and the most narrow is 28mm .... so the smaller the number the wider it gets - the one your linking me too is 64mm which is a lot higher than 28mm - so I am confused as to how it's wider?

Sorry I am very much a dumb dumb in this field so you will probably have to walk me through your answer a bit more clearly.

Thanks again
 
I actually didnt know I could attach a lens to the HCV 700. Are you sure you can? I did have a look and it seems like there is a screwable section around the default lens - but there doesnt seem to be much info on this on google. But if I am able to get a lens then this would be the perfect answer! Can the newer panasonic camcorders all take these lens's as we are thinking of upgrading to the 920 (or even newer if they exist yet)
If you look at the ring around the lens, you will see a fine thread on the inner side. This is so you can connect filters, lenses, lens hoods etc.
The lens I pointed to you has a 49mm thread which will fit the 700 and has 0.45x magnification i.e. it will reduce the focal length to 12.6mm. Just copy ALL the print in bold from my previous post and paste into Amazon.

Incidentally both my HC-V700 and HC-V750 have UV filters attached to protect the lens cover and lens from damage, dirt or sand - very useful protection. I also have a polarising filter (mainly to reduce reflection from water) and a lens hood. (to reduce flare when filming into the sun)

The latest HD camera is the HC-V770. There are a couple of 4K cameras above this and, of course, the 920. The 770 has only one chip but has the more recent software spec to the 920. I suggest you go to the Panasonic site and compare the two cameras. Both cameras have the 49mm thread for filters and add-on lenses.
 
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Just ordered the wide angle lens from Amazon. Will report back on this post when I have had a chance to try it.

(Money where mouth is! - not like me:facepalm:)
 
Just ordered the wide angle lens from Amazon. Will report back on this post when I have had a chance to try it.

(Money where mouth is! - not like me:facepalm:)

Well we are hoping to have a wide angle by this weekend - so if your at least partly confident this is what I need then I will just commit and buy it today.

I see now that the 49mm is merely the spec of the screw thread. I thought it was related to the focal length. But yes, 12.6mm spec seems more like what I am after. Correct me if I am wrong, as I will probably be buying this within the hour, but this wide angle lens is as simple as screwing onto the end of my camcorder and suddenly I will record in super wide - ala the typical gopro superwide action shots you've probably seen. I don't want to do extreme close up shots or anything - I just want to see superwide and capture the scene around me including my arms / hands.
 
The wide angle lens just screws on to the ring around the lens.

There are some caveats which I expect to see when I fit this lens. When the zoom is at the wide angle setting there may be some distortion around the edges of the picture. ( vignetting - I think.) I had intrusion from my lens hood at the zoom wide angle setting but this is easily corrected by moving the zoom in slightly. There may also be some "barrelling" where the picture looks slightly distorted due to the super wide angle. So with this lens there may be compromises to be made but I will not know until I try it. You can correct most of the effects in your video editor. (You do have one? :D :thumbsup:)
 
The wide angle lens just screws on to the ring around the lens.

There are some caveats which I expect to see when I fit this lens. When the zoom is at the wide angle setting there may be some distortion around the edges of the picture. ( vignetting - I think.) I had intrusion from my lens hood at the zoom wide angle setting but this is easily corrected by moving the zoom in slightly. There may also be some "barrelling" where the picture looks slightly distorted due to the super wide angle. So with this lens there may be compromises to be made but I will not know until I try it. You can correct most of the effects in your video editor. (You do have one? :D :thumbsup:)

Ahh I see - you have been a great help thanks!

So what should I look for to get a happy balance. So something that is much wider than the 28mm default - but not so extreme that there is potential issues.

On the gopro, the superwide view actually introduces a "fish eye" effect - we actually don't go this extreme. We seem to be happy at the medium and wide angles. I guess this would be the equivalent to 22mm.. but i am talking about a subject I really know nothing about

Perhaps you can point me to another lens that's not as extreme as the first one then I can make my final choice. I can't search myself because I don't even know what to look for or what numbers are important

This will likely be my last ask of you ;-)
 
Most of the lenses I have looked at are around 0.45x I.E. about half of the focal length of the original lens setting. This does not matter as you can correct any extremes with the zoom.
As I said in my earlier post, I will not know of any concerns until I test the lens for myself. It is not an expensive bit of kit so will not be up to, say, Leica standards but I have bought and used Neewer equipment before and been very satisfied with the results.
 
I had intrusion from my lens hood at the zoom wide angle setting but this is easily corrected by moving the zoom in slightly.

I bought a 49mm lens hood for my HC-V750 for a bit better rain protection:

49mm Universal Tulip Plastic Center Pinch Lens Hood For DSLR SLR Camera

Rode%20VM%20on%20camera.jpg


I noticed that there there was some visible vignetting at the bottom-L & bottom-R corners of the image frame when the zoom was at 1x and the iris was fully open. This was not an issue in bright sunshine as the iris is stopped down sufficiently so that the outer periphery of the lens is not used in the formation of the image.

However, I shot a soccer match in the rain under lights and, with the aperture fully open and wanting to use full wide-angle a lot, the minor vignetting became an annoyance. I don't have time when shooting action to zoom back in a little to avoid the vignetting. So I decided to see if I could fix it.

First I tried screwing the hood in further. It was not possible to go an extra half-turn, even with the locking ring backed off or removed. (The wide parts of the hood petal need to be at the top & bottom.) The reason was the limited depth of the 49mm filter ring on the front of the camera & the greater length of the threaded section on the hood meant it was fully engaged and couldn't screw in any further.

So I decided to shorten the length of the threaded section on the hood a little. I put a piece of sandpaper on the ground and rubbed the back of the hood for a short time on the sandpaper. (The hood plastic is easy to abrade away.)

I thought I might have difficulty getting the shortened thread to start engaging the filter-mount thread, but had no issue with this whatsoever. I was prepared to use the hood locking ring to unwind out over the end of the thread to recut/reform the end section, but this was not necessary.

This sanding down gave me an extra half-turn. The vignetting was almost gone, but not quite. (I was testing in daylight, but I used Manual mode to force the iris fully open.)

I looked inside the hood and saw it had a thick circular step inside it. Two small portions of this step were just visible in-shot. I rubbed away with 40-grit sandpaper at the 4 o'clock & 8 o'clock parts of this step until the edge was chamfered enough and the vignetting was finally gone.

It's only a cheap hood but it's worth trying to get rid of this vignetting. If you stuff up the hood, no big deal.

Dan.
 
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Interesting item. My lens hood is made from rubber material and folds back on itself. With the hood fully forward there is considerable vignetting but when half way back there is slight shadowing at the widest zoom setting. Now I only fit it when I need to, low sun and direct shooting against the light.

I wish I could find a rain cover to fit camcorders with LCD screens.
 
Interesting item. My lens hood is made from rubber material and folds back on itself. With the hood fully forward there is considerable vignetting but when half way back there is slight shadowing at the widest zoom setting. Now I only fit it when I need to, low sun and direct shooting against the light.

I wish I could find a rain cover to fit camcorders with LCD screens.

Our lens just arrived and it doesn't fit :-( It's slightly too big and won't screw in

On the camera itself we saw this "Optical Zoom 46mm" - is that the problem? As we got a 49mm lens.

We got it on Amazon prime, so I think it should be easy to return it and replace with something else - but I need to know what to replace it with.

Pleasssse help :)

Edit:
I did a little bit of research and it seems neewer also sell a 46mm equivalent - I am just going to trust my instincts that that is the problem and order it.

But at least now you know that the 700 and 750 have different filter sizes
 
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No the info on the top of the 700 reads 46X iZoom. That is the recommended limit for the Intelligent Zoom on the camera. But inside the lens mount it says Optical zoom then the Diameter sign and 46mm.

My very sincere apologies, the 700 does have a 46mm mount, it is the 750 (which I use more) that has the 49mm mount. BUT look at:-
Neewer® 0.45x 46mm Professional 2IN1 Super Wide Angle Lens with Detachable Macro Close Up Conversion Lens

So Neewer does the wide angle lens in both 46 and 49mm. I do hope you have no problems exchanging the 49mm for the 46mm
 
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No the info on the top of the 700 reads 46X iZoom. That is the recommended limit for the Intelligent Zoom on the camera. But inside the lens mount it says Optical zoom then the Diameter sign and 46mm.

My very sincere apologies, the 700 does have a 46mm mount, it is the 750 (which I use more) that has the 49mm mount. BUT look at:-
Neewer® 0.45x 46mm Professional 2IN1 Super Wide Angle Lens with Detachable Macro Close Up Conversion Lens

So Neewer does the wide angle lens in both 46 and 49mm. I do hope you have no problems exchanging the 49mm for the 46mm

No problem at all - we will be upgrading to the 770 soon, so we decided to keep the 49mm lens anyway. We ordered the 46mm lens today so should receive it tomorrow. I will update this post with my opinion of it once it arrives.

:)
 
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No the info on the top of the 700 reads 46X iZoom. That is the recommended limit for the Intelligent Zoom on the camera. But inside the lens mount it says Optical zoom then the Diameter sign and 46mm.

My very sincere apologies, the 700 does have a 46mm mount, it is the 750 (which I use more) that has the 49mm mount. BUT look at:-
Neewer® 0.45x 46mm Professional 2IN1 Super Wide Angle Lens with Detachable Macro Close Up Conversion Lens

So Neewer does the wide angle lens in both 46 and 49mm. I do hope you have no problems exchanging the 49mm for the 46mm

So the correct lens came today and I tried it out. It gets A LITTLE wider. But not to much. You do see a bit of the black lens in the corners which you have to zoom in a little bit to get rid of... further reducing the width of course.

So it's better, but definitely nothing close to as wide as a go pro (even without setting it to its super wide option).

So what could likely be causing this - could it be that its a cheap lens and a slightly higher end one would go wider? Or is 0.45x or whatever is just not enough regardless of how much I spend and I'd need to find even wider.

But it's not wasted - it at least is a little better in the mean time :)
 
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There are a number of 0.25x FishEye lenses.(Just put 46mm Fisheye into Amazon)
The price would not affect the wide angle of 0.45x, which is roughly twice the angle of the camcorder lens itself, but could affect the quality of the picture produced. The point is that the wider you go, the more distortion you will create.

It depends on what you want to achieve. Is it a 180 degree shot? or a panorama? There are cameras that will give 180 degree shots and there is software that will string a number of photos together to give a panorama. ( I use Serif Photo Panorama) If I want to create a decent wide angle shot, I will take a couple of shots with slight overlap, usually on a tripod to keep the camera plane horizontal, and use Photo Panorama to create a long and rather narrow panorama shot. I will usually print out on A3 paper as A4 compresses the total photo too much.

Camcorder lenses are a compromise. They want to give a decent zoom range but not generate too much distortion. Most photographers tend to use the zoom facility to frame a shot and give emphasis to the subject. This usually means "zooming in" to give a good composition and cut out irrelevant items such as telegraph poles or bushes. The wide angle end of the zoom is used when space is limited (often inside) and it is difficult to frame the required shot because of the close proximity of subject to camera. Of course some people want massive zoom capability to turn their camera into an astronomical telescope.

Do let us know how you get on.
 
Fisheye-lens ( or similar Adaptors ) will create a distortion that shows up on some shots more than others ( probably not-good for buildings ).
OP doesn't like the handling of the GoPro - but presumably has one . . . so would a better means of holding suffice?

Similar WA "Action Camcorders" like Drift are differently shaped, although not esp. cheap . . . this might be easier to use . . . I guess it's up to OP to research the Action-Cam market, rather than use Adaptors which will distort the camcorder optics.

-Just a thought - that some Video-Editors do allow distortion to be "removed" by adjusting the pixels slightly - there are "fixes" for popular lenses and one of these may be near-enough to suit the situation.
+ The Panasonic camcorders with "Level" should be particularly suitable so the movie remains "level" for modest errors. Which a wide-shot will emphasize.
+DYOR. Good Luck.
 
Neewer® 0.45x 49mm Professional 2IN1 Super Wide Angle Lens with Detachable Macro Close Up Conversion Lens for DSLR Camera
I promised a comment on this lens when it arrived.
The lens consists of two parts, the back or "Macro" section and the front element. Together they make up the wide angle lens.
I fitted the combined lens to my HC-V750. It effectively doubled the field of view and showed how useful it will be for indoor filming. Surprisingly there was minimal vignetting at the widest angle setting on the zoom. Application of a small amount of zoom cleared this and still gave a wider angle than the camera lens on its own.
Removing the front element but leaving the macro element gave a focussed close up to approximately 1cm. My only concern was that at that distance, it would be very difficult to light the subject.
All considered, I will find this lens a very useful addition to my kit.
 
I have one very similar, but I bought mine for the Stills camera NEX5 - I've used it in movie-mode and using the CU part alone, it really needs to be outside looking eg lichen . . . flowers need to be held to prevent wind-movement, which might ( Surely not?) be thought to be Operator error....as the movement is greatly magnified too.
Indoors; I guess under-lit Stamps /slides might be OK. With slides, the light-source may give rise to hot-spots, unless an Opal screen is used at the expense of Contrast.
 
Thank you

If you try one would be interested to know how well it works :) Ringflashes are of course used for extreme close up still photographs. The light coming from all sides eliminates extreme shadows and of course helps to maximise depth of field by allowing smaller stop numbers.
 
Send us a report, pse.
I find On-Line sources so devoid of tech info....
Surely the first Q isn't how many LEDs does it contain....what's the size of the hole and will it fit over my lens?
Also at first glance I couldn't see how it fixes, or where the "dimmer" is operated, etc.

As glt says it should be great for CU work, providing shadow-free images.
The only snag, as I see it, is that you may want to have slightly greater illumination from one side to give a sense of "depth" - shadowless lighting is fine for most aspects of photography /movies . . . but not all. A small piece of a paper label ( like PostIt ) will provide a fix.

Oddly, it claims the light isn't flashing*, but then claims it is dimmable..... this is usually achieved ( to save battery-power) by switching the LEDs very quickly - so saying it's not flashing is untrue . . . and should be recognised as the dimming feature, if (for example) the frequency is over 100Hz, so it won't create strobe effects if the object is rotating, etc.
I'd expect the freq to be over 1000Hz....but perhaps we can be told?

* maybe a language/communication issue...trying to say it's not like a flash gun . . . as most ring-lights were "flash" - creating difficulty when trying to focus-close on something rather dark.... and useless for movies. LEDs resolve these issues and Dimmable means the user can adjust the light-level as required.
 

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