Wide angle lens works only with certain cameras?

CuriousOne · Joined: 31 Dec 2013 Posts: 669 Location: Home

Hello.

A friend of mine donated Sony wide angle lens, VCL-MHG07. He bought it a decade ago, to use with his camcorder, but it is too huge, so he haven't used it. This is very nicely made piece of lens (he paid $450 for it!), has 52mm thread and adapters for 58mm and 37mm are included. Just for curiosity, I've tried to use it on modern DSLRs, sony and nikon. It is not possible to achieve focus at any zoom or focus setting. But, with smartphones, tablets, and point & shoots it works just fine, and delivers much better results that any cheapo ebay wide angle lens. From this, I can conclude that this lens has a register distance, which matches the register distance of smartphones and point & shoots. But, as literature says, front mounted tele and wide angle converters are afocal systems, therefore, they should not have the register distance?

WolverineX · Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:12 am Post subject:

that's because it's add-on lens, you have to screw it in on a proper lens to work and then it widens that lens focal lenght by x0.7 (35mm wide angle becames 24,5mm , 24mm becomes around 17mm). it works on tablets, mobile phones and p&s cameras because they have integrated lens

buerokratiehasser · Joined: 12 Jun 2011 Posts: 470

I never heard of these 0.7/0.5/1.5/2/3 multiplier giving no focus.
Sadly, many of them achieve focus and their image is like angry violet orange salad - worse than simply cropping.
Wait, did you try to use them as only lens or what?

Some of these are "matched" to other lenses though (usually compact cameras) in that they are optimised for them; will of course still be 0.7x with other lenses but not matched to it.

Gerald · Joined: 25 Mar 2014 Posts: 1196 Location: Brazil

Surely the attachment is not a true afocal system. The virtual image is being formed at too short distance to be focused by the lens of the DSLR camera. Maybe you can achieve focus if you insert an appropriate close-up lens between the camera lens and the attachment. An extension ring between camera and zoom should work, too.

CuriousOne · Joined: 31 Dec 2013 Posts: 669 Location: Home

Extension ring does not helps, sort of. I.e. if I handheld the attachment and move it avay from camera, focus trough it is achieved at about 1 meter distance from camera, but picture is unusable.

Regarding the quality, this is genuine sony product, not cheap chinese junk, so for example, on my Canon A490 results are great in terms of sharpness, ca and so on.

CuriousOne · Joined: 31 Dec 2013 Posts: 669 Location: Home

Tried with close-up lens. The 5 diopter allowed to focus when adapter was only 5cm away from the lens, so this is direction to right step. But I'd like to know, why it does not works without close-up adapter?

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

I guess it depends on distance between lens and the converter.
So it will work for some lenses but not for others on SLR lenses, depending on optical lens design and distance between glass and filter screwmount.

Sony wide angle converter have a very good reputation in general, I suppose you have an at least very decent peace there, free of any "angry violet orange salad" Wink

Gerald · Joined: 25 Mar 2014 Posts: 1196 Location: Brazil