Which Raynox?

[Nod]

I have fairly recently bought myself a Fuji HS30 which has a zoom that starts at 24mm. My tastes run toward the wide angle and I reckon that sometimes, that may not be wide enough. I'm not necessarily after the full fisheye effect - I prefer less distortion than that unless it's a proper fisheye 180° shot, so a 0.5x converter should do, I reckon. I've had a look at a few sites that sell Raynox converters but they all seem to just list the model numbers and give no proper details about the things! The camera's filter thread is 58mm, so which one do I need? Not that fussed about the Macro thing - the camera's reasonably competent at close ups on its own and I have a proper Macro lens for when I want proper Macro.

 

[beyond the blue]

I take it you've tried http://www.raynox.co.jp/english/egindex.htm It seems to explain most things they have.

 

[Nod]

To be honest Neil, I haven't! It didn't come up on the first couple of pages when I Googled - possibly because I have set my filters to keep things as UK based as possible!

If anyone has used a Raynox WA adaptor on a bridge, maybe they could post a shot or 2 - especially in the bridge used was a Fuji HS30!

 

[Nod]

Have visited now and think I've made my choice! To my eyes and tastes, the HD5050pro, 7000pro and 732/731 all appear to distort too much while the 6600pro looks far better. I bet that's the most expensive option! Anyone know the best/cheapest supplier, bearing in mind that I don't and won't use e-bay!

 

[Nod]

Just hit the button on http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raynox-HD-6600PRO-58-HD-6600-Pro/dp/B00009UTK2 . IIRC, the filter thread on my 50mm f/1.8 is 58mm as well, so will the Raynox converter convert that to a 33mm f/1.8 or will there be a speed reduction? No problem if there is a reduction - at that width, I would be using relatively small apertures for greater DoF anyway. And, I'm pretty sure it would be faster than the alternative of a 24-70 f/2.8 Sigma @33mm. (Remains to be seen which gives better IQ! Will report back once I've had a play.)

Looking at a few other suppliers' prices, once P&P has been added (mainly, it seems, from Germany), Amazon's price is best, plus the fact that while the thing is supplied by British Bargains, the order is fulfilled by Amazon rather than by a completely unknown (and, by me, untrusted supplier).

 

[Nod]

Well, the thing arrived yesterday but it doesn't fit! the rear element of the converter protrudes ever so slightly behind the body of the thing and the front element of the HS30's lens is very close to the rim of its filter thread. A folded lens cleaning tissue was sacrificed (oh dear, the expense!) as some sort of protection and sure enough, the 2 pieces of glass make contact before the threads do. An empty filter (glass removed) could be pressed into service as a spacer but having tried a polariser to see if the concept worked, there's severe vignetting at the wider end, only stopping at 50mm - 33mm after the converter's done its job, so no wider than the lens on its own.

Never mind, Amazon's returns department are very good, so there should be no problem returning it for a refund. Shame though! 24mm should be wide enough for most shots I'm likely to take anyway.