On Fri, 02 May 2003 08:01:00 -0400, johnpower@verobeachlaw.com wrote:

>My daughter is very involved in dance and I find myself at shows and

>performances quite often. I have a TRV-900 that I use to film these

>events.

>

>I often find myself quite far from the stage. I take these videos,

>write them to DVD and give them to the girls for what amounts to the

>cost of the DVD disk.

>

>I want to get as clear and detailed a video as possible so I have 2

>questions:

>

>1. Assuming I continue to use the Sony, is there a specific brand or

>model of lens I can get that would maximize the quality of the image

>under these circumstances?

>

>2. Assuming I am willing to spend the money to step up my system,

>what would be a good choice for these circumstances? I don't mind a

>bit more size but I don't want a camera that is more trouble than it

>is worth to haul around since I need it for other events also

>

>Incidentally, the sound pick-up on the Sony is really good. It amazes

>me sometimes how good it picks up sound.

Sony makes an "HG" series of lens converters, and offers

one in 58mm-thread size (there may also be one in 52mm,

but you can step-up the 52mm of the camera to 58mm with

a cheap step-up ring). This is 1.7X, as I recall. A tad longer

is the 20X zoom on the Canon GL2 (and it will accept the

same 58mm-threaded Sony 1.7X [or Canon may also make

one], giving even greater lens length). Since the zoom

alone on the TRV900 is about 500mm equivalent in

35mm-format, adding to this length will increase image

stability and focus problems (and generally reduce the

lens image quality). Best solution: get closer...