>ouch that hurt my head :-)
>data overload , DOES compute
>thanks Mester Ruther that is what i wanted to know
>
>only one question, (of course)
>you said something about DOF
>and that outdoors is ok
>if i use the raynox 6600 INDOORS
>on wide with my vx-2000
>will i have any focus softening from the addition
>is it clear and crisp when the iris is way open too ?

??????
That is how I checked it: wide open - and it is
the best so far on the VX-2000 at the widest zoom
setting and widest stop for far corner performance
(a subtle bit better than the excellent WD-58 Canon),
and noticeably better for distortion. Its failing:
you cannot zoom through the entire range without
getting first flarey corners, then overall poor
performance toward the tele end. Darn! ;-)
I would expect it to perform similarly at the short
end stopped down, unless the optics are decentered.
I have not tried it at the long end stopped down
in bright light - it may be acceptable then...

>In other words, would i be ok using this to show the inside of a building
>that the realestate people want to make look as big as it is. or the inside
>of a boat cabin, things where having a WA is so usefull.

Yes - it is ideal for this - except that it is not
very wide... (I prefer fisheyes for showing interiors,
since they show MUCH more, but keep size relationships
between parts of the scene more "normal" than with
rectangular-perspective wide lenses.

>ok make that 2 questions
>
>how did it MOUNT ?
>its kinda one of them set screw things right
>but it had a adapter to get to the 58
>does the adapter screw on ?
>then the lens set screw on ?

No - it comes with a native 58mm thread, metal,
as I recall. Most of the barrel is short and
light plastic, with a metal rear section.
It is MUCH lighter than the Canon, and shorter.

>if it wont zoom , i want to be able to dump it in less than 10 seconds, when
>i tripod
>then put it back on in the same when hand held.
>and for less distortion when going wide i would deal with a lense
>changeover, unless that is impracticle for shooting a party event.

The 6600 would not be easy to remount fast, but could
be removed quickly. BTW, the much wider Sony ES06
screws in, but then has a quick-release for
mounting/unmounting. And the curvature is much kinder
to people shapes, and keeps people from looking fat
at the picture edges. I prefer having barrel distortion
when shooting people with wide-angles...

>i actually have a 72 hood an polarizer , good thing i didnt sell them :-)
>my guess is the 72 star filter wouldnt cut it on the front ?

I have not tried filters yet to see how much clearance
there is on specific cameras...

>think i need a glossary
>
>Vignetting is - running out to the edge of the lens , seen as going black on
>the now rounded corners.

Yes - it is generally slight, except with some fisheyes.

>Diaphragm ghosts are- secondary reflections from more glass, seen as flies
>around light sources.

"Ghosts" are a string of diaphragm images running out from
the light source.

>Barrel distortion is - how the pic bends all around the outside edges, seen
>as curves in straight items the further from center they get.

Yes. And "pincushion" distortion is the reverse. In some
lenses you can find "wavey-line" distortion which is
an unhappy combination of barrel and pincushion (a happy
combination would at least partially cancel the predominant
distortion type).

>Pass Through Distortion is- If your lenses are wacked to begin with, adding
>more lenses makes it worse, seen as places in the pic that bend off from the
>normal wide distortions.

The converter is unlikely to correct lens distortions;
if there is barrel (or the worse pincushion) in the lens
a no-distortion converter is added to, it is likely
those distortions will still show.

>Flare is - light bouncing off of all glass, seen as concentric circles or
>star shapes blowing through the lense off of light sources

This is more closely related to "ghosts", but is in the
fuzzy area between these two closely-related faults.
"Flare" is a diffuse illumination in the image that spoils
dark tones (especially black), and can often originate even
from very light-toned areas in the image (a fogged filter,
many scratches on the lens, or much internal fungus would
do this).

>Zoom Through is - the ability for the camera to maintain focus while zooming
>even with the addition of the lens, seen as you can still focus when zoomed
>up.

Yes - and one hopes lens sharpness will also be maintained,
but this is rarely true with fisheye attachments and, it appears,
it is also not true with the 6600, darn...

>Stepping Rings - adapters to go from one thread size to another

Yes. Rarely can you step down without vignetting, but the
52mm-threaded Sony ES06 will mount on the 58mm-threaded
VX-2000 with a step-down ring without vignetting. Many
simple and achromatic close-up lenses can also be used
with step-down rings without problems.

>.3 .5 .7X - are how much wider the pic is reletive to the original lens

It is the magnification factor for the lens FL when the
converter is mounted on the lens, at any FL the zoom is
set at; the converter also shortens the lens FL at its
longest FL setting. If the converter cannot be used through
the whole zoom range, it seriously limits the availability
of long FLs when mounted by shortening the lens at
any particular zoom setting, and also by restricting the
range of available zoom settings... (But, some of us are
WA nuts, anyway, so.....;-)

>"Neuman - Ruether" wrote in message
>news:3b5454c1.9509132@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu...
>>
>> The Raynox HD6600-58 .66X WA converter with
>> 58mm thread mounting size (for the VX-2000 and
>> GL-1) just arrived from Edmamarketing, in Canada
>> (nice folks to deal with - and this was a special-order
>> item for them, $93 US, with UPS ground shipping --
>> www.edmamarketing.com). I compared it briefly
>> (and quickly - so some of this may change...) with
>> the Sony VCL-ES06 .6X on a 58mm->52mm
>> step-down ring (it does not vignette in the TV-safe
>> area, but does in the computer-monitor image at full
>> WA), and a Canon WD-58mm .7X. The 6600 is
>> claimed to be very low in linear distortion, and
>> zoom-through. It is a very compact and light, with
>> a 72mm front thread (unlike the others, which have
>> no front threads) for a shade and/or front filter (I
>> did not try these to see if they would vignette, or
>> if just a 72mm->77/82mm stepping ring would
>> vignette). All three showed diaphragm ghosts with
>> bright small light sources, but very little flare. The
>> FL of the .66X Raynox appears to relate accurately
>> to the .7X Canon, but the ".6X" Sony is considerably
>> wider (close to .5X in practice). The center and
>> corner FL rating of the Raynox is the same,
>> indicating that it has low distortion, but it will pass
>> through the distortion of the lens it is on, so with the
>> VX-2000 there is a slight barrel distortion at the
>> zoom widest setting with the Raynox on, but much
>> less than the WD-58 shows, and far less than the
>> noticeably wider ES06 shows. The 6600 is not
>> zoom-through, a disappointment - it is good through
>> about 1/4 the zoom range before the corners soften
>> and show flare, giving an angle of view similar to the
>> ES06 at its limit (before focus is lost) of about 1/2
>> the zoom range (the ES06 therefore has a slightly
>> wider useable zoom range); the WD-58 is truly
>> zoom-through, and is sharp at the full zoom tele
>> position. At the widest zoom position, the 6600 is
>> quite sharp overall, and very good in the picture
>> corners; the WD-58 and ES06 are also quite sharp,
>> and only a touch less sharp in the corners (but not
>> soft) at the lens' widest stop - the picture quality
>> from all three on the VX-2000 is top-class. So,
>> there you have it - still no zoom-through .5X that is
>> sharp to the corners at all FLs wide-open, but if you
>> can take some barrel distortion and only .7X, the
>> Canon WD-58 is excellent; if you are bugged by
>> barrel distortion and want a tad wider converter
>> with a hair better corner performance, and can do
>> 'without much zooming ability, the Raynox
>> HD6600-58 is for you; if you want excellent
>> performance, some zooming ability, and a
>> noticeably wider angle of view, but with
>> considerable barrel distortion, the Sony
>> VCL-ES06 is a good choice (and it is the
>> cheapest/smallest/lightest of the lot...). As usual,
>> there is no free lunch - and no one perfect WA
>> converter for the VX-2000, but one can own
>> a good selection for specific purposes without
>> going broke (unless the Century .3X is your
>> thing...;-).