On Wed, 13 Nov 2002 23:28:47 -0500, "Tom" wrote:

>I use a Raynox .6[6]x wide-angle lens adaptor with a Sony VX2000 camcorder.
>This lens flares rather easily, so I would like to use a lens hood with it.
>
>Unfortunately, the cheap wide-angle hoods I've tried end up in the picture,
>albeit in the TV-safe area. I hesitate to try buying lots of brand-name lens
>hoods not knowing what works and what doesn't.
>
>I did a few tests to help determine the extent of what is going on:
>http://members.directvinternet.com/~tjstrano/vignette/notes.html
>
>Can anyone suggest a lens hood that could be used with this wide angle lens?
>A $400+ matte box system is overkill, and more than I would want to spend on
>a lens hood anyway!

I would be satisfied with the vignette shown from
the 72mm shade (what is it - I want one! ;-). I
use now a 72mm Nikkor shade for their old 20mm f3.5,
and add a plastic can-top that just fits - with a
rectangle cut-out of the right size in it (the plastic
is painted black, the cap just snaps on and allows
rotation of the rectangle to line up with the image).
The result helps, but it is too shallow to be ideal.
For other WA converters, I use a small "lip"
rubber-banded to the top of the converter, extending
out just short of entering the image. I've been tempted
to try to find a large, deep hood for the Raynox
to use with step-up rings (I have a 72->82...), then
use the "cut-out rectangle in cap" method of
restricting the view. For those wondering why we
would bother, it is due to the excellence of the
Raynox .66X image quality (sharpness to corners
and low linear distortion relative to others) from
WA to about 2/3rds the way to tele zoom... A flag
would work well for a tripod-mounted camera, but not
for hand-holding, with continuous motion.