On Thu, 22 Nov 2001 07:31:02 GMT, "Bill Farnsworth" wrote:

>
>"Kyril Cvetkov" wrote in message
>news:3BFC83A1.A2B05EE5@rdrop.com...
>> I just bought the manual 14x XL Lens for my Canon XL1, and it really
>> vignettes badly at certain focal lengths (closer to the long end) in the
>> lower right corner. All the corners get somewhat dark, but the
>> lower-right corner becomes almost black. It really looks terrible. Is
>> this typical of this lens, or did I just get a defective one?

>If the focal length is short and the focus is pulled close, the vignette is
>typical for most lenses, even in the broadcast line.

As for the asymetrical corner darkening, it is common in
"prosumer" gear to have the CCD not mounted on the exact
center of the lens. This is really annoying with some types
of WA converters and close-up gear that may vignette,
let alone lens shades. Sony, with the VX-2000 and PD-150,
appears finally to have addressed this: the CCDs of these
I have checked are much better centered than they were in
earlier gear (but the centering is still not perfect,
alas...). Sometimes an internal obstruction in the camera
is also at fault - I have seen edges (not just corners)
darken due to this...