Raynox DCR-6600Pro 0.66x HD Wide Angle Conversion Lens (52mm)

I wanted to take wide-angle photographs with my Canon Powershot S1 IS, and so I looked around for the best bang for the buck, and I came across this. This fits right on to my camera (with the Canon lens adapter which ends in 52mm male threads) with a solid, tight fit. The end of the lens has a grip that at first made me think I could turn it, but you can't, which was not a problem. I guess it's just there to help you steady the camera.The lens comes with two lens caps, in a plastic case with foam padding in the bottom. In short, it oozes class and quality. The pictures you can get from it are excellent; depending on how much you zoom, you can even get a slight fisheye effect. Now I'm not a camera pro, but I didn't notice problems with vignetting or softer areas in my pictures.There are two things you should look out for, though. The first: make sure your camera case is large enough to hold this on your camera! Taking the lens off and putting it back on is a real pain. The second: the auto-focus feature on your camera doesn't quite know what to do with this lens, so it may not focus correctly (occasionally) or it may take longer to focus (usually). That's not a problem exclusive to this particular lens, but to add-on lenses as a whole.If you're looking for a quality wide-angle 52mm lens, this is it.

Overall I'm happy with this lens and how it looks/feels on my HV20.I too bought this because it was recommended by the HV20 forum.Be sure to buy the 43-52mm step-up ring to use this lens on the HV20.Pros1. It has very minimal distortion, but does get soft somewhere around 6x zoom (as the Raynox site indicates).2. It is nice and light, much lighter than the Canon Wide-angle for the HV20.Cons1. Lens flare is pretty bad. I could understand if it were just sunlight that caused the flare, but even a 60W light-bulb causes it also.I tried to mitigate the flare by buying the Canon lens hood (X-A1?) to put around it, and this improves it, but if the sun or a light makes it's way into the lens the problem is still there.Nonetheless, I recommend this far above the Merkury one, which has horrible barrel distortion (and faulty advertising nonetheless. It's really a ~.7x, not a .45X due to the macro that you have to use with it).

I had high hopes for this converter as my only other Raynox product, the DCR-250 macro converter is absolutely awesome.This arrived well packaged & looked a sturdy well constructed lens, however, when I have experimented using it with my Lumix FZ40, I gain no additional wide angle advantage at all once I have either zoomed the lens to remove the vignetting, or cropped the vignetting from the image. The end result is exactly the same as the images taken with the camera's 24mm lens at its widest angle without the converter - with the addition of a little distortion. I am sure this would work well with a 50mm lens but with the Lumix it is a waste of $90.

An older sony TRV series camcorder I had was equipped with a wide angle lens that made you seasick when watching the footage. Since then, I've been weary of going with these types of lenses. However, after reading lots of comments on various forums, I opted to give this lens a try as the increased field of view was something I desired.First time I used it, I was blown away at how much more I could see and how little bending/curving there was to the image. Zooming in increases the curve but still, it's very tolerable.Solid lens, you won't be disappointed with it!

This lens is excellent on the front of my HV30. BUT I also have a $30 Merkury wide angle lens and IMO frankly the $100 price difference is not even remotely justified. See Merkury Innovations CL-52WB 52mm High Definition 0.45X Wide Angle Lens - it has slightly soft outside edges (can be cropped in your NLE) , but otherwise is fantastic.I think that the eye is not as aware (or at all) of outstanding technical specifications as we would hope on a TV. Perhaps this is THE lens to get if you are showing your footage on the side of a barn, but on a TV...save the $$$. Really - you won't notice at all.update Sept 06 2008: After editing a good few hours of HDV footage and comparing the cheap and the $$$ Raynox 6600 WA lenses close up, the Raynox is a more consistent and reliable bet than the Merkury. I eat my words. DANG! I wanted to sell it.

Very low image quality. Totally degrades the value of your DSLR.

I'm a fan of landscape photography and this is the perfect accessory for my Canon PS S3IS. It is good because it has a front thread (72 mm) to put filters on. I often use this with a Linear Polarizer and it produces a slight vignetting that can be eliminated with a small push in the zoom rocker (from 1x to 1.1x) so it is not really something I regret. It converts my 36 mm Equivalent focal length into 24 mm, which broadens the field of view substantially. Barrel distortion with this converter is negligible when compared to the camera's own performance and to other Wide Angle Converters. I totally recommend it.

My Raynox DCR-6600PRO has proved it's worth. As the owner of 2 Canons with a too-narrow field of view, it was mighty difficult to get "inclusive" video when crammed inside a house, or small venue, so I bought one for my HF M41. The Raynox fits the bill all day long. Image quality is excellent, and it looks rather impressive on my camera coupled with a wide-angle hood. If I had any complaint at all it would be only when zooming in approaching the high-end of my zoom (10x). Purple fringing and a bit of barrel-roll will rear it's ugly head. Don't let that be a put-off, you CAN zoom with it (to a point), and why would you max your zoom with a WA lens? I have used this lens professionally, and am considering buying another, THAT's how much I like it.