JVC GL-V0746U Wide Conversion Lens

Comments about JVC GL-V0746U Wide Conversion Lens:

Great lens for a video camera if you want a bit more width say indoors or scenery. Good quality lens with little distortion.

Comments about JVC GL-V0746U Wide Conversion Lens:

I bought this for my Panasonic TM-700, as a lower-priced alternative than Panasonic's own wide-angle adapter (which US retailers don't seem to carry.)

Overall, it is a good match. Center sharpness is EXCELLENT (basically as good as without the converter.) Corner/corner sharpness is degraded slightly, but it's by no means blurry. I was pleasantly surprised to see no increase in color-fringing (chromatic aberration), or light falloff, even at the corners.

The only real detractors are FLARE and BARREL DISTORTION. Flare is substantial -- when shooting into the sun's light (even if you are not pointing camera directly at the sun), a lot of speckles/artifacts appear in the frame. Some people might use this as an 'artistic highlight', but there's no easy way to control it (unless you carry an umbrella, or make your own hood.)

The barrel-distortion is substantial. The TM-700's built-in 12x zoom already has visible distortion when fully zoomed-out (wide.) With the JVC wide-angle mounted, the barrel-distortion is increased even more; this is especially noticeable at the wide-end of the zoom (where people are likely to spend most of their time). Buildings, sign, and basically anything with straight lines curve noticeably.

Of minor concern, the JVC adapter causes vignetting in the strongest OIS-mode (wide-shot). It's only visible when moving the camera vigorously back and forth fully zoomed-out (with the JVC adapter attached.) If you control your movements, or use the regular-OIS mode (or turn it off altogether), then there is no vignetting. I consider this minor, because it's reasonably avoidable. And finally, the front filter-ring (72mm) is too short to mount anything else...I tried, but it seems there is less than 2 screw threads.

In terms of handling, the adapter screws on easily and securely. (I've had problems screwing on cheap 46mm filters, so it's nice that the adapter is easy to mount.) It adds a lot of weight to the front of the camcorder, making it 'front-heavy.' It took a little practice to rebalance my hand with the shift in center of gravity.

Regrettably, I've never had the opportunity to try the Panasonic VW-W4607H, which is the wide-angle adapter designed specifically for the TM-700/HS-700 series. So I cannot make any comparisons.

Comments about JVC GL-V0746U Wide Conversion Lens:

This is a great product for the price especially needed on occasion for close quarter coverage.

Comments about JVC GL-V0746U Wide Conversion Lens:

Very good quality and hardly noticed if any light loss or distortion. I am not an expert on lenses but was glad to purchase this lens to enhance the performance of my JVC GY-HM100 camcorder.