Raynox HD-6600PRO49 49mm High Quality Wideangle Lens, 0.66X

Rating:
Summary: Best Wide Angle Conversion Lens for the Money.
Review: First off, ignore the review of the person who had a customer service problem who posted here. I own several Raynox conversion lenses, and they are all high-quality, well-made products and are a good value. No business in a mass-consumer market can please all its customers.

Now, about this lens. I consider it to be the best of its type out there, dollar for dollar. Its construction is solid and its optics are of high quality. It is also just the right weight. Not too light as to be cheaply constructed, but not too heavy as to put too much pressure on the camera that supports it. This is a substantial chunk of glass.

The knock on most WA converters is that they don't really buy you that much in terms of increasing the view field. However, this lens from Raynox increases the field of view by 50%. WA conversion lenses also frequently suffer from nasty barrel distortion. The Raynox 6600 does the best job at keeping barrel distortion to a minimum, at the expense - perhaps, of a little edge softness. On my camera model it will sometimes vignette slightly in the top corners but this is easily corrected with a photo editor.

Wide angle converters are great for indoor shots in cramped quarters (note, you MUST use an external flash if using this WA adapter, as the on-board flash will produce a shadow on the subject...), as well as architectural work, and landscapes. I consider it "a must" for any serious hobbiest of digital photography. They all have their limitations, but the Raynox DCR did a nice job overall with this converter, especially regarding the degree in the increase of field view, and minimizing barrel distortion. It is the best value for this type of conversion lens.



Rating:
Summary: Disappointment with Raynox product
Review: This review is not for this product specifically, but more on the quality of Raynox products themselves. I have included below the transcript from a series of e-mails between Raynox and myself. This is unedited, exactly as the exchange went. Needless to say, I am very unhappy with their product and their customer service, and I will never buy another one of their items. I offer my experience only to help others avoid a waste of money. Read my story and make up your own mind. But, at the very least, take careful consideration before buying one of their products. The one positive thing I will say about Raynox is that they DID respond to me in a very timely fashion, their first response was within 45 minutes of my e-mail. I just wish the content of the response would have been as pleasing as it's speed.

Me:
Within the past year, I have purchased two Raynox lenses for my Sony Mini-DV camcorder. I purchased the DVR-3000, for $120.45, and the DVR-5000, for $49.95. To say that I have been disappointed with these
products is an understatement. With the DVR-5000, the wide-angle lens, when I was zoomed-out completely, there was severe vignetting, and when zoomed in, the only clear part of the image was the very center.
Everything else was distorted and fuzzy. I put the DVR-5000 in my closet and purchased a competitor's lens, as I was already out of my 30 days since my purchase. Unfortunately, I did not need the DVR-3000
for several months. This past weekend, I used it at the San Diego Chargers football game to take 73 digital stills. These images looked fine on my LCD screen, but when I got home and downloaded them to my computer, I found the exact same problem that I had had with the other lens. But, this is a telephoto, I'm SUPPOSED to be able to zoom in. The images were all fuzzy and distorted, except for the very center.
These images are absolutely useless to me and have proven that I wasted almost $200 on Raynox product. Now, I have to purchase a competitor's lens, for a lot more money, and I am unable to do that at this
time. Therefore, not only am I out of my original investment, but I am losing business, as I am a professional videographer. I wanted to give Raynox an opportunity to correct this. Please have someone contact me by e- mail or phone.

Raynox:
I do not know what camera model you used but DVR-5000 is a standard quality wide-angle lens and like every conversion there is no " Perfect matching" for some camera models. The DVR-5000 works perfect.
I would suggest HD-5000PRO for present mini-DV camcorders. The DVR-3000 is not designed for digital stills and the quality is up to standard TV screen resolution.

Me:
I am currently using the Sony DCR-PC330. Now, my bigger complaint is with the DVR-3000. What am I supposed to do if my video is also fuzzy? It's not just the digital stills, and it's not a resolution problem. It's that the entire image is fuzzy and also has some color distortion.

Raynox:
Again, there are no "Perfect Matching" for some camera models.

Me:
Ok, I am just trying to understand this. The lens fits physically perfectly to my camera, without an adapter. What do you mean by "perfect matching" and how can I tell if that's the problem?

Raynox:
The DVR-3000 is long discontinued . The camcorder you are using is over 3 megapixels and not recommended to use such a lens .

Me:
Well, I can't say that I am exactly happy with Raynox's answer. You have basically said that the lens is not of a high enough quality to operate with my resolution, and we're only talking 3 megapixel here. I would still have to say that I will never buy another Raynox product. The fact remains that I now have to spend $250 on another lens and basically throw away the $120 Raynox lens I have already purchased.