Sony VCL-HGE07A Wide-End Conversion Lens
Sony VCL-HGE07A Lens at Amazon.
Been looking for a wide angle lens for my camcorder for the longest time. The recommended one (VCL-HG0737C) from Sony can cost upwards from $150 to $200. Recently, I noticed the VCL-HGE07A, a more compact wide-lens available for $230 from the Sony site, but only $80 from Amazon.
I guess really - you do get what you pay for. However, I couldn’t figure if Amazon was just mispricing the item or if it’s really worth only $80. Sony afterall priced it at $230 on their site, well above the $200 of the recommended lens.
On opening the package, it seems a fine-quality lens. Very strongly built. However, there are details that just won’t do - at least for me. First, there are no lens caps available. The pouch is nice, but remember it’s a large lens. Getting it out and avoiding touching the lens is a pain. Next is using the lens on the camcorder - the quality is nice but you cannot zoom whatsoever. I did not see this mentioned in any description of the product. It only states this on the manual - which you have to open the product to read. So in other words, I must snap off the wide lens every time I want to zoom in on something.
I guess if you want only to have wide angle - it’s an okay lens. But really, for $80 to not ever zoom, to have to snap off the lens but not have a lens cap to protect it - I’d rather save up for the $150 lens.
