Sony DSR PD 170 Camcorder Question, what does the wide conversion lens do?

Question

I purchased a Sony DSR PD 170 camcorder and it came with an additional lens. It's a "wide conversion" lens and it put it on and didn't tell much difference, does anyone know what it's supposed to do and what situations to use it?

Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

basically it'll extend the viewing image to accommodate more information to the chip.

see wiki for more details.

Answer 2

Basically it will compress a wider field of view into your shot, essentially like getting more of your image from the left and right (and top and bottom for that matter) that would normally be off screen, onto the screen.

It's not a hugely powerful lens though, so you might not notice too much difference.  Try locking off your camera, recording a few seconds without the lens, a few seconds with it and compare the footage to get an idea of what it can do.

Answer 3

The lens is wide angle for a larger viewing area that gets filmes.  Great for group shots and wider landscape coverage.