Canon Wide Converter WD-H37 II

I would recommended this to anyone who needs a wider angle from their HF10/100; I'm using it on a HF100. It's not perfect...

Two small problems, but definitely not show stoppers.

There is a slight distortion when filming but it will go mostly unnoticed. Unless you film symmetrical objects or have straight lines, even then the casual viewer won't noticed it, but if you're someone that knows a bit about images it can be seen.

The other problem is slight color distortion at the higher zoom settings. This is fixed by just removing the lens, a little inconvenient but chances are if you're using that much zoom you probably don't need the WD-H37 II for that shot.

Even with that said I'm still very happy with it. Just remember you now have a lens cap to remove!

I've been using this with a Canon Legria HF200 (Vixia if you're in the US territories) and it is very helpful indeed. The shortest focal length on that camera is a bit too narrow for a lot of the shots I often want to do, and the WD-H37 sorted that problem out in one easy step. It is a bit pricey though and I'd suggest trying well-known auction sites and a certain chap's "list" before buying it new, just make sure you are getting the Mk II version. The converter comes with a leather tote bag and lens/end caps.

There are slight problems which are plainly visible with this converter lens, but neither of them would stop me using it. The first issue is the barrel distortion, which is pretty much expected with a wide angle converter anyway. It makes straight lines appear to bulge outwards away from centre frame. Not really a problem unless there is a lot of geometry visible in shot, a grid pattern, or parallel lines. The other problem is colour distortion and slight chromatic aberration but it's reasonably well-controlled considering this is just a converter lens for consumer video cameras.