Digital 8 Camera's

[GrizzlyAdams]

I have a digi 8 ( And NO , lets not go on about film is best and all that rot - I dont care - and its been done already )

Should I invest in a wide angle lense ?

( no doubt, If I dont know, then I wont know )

[eddie]

(If I dont know, then I wont know )
Yep exactly. Do you *want* a wide angle lens? why?

If you arent sure then where are you shooting, what sort of locations?
A wide angle lens can be really useful if shooting in a small cramped space, a small room, or a cave or somewhere like that where you cant pull the walls down. You will be able to capture much more of the action than otherwise (like entire faces instead of eyebrows) because you can get closer to your subjects.

Also I think they give a fantastic effect, they dramatise everything - take a look at the mental hospital scene in 12 monkeys when Bruce Willis is trying to escape and fumbling with the door keys, or just about all of Fear and Loathing, in fact any Terry Gilliam film. Thats a (very) Wide angle lens, it distorts the edges squishes everything out. Looks brilliant if used properly.

Thing is they are really expensive - so if you dont know, you probably dont.

[Levi]

I have a Sony wide angle lense and I use it all of the time. It distorts the side of the picture a little, but it's not really noticeable unless it is pointed out to you.

I say, if you think you'll use it, go for it. Maybe get a cheap one on ebay.

-Levi

[ilpostino]

When I bought my D8 camera for filmmaking I bought with it a wide angle lens simply because I couldn't imagine life without one, our own eye sight is wide angle you could say.

Also one of the main advantages of going digital is the range of extras i.e. lens that don't cost a fortune, which would if you we're shooting on most film formats.

Beware however of cheap ass lens's! I bought a wide angle for a camera I hired (better camera different lens thread size) I only wanted a cheap one because I wasn't keeping the camera, the one bought was about ?40 and and you could see the circular rim of the affixed wide angle lens when you were filming so you had to zoom in a bit to get rid of it thus defeating the purpose of the wide angle lens! You may not at first notice it because some of the LCD screens on these digital cameras don't display the FULL picture, it's slightly cropped.

I recommend Sony's own lens, they're made with high quality glass, cost around ?80.