Which lens cover for Panasonic HC-X800
Hi there,I had a bit of a disaster last weekend making a video, it rained quite heavy.
Although I had my camcorder well protected inside a plastic bag and the rain was from behind the camera, I still got rain drops on the lens which kind of spoiled the video.
In the manual it suggests lens cover VDW2412, size quoted is 49mm.
My problem is how does it fit to camcorder?
There is no thread to screw it on, is it just a press fit?
Any help much appreciated.
Thank you.
Bryan Both the V750 & V770 have a slight thread just inside the lip.
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Look for a cheap 49mm camera hood on eBay.
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The one I got needed some filing of the plastic lip internally to prevent slight vignetting which occurred if I panned in full WA with the IS on.
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If it's a windy rainy day, and you're not likely to shoot full WA, you can add extra protection against raindrops with a piece of thin, semi-hard flexible plastic (like from a cover of a slip-in page folder), which you can bend over to form a extended half-cylinder over the top-half of the hood. And hold it in place with rubber bands. This will come into frame if you use full WA.
If the manual is wrong and X800 does not have a 49mm thread, you may still be able to use rubber bands and a half-cylindrical bended hood as I mentioned earlier.
Keep a facial tissue or microfiber cloth in your pocket when shooting in the rain. If you see any blurring from raindrops on the lens, give the front of the lens a quick wipe. (just don't tilt the camera upwards when you do this.)
Dan. I use a flexible rubber lens hood which, by its nature, has three positions when pushed back. This would protect against "vertical" rain. i.e. no wind.
Another trick you may like to try. For some time I have been looking for a decent rain cover for my 750. I came across an a clear garden furniture rain cover. I cut off a large corner section. (enough to cover the camera and my hands) I bought two lens rings, the ones used to fit a larger filter to a smaller lens (in my case a 52-49 and a 55-52) plus a 55mm haze filter. I cut a suitable sized hole in therain cover and sandwiched it with the two rings then fitted the 55mm haze filter. (again I could fit a 55mm lens hood to the filter) It makes a workable if rather crude rain cover for my camera. Thank you Dan and Terfyn for your excellent suggestioins.
I will see what I can come up with and be better prepared next time.
Thanks Dan for drawing my attention to the internal thread just under the lip, I completely missed that.
Also I take photographs at the same time wth my digital SLR standing under a large umbrella if it is raining with a pocket full of paper tissues.
The camcorder, although well covered in a plastic bag has to fend for itself, no time to keep wiping the lens.
Thanks again for you advice.Bryan. You would be wise to buy a 49mm UV or haze filter to fit the screw thread in front of the lens in normal use. This will keep out any dust, sand or grit form the lens cover system and the camera innards. You will see that the mechanical lens cover is made of thin plates which concertina over each other, so you can imagine what a grain of sand would do to them. A UV filter will not affect the resulting videos in any way plus it is cheap and can be sacrificed if you drop or bump the lens any time. A DIY cover is essential Kit if you are out-and-about during iffy weather.
Cameras/camcorders don't like rain and the damage may appear months later.Keeping it dry with a decent cover is probably the best option, although there are rain-covers for pro-gear ( At pro-prices).
If it's really wet, then an umbrella will help keep you dry as well. ( Keep one in the car ), Don't think this is for Winter-weather, either... an Umbrella can keep the sun off your camcorder and help with LCD focussing, etc.
Funny how User Guides fail to mention real events...
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