Canon PowerShot S5/S3 IS Wide Angle Samples

The lenses on the A610 and A620 are identical. We refer to the A620 here only because that's the camera used in this test. Unless you only intend to use the images for the web, we recommend downloading and printing the original large/superfine jpeg file and printing at your intended size to make a good evaluation of a lens you might be interested in. The appearance of an image on your monitor will not be the same as when printed.

Vignetting: It seems counterintuitive that some of the wide converters that didn't vignette on the G6 should do so on A620 which has a much smaller lens diameter. But the way the elements move in relation to each other, and difference in length of the lens going from wide to tele are very different too. There is only 1mm difference between the position of the zoom on the G6 between tele and wide. On the A620, the lens retracts 12mm going from tele to wide. This greater distance between the end of the zoom lens and the conversion lens increases the potential for vignetting with wide angle converters.

Asymmetrical vignetting: We used an A610 and 2 A620s for this test and the A610 and one of the A620s showed more vignetting on one side (both corners on one side). This is probably caused by a slightly off-center sensor, so when the image circle projected by the lens doesn't quite cover the rectangular mask over the sensor, the vignetting is asymmetrical. This won't be apparent unless certain converters are used, (it can also be seen as a teleconverter is zoomed back) and even the Canon recommended wide converter for the A620 (the WC-DC58N) darkened the right side corners on one of our A620s.

Barrel Distortion: The barrel distortion of the A620 is corrected almost perfectly by programs such as Imaging Factorys' Debarrelizer - see the corrected DCR730 image here (The A620s barrel distortion at the wide end is fairly uniform, but flattens out slightly near the corner). Barrel distortion can be counteracted by the optics of converters like the Raynox DCR6600 which produces a near-rectilinear image on the A620, or increased by converters like the Raynox DCR730. In all fairness, shooting tall buildings is a worst possible scenario for a wide angle lens, and many users will be shooting in a more natural setting in which barrel distortion is less noticeable.

Zooming: Some users like to use the whole zoom range of their camera with a wide converter mounted. For this reason, we show how well the wide converter handles the telephoto end of the zoom as well as the wide. All of the converters did very well in this respect. To calculate focal length with a converter added to the camera, multiply the focal length of the camera by the focal length of the converter. Example: It's known that the focal length of the A620s built in lens at full wide is 7.3mm (or 35mm in film equivalent). With the WC-DC58N .7x attached, the focal length is 7.3 X .7 = 5.11mm, or in film equivalent, 35 X .7 = 24.5mm. The multiplier therefore is 4.8.

A620 Native Wide no converter

Click on any thumb to see full size image.

Full wide angle setting 35mm focal length

A620 and Raynox DCR720 X 52mm Higher than average barrel distortion, though of a kind easily corrected in post processing. Has 62mm front thread, though any filter will cause vignetting at the full wide setting. Concave front element and built-in "hood" help prevent flares. Not as wide as advertised, closer to .78x than .72x. Possibly discontinued. Click on any thumb to see full size image.

Raynox DCR720 at full wide setting 35mm focal length	Raynox DCR720 at full tele zoom 140mm focal length

A620 and Raynox DCR730 X 52mm Image almost identical to the 720, but slightly wider, about .73x. Also has concave front element. The most compact lens in this test. Higher barrel distortion than average, though of the type easily corrected. Click here to see this image corrected in Imaging Factorys' Debarrelizer, a one slider adjustment that takes only a few seconds. (link to RaynoxDCR-730_DB.jpg thumb and full size) Overall good image quality, slightly edge/corner soft. *Click on any thumb to see full size image.*

Raynox DCR730 at full wide setting 35mm focal length *Click here* to see Raynox 730 .72X software corrected image.	Raynox DCR730 at full tele zoom 140mm focal length

A620 and Raynox DCR6600 X 52mm Least barrel distortion. Slight vignetting goes away when zoomed one step up from full wide, which is still as wide as some of the other converters at full wide. Some edge/corner softness, best for web images or small prints. Best for low barrel distortion with no post processing. *Click on any thumb to see full size image.*

Raynox DCR6600 at full wide setting 35mm focal length	Raynox DCR6600 zoomed one step toward tele

Raynox DCR6600 at full tele zoom 140mm focal length

A620 and Tiffen Megaplus .75x X 52mm Low barrel distortion, good overall image quality. Slight vignetting at full wide angle. Possibly discontinued. *Click on any thumb to see full size image.*

Tiffen Megaplus .75x at full wide setting 35mm focal length	Tiffen Megaplus .75x at full tele zoom 140mm focal length

A620 and Canon WC-DC58A .75x X 58mm (S2 IS)

We included this converter which was designed to be used with the Powershot S2 IS for those who might already own it, and because it works pretty well with the A620 with this caveat: at full telephoto zoom, the lens barrel will contact the rear element of the WA converter. The second shot shows how far you can zoom before contact is made. Normally this will not cause damage and the camera will just shut down until turned on again. We cannot endorse the use of this lens on the A620 for this reason, and anyone who does, does so at his/her own peril. Average barrel distortion, good overall image quality.

Click on any thumb to see full size image.

Canon WC-DC58A at full wide setting
35mm focal length

Canon WC-DC58A at full tele zoom
140mm focal length

Maximum telephoto before zoom lens contacts converter lens, or about 5 - 6 zoom steps from full wide

A620 and Canon WC-DC58N .7x X 58mm This is the lens that Canon recommends for the A620 and the same converter used for the Powershot G3/5/6. Excellent image quality, average barrel distortion, and wider than all tested except for the Raynox 6600. The only downside is its rather large size. *Click on any thumb to see full size image.*

Canon WC-DC58N at full wide setting 35mm focal length	Canon WC-DC58N at full tele zoom 140mm focal length

Home > Canon PowerShot A640/30/20/10 IS > Wide Angle Samples