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Canon did not provide threads around the front of the converter, so you can't attach a filter. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The front lens is humongous and a fingerprint magnet. I had buyer's remorse immediately after ordering all the way to the point of entering museum, at which point I nearly broke my arm patting myself on the back for my wise decision. The converter attaches to an optional adapter and the threads do not have a very sturdy feel. In my case, I was able to capture the full wingspans of B-29, B-36 and B-52 bombers in the museum as well as being able to get good shots of other aircraft in the sometimes relatively narrow walking lanes of the museum. Fortunately, the Canon S5 has a hot-shoe and I simply used a generic strobe on manual.
The optical quality of the lens is very high. The addition of the converter makes a significant difference in field of view. I did not detect any appreciable barrel distortion or fringing in the photos. Combine it with the compactness and lightweight of the Canon cameras it works with and you have an excellent camera kit that will not break your back or your wallet.
I bought this on impulse before leaving for a trip to the National Museum of the U.S. You have to take some care with using this lens. On the S5 and, I presume, the other Canons that it will work on, you have to adjust a menu setting to indicate that you are using the converter and then remember to toggle the setting off when you remove the lens. Be very careful to avoid stripping the threads. This is a big hunk of glass. But it is well worth the cost when you need a fairly wide angle lens. It's just a wide-angle converter, providing 0.75x magnification, meaning the equivalent of a 28mm lens on the low end of a Canon S5 instead of the normal 35mm. Yes, it is overpriced, but that is - forgive the pun - the price of buying Canon, Nikon and similar products.
I am sure that if I subjected the images to minute inspection, I would find some evidence of both, but I am not that critical. It blocks the internal flash of an S5, so you get a dark semi-circle on any nearby subjects. You pay extra to have the brand name. It's a handy item to have.Jerry
Bought this for a trip to Alaska recently and kept the lens on for most of the 200 pics. Love this easy to attach lens.
I bought a less expensive adapter a while back and found it to by unsatisfactory. The Canon one fits perfectly, has no apparent vignetting and works seamlessly with an S3-IS. Do not waste money trying to find something cheaper.
Be careful. The only drawback I have so far seen is that there is a dark arch in the bottom of the pictures when using the flash. I have this lens and the teleconverter. Do not let idiots and people with butterfingers use your camera when this lens is attached. I wish Canon had designed in threads for a UV-Haze filter, but they did not. That's a big piece of glass to be hanging out there with no protection from scratches and fingerprints. Rather, never let idiots and butterfingered dimbulbs use your camera. Period.
I'm not sure it's worth the money for that tiny gain.Also, it partially blocks the flash on the S5. This lens only provides a modest bump in wide-angle coverage. Standing in an average room at home, it's the same as stepping back one foot. If you plan to use it with the built-in flash, expect the bottom third of each photo to be dark. Fun.
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