Canon WC-DC52 Wide Converter for the Canon A10, A20, A60, A40, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A510, A520, A540 & A570IS Cameras

I've recently purchased the Powershot A80 (an incredible little digital and highly recommended), a replacement for a Nikon digital. The A80's onboard lens brings landscape photography in at 38mm, but anyone who is shooting landscape knows, "the wider, the better." As a result, I purchased the wide converter (Canon product WC-DC52) to bring more picture into my landscape shots. The wide converter increases the angle from 38mm to 24.5mm, an exponential improvement, particularly for outdoor shots. And, all-in-all, the pricing is right, particularly if you shop it around a bit (however, Amazon has a great price). Further, the conversion adapter (see below), lens exchange is incredibly fast and elementary.

Net, net, if you're purchasing a Canon digital (low-to-mid range), spend the dough for the wide converter. You won't be sorry; a great investment.

NOTE: Make sure you purchase the Canon LA-DC52 Conversion Lens Adapter, which serves as the adapter for all compatible Canon lenses.


Nice idea, but wrong camera.   September 24, 2004
Danny Fixit (Atlanta, GA United States)
46 out of 47 found this review helpful

Bought this wide angle lens and adapter for my Canon A70 to shoot lots of interior shots of rooms, as I am a house remodeler. Lens makes great wide shots to encompass a small room and all its features. Where this lens fails in that the size of the adapter and lens is so large hanging out the front of the camera that it blocks half of the flash when shooting. The result is that most of the entire right half of your photos will be dark or have a prominate shadow. This camera is the second A70 I have had because it has all the features I needed and makes great photos otherwise. My only workaround this shadow problem is to now invest more money into a slave strobe unit. All combined, its making the cost of this camera skyrocket, compared with investing in a higher grade digital camera with interchangable lenses and flash adapters.


So-so, and some "bewares"   June 23, 2005
K. Gittins (CA USA)
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

First off I must say I love my A95. It has the features I want (other than zoom range), plus the rather smallish size is nice after toting 3 SLR bodies and 6 lenses around for years. This wide angle conversion lens is nothing special though, and has some limitations.

1. Noticeable barrel distortion, but it should not be a problem if your subject has no straight lines in it.
2. Need to use LCD for precise framing/viewing. The adaptor sticks out about 1-1/2 inches, and the lens is about an inch, and they are 52mm diameter, therefore it blocks about 40% of the view through the finder.
3. Flash not recommended because the adaptor/lens blocks about 1/3 of the flash coverage, causing a shadow on the bottom right corner. Not a problem outdoors.
4. Only for use at widest angle setting. Essentially it makes your zoom camera a fixed-focal length camera.

The largish size and black plastic finish sort of throws off the style of the A95 itself. Comes with front and rear slip-on plastic caps and a pouch. I'm not thrilled, but for $70 I guess it is OK within its limitations.


Barrel Distortion   November 4, 2004
D. ESPEJO (Los Angeles)
25 out of 29 found this review helpful

I bought the converter since I wanted to use it for landscape photography. I took some test shots and discovered that the converter has an unacceptable amount of barrel distorion. If you are thinking about buying this product just be aware that you will have to correct your images through software after you take them.


Wide Angle Fun   September 14, 2005
G. Tank (Mpls, MN USA)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful

First off this is a fun accessory for my A95 and A80. At about 26mm lens you can shoot some very nice wide angle landscapes to close-ups for under $100. The lens is sharp and is a nice piece of coated class. Once mounted you zoom lens works inside the adapter so you probably have a 26mm to 40mm (total guess)zoom lens. Yes it does have barrel distortion, yes it does stick out and block the flash, yes it is black and it does look a bit dorky on the camera. So either go buy a digital rebel and a 19-35 zoom for over $1000 or correct the barrel distortion in your image editing program, use a slaved flash for indoor shooting (manual mode only) and paint it silver.
Bottom line...if you like the look of wide angle, don't mind or even like a very very mild barrel distortion (ever so slight fisheye look), and are good with silver paint, then for the price of a cheap hotel room or a nice meal for two, you can have a lot of fun with this accessory.
Highly recommended!!!