Fisheye Lenses
- Thread starter Deedee
- Start date
You must have been really high up, I could swear I can see the curvature of the earth...
Nice shots. I would like to play around with a fisheye some day. Well, we did once in high school biology, but that was a real fish eye... they're kind of like super bouncy balls... nevermind...
LMBO!!! That's hilarious. The most I ever did in high school biology was have a frog egg fight....it was pretty gross and we all got detention.
Groucho
Why a duck?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
I do love my fisheye lenses. 
(Although, my poor Zenitar 16mm fisheye is pretty much just gathering dust now - a very fine lens but unable to give the full 180' effect that my 10-17mm can do.)
I haven't done much "landscape" shooting with mine, just once or twice. I generally like it best when used near a building, pole, or some other structure that will help accentuate the fisheye effect. I also enjoy using it for on-ride photos on Big Thunder Mt Railroad, Expedition Everest, and some other rides.
(Although, my poor Zenitar 16mm fisheye is pretty much just gathering dust now - a very fine lens but unable to give the full 180' effect that my 10-17mm can do.)I haven't done much "landscape" shooting with mine, just once or twice. I generally like it best when used near a building, pole, or some other structure that will help accentuate the fisheye effect. I also enjoy using it for on-ride photos on Big Thunder Mt Railroad, Expedition Everest, and some other rides.
Abby's Dad
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 1, 2007
Self portrait a la Escher - nice!
Fred
Fred
Groucho
Why a duck?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
For $200, you will not be able to get "full" fisheye.
The Zenitar is a great lens but the prices have gone up lately. Out of curiousity, I checked Pentax-mount ones and they're getting very close to $200 (or more) now, I would imagine that Nikon-mount ones are the same price (they have been in the past.)
Like Bob says, it's fully manual. That means manual focus and manual exposure. On my Pentax-mount one, that means aiming then stopping down the lens (in manual mode) to get exposure. It only takes a moment but it is an extra step.
Focusing isn't a big deal though as the depth of field is so large on such a wide lens. The lens is very sharp and fairly fast (F2.8) and is very fun to use.
Your only other option is maybe a Peleng 8mm lens. It's another one designed for film, but it's a full circular fisheye, which means that on a film camera, you get a circle with black edges. Cropped on a DSLR, you get small black corners, which is closer to what a "proper" fisheye will give you. I think the Peleng is slightly more expensive though, and will be full-manual as well.
The Zenitar is a great lens but the prices have gone up lately. Out of curiousity, I checked Pentax-mount ones and they're getting very close to $200 (or more) now, I would imagine that Nikon-mount ones are the same price (they have been in the past.)
Like Bob says, it's fully manual. That means manual focus and manual exposure. On my Pentax-mount one, that means aiming then stopping down the lens (in manual mode) to get exposure. It only takes a moment but it is an extra step.
Focusing isn't a big deal though as the depth of field is so large on such a wide lens. The lens is very sharp and fairly fast (F2.8) and is very fun to use.
Your only other option is maybe a Peleng 8mm lens. It's another one designed for film, but it's a full circular fisheye, which means that on a film camera, you get a circle with black edges. Cropped on a DSLR, you get small black corners, which is closer to what a "proper" fisheye will give you. I think the Peleng is slightly more expensive though, and will be full-manual as well.
Yeah, the 10.5 nikkor is really the best option for a D80. The tokina 10-17 FE is slower, but has the versitility of becoming a pretty decent wide angle will less fisheye distortion at the longer end. It can be found for about $150 less than the nikon 10.5mm.
I like the 10.5 so much that I still keep it and use it on the D3, even though it's a DX lens.
I like the 10.5 so much that I still keep it and use it on the D3, even though it's a DX lens.
Groucho
Why a duck?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
I was going to recommend the Tokina, too. Nothing against the Nikon, but the zoom gives you a lot of flexibility. I have virtually the same lens (it's a Pentax design, that's the one I have), and it's surprised me at how sharp it is many times. There is some purple fringing, but this happens with any fisheye lens - I'm not sure if there's noticeably more than the non-zoom fisheye. I think the main thing you give up with the Tokina vs the Nikon is the speed - but I don't generally think of fisheyes as low-light lenses, and they're so wide that you don't need really fast shutter speeds to get good results.
tripodjw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2007
Am intending to get a fisheye lens in the near future to go on my D80.
Am looking at the Sigma diagonal f2.8 fisheyes (either the 10mm or 15mm) and the Tokina 10-17mm zoom (f3.5-4.5) fisheye. Prices for all 3 seem similar and i've not been able to find many reviews of any of them.
Does anyone have any experience with any of these lenses?
Is the gain of a zoom on the Tokina of benefit compared to not having zoom on the sigma primes but the sigma are faster.
I guess also if i go for sigma would the 10 or 15 be better?
I only intend to own one fisheye at any one time and it'll be used for a whole variety of locations - where-ever i think i can get an interesting picture.
Am looking at the Sigma diagonal f2.8 fisheyes (either the 10mm or 15mm) and the Tokina 10-17mm zoom (f3.5-4.5) fisheye. Prices for all 3 seem similar and i've not been able to find many reviews of any of them.
Does anyone have any experience with any of these lenses?
Is the gain of a zoom on the Tokina of benefit compared to not having zoom on the sigma primes but the sigma are faster.
I guess also if i go for sigma would the 10 or 15 be better?
I only intend to own one fisheye at any one time and it'll be used for a whole variety of locations - where-ever i think i can get an interesting picture.
Groucho
Why a duck?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
If you're looking at a fisheye for the D80, you can probably skip the Sigma 15mm. It won't give you the "full" fisheye look, that lens is designed to give a fisheye image on a 35mm film camera or full-frame DSLR like the Nikon D3.
I have no experience with the Sigma, but the Tokina is basically a Pentax design, but with a few barrel changes and without their signature SMC coating. I have the Pentax 10-17mm fisheye and use it quite often and love it to death. There is a little bit of CA but this is pretty much a given with any 10mm lens. I do spend most of my time at 10mm but the ability to go to 17mm does add a lot of flexibility.
Example... last night, we were at a fireworks show. The widest non-fisheye lens I had with me was my Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 - and we were just too close to get everything in frame consistently with it. I slapped on the 10-17mm, set it to 17mm, and that easily did the trick.
That's not the best example since I should have had a wider non-fisheye lens, but it is nice to have the zoom.
Now, ideally it'd be F2.8 and zoom, but you can't have everything I guess... you give up a half-stop of aperture but gain the zoom.
If you're looking for reviews, the Pentax 10-17mm reviews should be pretty good reference for the Tokina.
I have no experience with the Sigma, but the Tokina is basically a Pentax design, but with a few barrel changes and without their signature SMC coating. I have the Pentax 10-17mm fisheye and use it quite often and love it to death. There is a little bit of CA but this is pretty much a given with any 10mm lens. I do spend most of my time at 10mm but the ability to go to 17mm does add a lot of flexibility.
Example... last night, we were at a fireworks show. The widest non-fisheye lens I had with me was my Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 - and we were just too close to get everything in frame consistently with it. I slapped on the 10-17mm, set it to 17mm, and that easily did the trick.
That's not the best example since I should have had a wider non-fisheye lens, but it is nice to have the zoom.
Now, ideally it'd be F2.8 and zoom, but you can't have everything I guess... you give up a half-stop of aperture but gain the zoom.
If you're looking for reviews, the Pentax 10-17mm reviews should be pretty good reference for the Tokina.
tripodjw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2007
Groucho
Why a duck?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
Last weekend, my sister's family and my family headed down to Sampson State Park to meet up with my father, who was heading there via boat. I'd never heard of it before but hey, it was an excuse to get out of the house! It's located along Seneca Lake, not far from Watkins Glen, and was originally a Naval training base then later an Air Force training base.
We only had a pretty small tent which would be tight with our now 4-strong family, and I was lucky (and quick) enough to score a 17x17 4-room tent on Craigslist for $30 - a real steal! After setting it up and blowing up some inflatable mattresses, the kids had fun jumping all over them (probably making them even leakier in the process.) Jack's in the red shirt, the rest are cousins.
My cousin is in charge of the fire; I used it as an excuse to play with my F1.2.
We visited some playgrounds...
...meanwhile, Leila slept through the whole thing.
We visited the Sampson Memorial Museum, which was pretty interesting. Here's some of the items on display... F1.2 on the first one.
I didn't know they got to fly kites!
Boy, don't these sounds yummy!
The "dinner" to the right was pretty much "biscuits" and cigarettes. Bleah!
Self portrait!
Here's my father getting a shot, my version is below.
It was a little cold and very windy the first couple days... fortunately there was only a little rain, but it was certainly too rough to go out onto the boat until the last day. This shot somewhat conveys the weather.
We eventually ended up piling in the cars and driving to see some fireworks; I didn't even bother taking the camera with me. I just didn't feel like bothering with the whole tripod-remote shutter release project. It would have been tough anyway, as I was in charge of corralling Jack, and that's a full-time job!
That night, I did use the tripod for some fire shots.
(continued in next post)
We only had a pretty small tent which would be tight with our now 4-strong family, and I was lucky (and quick) enough to score a 17x17 4-room tent on Craigslist for $30 - a real steal! After setting it up and blowing up some inflatable mattresses, the kids had fun jumping all over them (probably making them even leakier in the process.) Jack's in the red shirt, the rest are cousins.
My cousin is in charge of the fire; I used it as an excuse to play with my F1.2.
We visited some playgrounds...
...meanwhile, Leila slept through the whole thing.
We visited the Sampson Memorial Museum, which was pretty interesting. Here's some of the items on display... F1.2 on the first one.
I didn't know they got to fly kites!
Boy, don't these sounds yummy!
The "dinner" to the right was pretty much "biscuits" and cigarettes. Bleah!
Self portrait!
Here's my father getting a shot, my version is below.
It was a little cold and very windy the first couple days... fortunately there was only a little rain, but it was certainly too rough to go out onto the boat until the last day. This shot somewhat conveys the weather.
We eventually ended up piling in the cars and driving to see some fireworks; I didn't even bother taking the camera with me. I just didn't feel like bothering with the whole tripod-remote shutter release project. It would have been tough anyway, as I was in charge of corralling Jack, and that's a full-time job!
That night, I did use the tripod for some fire shots.
(continued in next post)
Groucho
Why a duck?
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2006
The next day, I decided to play with M42 lenses a little. I mounted the Zeiss 135mm and got this as the first shot - I was pretty happy with it!
We did go out on the boat for a little while. I didn't do a lot of shooting onboard but I did do a quick flower shot.
Being July 4th weekend, I'll end it on a patriotic note.
I hope you enjoyed!
We did go out on the boat for a little while. I didn't do a lot of shooting onboard but I did do a quick flower shot.
Being July 4th weekend, I'll end it on a patriotic note.
I hope you enjoyed!
kaffinito
<font color=teal>Grant me the Serenity to Accept t
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2008
It was a little cold and very windy the first couple days... fortunately there was only a little rain, but it was certainly too rough to go out onto the boat until the last day. This shot somewhat conveys the weather.
This is an incredible shot! I usually pass right by water shots because they all look the same - but this one is outstanding.
Glad you had a good trip!
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