Just pulled the trigger on a fisheye lens

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,592
13,807
126
www.anyf.ca
One of those things I kinda always wanted, but could not justify paying the full price as it's probably not going to be a lens that gets that much use overall, but still fun to have.

Got this one:

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00KGIFOL6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Never heard of that company but it seems to have good reviews. Will be using it with my Nikon D7000. Just curious if anyone has used this lens before and how you liked it.

I'm going to get it some time in March can't wait for it to arrive. :D
 

tdawg

Platinum Member
May 18, 2001
2,215
6
81
Enjoy it! I never liked the idea of a circular fisheye lens, but to each their own.

I loved my fisheye lens when I had it. I bought it (Nikon 10.5mm dx) thinking I'd only use it on infrequent occasions, but it turned out to almost stay fixed to my camera (I mainly shoot landscape). It was the only lens I used on trips to NYC, Chicago, and Las Vegas and I was saddened to have to give it up when I moved from APC-C to full frame Nikon bodies.
 

deanx0r

Senior member
Oct 1, 2002
890
20
76
The problem with fisheye lenses is that it is so hard to be creative with them. The effect is cool at first glance, but I rarely find any artistic value in most fisheye shots. I have the 10.5mm Nikon, and while it doesn't see much use nowadays, it is the only reason why I still hold on to my DX gear.

If you were wondering about manual focus with a 3rd party lens: fisheye lenses tend to have very large depth of field. Everything will be in focus 25-35cm away from the front element as soon f4.

Here some shots I took with my 10.5mm

3578452036_4005a92b7c_z.jpg

3584000469_fc76c6cf92_z.jpg

3595213470_4892374c10_z.jpg
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,592
13,807
126
www.anyf.ca
Nice that's good to know. I've used some addon fisheye lenses that connect to an existing lens, but the depth of field was bad, but it was also like as $25 attachment vs a proper lens.

Can't wait to get this and play around with it.
 

zCypher

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2002
6,115
171
116
That doesn't look bad at all for such a low price, and 6.5 is super wide! If you're into fisheye, this definitely looks like it will be a lot of fun. Just keep in mind everything is all-manual with this lens.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,592
13,807
126
www.anyf.ca
Got it today! Couple random shots just to show how wide it is.













Only thing I noticed it's a bit hard to get the focus right on, if you look at pics at 100% original size it's all a bit blurry, not sure if it's a photographer issue or a lens issue, maybe I just can't expect 100% sharpness for this price. Still very impressed though as normal size it looks great. Much better than any of the attachments I've bought. Will be interesting to use it for night sky photography I think.
 

CuriousMike

Diamond Member
Feb 22, 2001
3,044
544
136
With something so wide, as long as your subject is a couple feet in front of you, just set your focus to ~ infinity and everything should look good.