Anyone got a fisheye?

JoeWhitley

JoeWhitley

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I've been searching for lenses for the past two days now, and I've found one that really intrigues me - the fisheye.
I love the effect it gives, but can't justify spending over £500 on the cheapest Canon one. Does anyone have one? If so, what are they like? Do you have many uses for them or are they quite niche?

I searched Amazon and found this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opteka-Professional-Fisheye-Digital-Camera/dp/B001LZJB9Y/ref=sr_1_38?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1309908030&sr=1-38
I realise it's nowhere near as good quality as the Canon, but for £50, is it worth trying out? Or will it just be a waste of money and time?
Thanks guys.
 
Fisheye lenses are quite limited in their use and the novelty soon wears off, so despite the likes of that Opteka thing being rubbish you could try one to see if you'd actually make use of it.
 
They certainly are not for everyone but I find them great for architectural shots. The 'novelty' certainly has not worn off and I dont believe it will in my case. It gives a different perspective than a UWA and I would not be without it in my bag.

You should search here and google for the Samyang 8mm f3.5 fisheye. Looking at £150-£200 for it and it will give far better results than the Opteka, for a start you wont have the awful circle fisheye. Dont let the price make you think it will be poor compared with the Canon, it is very highly rated. It performs better than the Nikon equivalent at 3x the price.

Ive shots on my flickr and some here from Berlin with the Samyang.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=302186&highlight=berlin
 
Charlatan said:
They certainly are not for everyone but I find them great for architectural shots. The 'novelty' certainly has not worn off and I dont believe it will in my case. It gives a different perspective than a UWA and I would not be without it in my bag.

You should search here and google for the Samyang 8mm f3.5 fisheye. Looking at £150-£200 for it and it will give far better results than the Opteka, for a start you wont have the awful circle fisheye. Dont let the price make you think it will be poor compared with the Canon, it is very highly rated. It performs better than the Nikon equivalent at 3x the price.

Ive shots on my flickr and some here from Berlin with the Samyang.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=302186&highlight=berlin
Click to expand...

will these auto focus on a D40? I do like the fisheye look, and I purchased one of these cheap glasses that you add onto the camera, while they are ok to mess with, they are not the best!

Jordan
 
not a lens but out of settings in camera d3100, i thought quite interesting,
001-6.jpg
 
jordanogrady said:
will these auto focus on a D40? I do like the fisheye look, and I purchased one of these cheap glasses that you add onto the camera, while they are ok to mess with, they are not the best!

Jordan
Click to expand...

All samyang lenses are manual focus on any body. With a fisheye, pretty much everything is in focus all the time anyway.
 
jordanogrady said:
will these auto focus on a D40? I do like the fisheye look, and I purchased one of these cheap glasses that you add onto the camera, while they are ok to mess with, they are not the best!

Jordan
Click to expand...

At 8mm auto focus is irrelevant. Even at f/3.5 If you set the focus to 1m everything from 0.5m to infinity will be in focus.

I doubt you'd have to even touch the focus ring very often
 
Charlatan said:
They certainly are not for everyone but I find them great for architectural shots. The 'novelty' certainly has not worn off and I dont believe it will in my case. It gives a different perspective than a UWA and I would not be without it in my bag.
Click to expand...

I've had my Canon 15mm for the best part of five years now* and I'd agree with all the above.

It doesn't get used every day, but when I need it, there's nothing else that will do the job.

I've posted some examples on similar threads before

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=317738&highlight=fisheye

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=316170&highlight=fisheye


* I paid a lot less than £600 for it; prices were a lot lower then.
 
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mmm yes I was looking into the Samyang 8mm f3.5 fisheye too. I quite like the fisheye effect, perhaps a bit novelty but certainly something a bit different and I can see quite a few uses for it. I currently have the Sigma 10-20mm, I'm hoping the 8mm fisheye would be quite a bit wider - i.e get more in the shot.
 
I had the urge to buy something so got a 10.5mm fisheye; although it's not an everyday lens by any stretch, for the editorial shooting I do it comes in handy when you're running out of options and need an impact shot from out of fresh air....

I will say that I paid a fair whack - £400, it's the Nikon DX version - so it wasn't a decision I was taking lightly but I was glad I bought it. It is my least used lens because of its charecteristics and the fact that its novelty can soon wear off, especially when you're using one for the sake of it and when another lens would have done a better job. But as said, when I've reached a point when I need an impact shot, I get it out. Plus it's brilliant for tight spaces and with a bit of PP correction, you can get a reasonably normal (corrected) looking wide shot out of it if that's what you want....

Flare is always an issue with fisheyes, or at least getting light sources in shot. Plus you often find you're feet or fingers are in shot :)

I don't know what Canon offers and what you would want to use one for so if you are interested but don't want to spend a fortune, get the cheapo one to experiment and see if it suits your photography :)
 
Charlatan said:
They certainly are not for everyone but I find them great for architectural shots. The 'novelty' certainly has not worn off and I dont believe it will in my case. It gives a different perspective than a UWA and I would not be without it in my bag.

You should search here and google for the Samyang 8mm f3.5 fisheye. Looking at £150-£200 for it and it will give far better results than the Opteka, for a start you wont have the awful circle fisheye. Dont let the price make you think it will be poor compared with the Canon, it is very highly rated. It performs better than the Nikon equivalent at 3x the price.

Ive shots on my flickr and some here from Berlin with the Samyang.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=302186&highlight=berlin
Click to expand...

Glad to hear the novelty hasn't worn off. I love how the finished product looks!
I'm looking for the Samyang but can't seem to find anywhere reliable to buy it from. My search so far is just eBay and the sellers all have poor percentage feedback. Can you please let me know where you got yours?
Thanks.
 
Musicman said:
I've had my Canon 15mm for the best part of five years now* and I'd agree with all the above.

It doesn't get used every day, but when I need it, there's nothing else that will do the job.

I've posted some examples on similar threads before

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=317738&highlight=fisheye

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=316170&highlight=fisheye


* I paid a lot less than £600 for it; prices were a lot lower then.
Click to expand...

Brilliant. I really want to get one now! Wish I could justify going to the Canon but perhaps that's something I can get long term.
 
Az_GTi said:
mmm yes I was looking into the Samyang 8mm f3.5 fisheye too. I quite like the fisheye effect, perhaps a bit novelty but certainly something a bit different and I can see quite a few uses for it. I currently have the Sigma 10-20mm, I'm hoping the 8mm fisheye would be quite a bit wider - i.e get more in the shot.
Click to expand...

If you find one for a good price anywhere reliable please let me know. I really want one too.
 
specialman said:
I had the urge to buy something so got a 10.5mm fisheye; although it's not an everyday lens by any stretch, for the editorial shooting I do it comes in handy when you're running out of options and need an impact shot from out of fresh air....

I will say that I paid a fair whack - £400, it's the Nikon DX version - so it wasn't a decision I was taking lightly but I was glad I bought it. It is my least used lens because of its charecteristics and the fact that its novelty can soon wear off, especially when you're using one for the sake of it and when another lens would have done a better job. But as said, when I've reached a point when I need an impact shot, I get it out. Plus it's brilliant for tight spaces and with a bit of PP correction, you can get a reasonably normal (corrected) looking wide shot out of it if that's what you want....

Flare is always an issue with fisheyes, or at least getting light sources in shot. Plus you often find you're feet or fingers are in shot :)

I don't know what Canon offers and what you would want to use one for so if you are interested but don't want to spend a fortune, get the cheapo one to experiment and see if it suits your photography :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, Pat. Much appreciated.
Do you work for a magazine?
Basically, I want to use the fisheye for shots of landmarks and landscapes when I'm away on trips and for my own personal use. I love how it gets everything in.
 
JoeWhitley said:
Thanks for the advice, Pat. Much appreciated.
Do you work for a magazine?
Basically, I want to use the fisheye for shots of landmarks and landscapes when I'm away on trips and for my own personal use. I love how it gets everything in.
Click to expand...

No probs.
Yep, I work for a company that does fishing magazines so sometimes, I need to make a very dull day look exciting... out comes the fisheye :LOL:
To non-photographers (which most of us will appeal to) fisheye's look the nuts because they're crazy but there are time when I shoot for myself for that very same reason - field of view is immense!!! :)
 
I thought it would just be a bit of fun but have used my Nikon 10.5 loads more than I thought I would.

You can really spice up a set of pics with it and I love the stupidly close focus distances you can do with it.

Perhaps don't want to do every shot with it, but to make a dramatic change whip the tiny lens out your pocket and blat some oddly appealing shots - works great with flash too!
 
specialman said:
No probs.
Yep, I work for a company that does fishing magazines so sometimes, I need to make a very dull day look exciting... out comes the fisheye :LOL:
To non-photographers (which most of us will appeal to) fisheye's look the nuts because they're crazy but there are time when I shoot for myself for that very same reason - field of view is immense!!! :)
Click to expand...

I really want to get one now!
 
desantnik said:
I thought it would just be a bit of fun but have used my Nikon 10.5 loads more than I thought I would.

You can really spice up a set of pics with it and I love the stupidly close focus distances you can do with it.

Perhaps don't want to do every shot with it, but to make a dramatic change whip the tiny lens out your pocket and blat some oddly appealing shots - works great with flash too!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing. As soon as I find one from a reliable seller for £200, I'm buying it!
 
Here's a photo taken early one Sunday morning on the island of Palm Beach.
The lens is a Rokinon 8mm on a Nikon D300. I hesitated at first thinking that the perspective would be a distraction but I was wrong. It's a fun lens.


_MG_0488 by J Bruja, on Flickr

Canon t2i & same lens at The Society of the Four Arts on the island.


_MG_0543 by J Bruja, on Flickr
 
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Hi Joe

Forget about the Canon Fisheye.It's designed for a full frame camera so you won't get the full effect on your 550D.You need a 8 or 10mm fisheye.
Just go straight for the Samyang.It's a supurb lens.Very well made and the fact that it's all manual doesn't matter a jot.Just set it to F5.6 and the focus at 1m and bobs your uncle.

cheers
Gary
 
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vulcan2912 said:
Hi Joe

Forget about the Canon Fisheye.It's designed for a full frame camera so you won't get the full effect on your 550D.You need a 8 or 10mm fisheye.
Just gop straight for the Samyang.It's a supurb lens.Very well made and the fact that it's all manual doesn't matter a jot.Just set it to F5.6 and the focus at 1mm and bobs your uncle.

cheers
Gary
Click to expand...

I'm the guy who posted the photo taken on Palm Beach island. I forgot to mention that I also use the Rokinon/Samyang in Nikon mount on my Canon 550D with a Nikon to EOS adapter that is "chipped" for focus confirmation which helps put me on target. The Canon and Rokinon is a great combination also. I usually set it at f8 and 10ft focus for 99% of my shooting.
 
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Just a taster of what can be done with a fisheye... ;)


Fighting To The End by Pat MacInnes, on Flickr

Nikon has had it good in this sector for a while, thanks to it's DX 10.5mm, a really solid, reliable lens. Optically it's fantastic, although (this will apply to just about any lens of this type) the glass is doing an awful lot of work and one thing that is hard to control is CAs in really high contrast (white sky/black subject) situations.
 
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jordanogrady said:
will these auto focus on a D40? I do like the fisheye look, and I purchased one of these cheap glasses that you add onto the camera, while they are ok to mess with, they are not the best!

Jordan
Click to expand...

As others have said no need for AF with a fisheye. You can't miss focus and I rarely adjust the settings on mine, once its set its fine. The Berlin shots were all with a D40, as are the London fisheye snaps on my flickr.

Samyang fisheye goes under many names so search these forums for them. A good place to look for one is fototip based in Poland. They have an ebay store which is normally slightly cheaper. You dont need the focus confirm chip IMO as I have rarely had a shot OOF.
 
I have a Tokina 10-17 (i think, its been a while and its at home)

i LOVE this lens, people said it would be my least used lens, they were wrong, i really think it spends more time on my body than my Tammy 17-50.

if you hold it straight to a horizon it works like a UWA, but if you move it up or down the fish really kicks in, its great fun for...well...fun! parties, days out etc.

i cant wait to play with it again

3520441066_de3b798686_z.jpg


3261125901_9d4346a031_z.jpg
 
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No.

No-one has a fisheye.
Anyone who has posted in this thread is lying.
 
JoeWhitley said:
You did this using the camera settings alone? How did you do that?
Click to expand...

On Nikons, in the effects menu there is a setting for fisheye effect, using the D pad you can set the amount you want the image is saved seperately IIRC CSC_001 or something similar.

:)
 
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