Canon 1000D Fisheye lens query

[jbailey013]

Hello, I'm new to the forum so please forgive me for asking questions straight away.
I own a Canon 1000D and havent had it for very long. But i would like to buy myself a very standard/basic fish-eye lens.

I am in a bit of confusion as I've looked around photography websites and have seen fish eye lenses for £400 upwards. However have noticed quite a few incredibly cheaper fish eye lenses on eBay. For example this one

[I]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180454673388[/I]

All i really want is to be able to take standard fish-eye shots such as this.

I don't need to be able to zoom in or out. Or anything else advanced as i have my other lens for that. So what i am asking does the above lens seem correct for what i want? Or can you re-direct me to some alternative basic fish eye lenses?

Thankyou

 

[HoppyUK]

Welcome to TP

Can you post a live link?

Not having seen the lens I can only comment generally and say that cheap fish-eyes and fish-eye adapters tend to be of low quality, but they do give you the 'look' which is sometimes the main thing.

If you just want to give this style of photography a try, then go ahead on the basis that it's just a bit of fun and learning. If you like it, then get something properly designed for the job; if you get tired of it pretty quickly, you've not lost much.

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Brand New Professional Series High Quality Super Wide Angle Fisheye Lens w/Macro

Given the price and the example photos I woudn't be expecting too much, but as a "toy" it's probably ok....

 

[StewartR]

All i really want is to be able to take standard fish-eye shots such as this.

That's not a fisheye shot. A fisheye gives you an angle of view of 180 degrees, and that shot is nowhere near. It's just an ordinary wide-ish angle shot with some distortion added. If that's the look you're after, save your money and apply the distortion in Photoshop (or whatever editing software you use).

PS Welcome to TP!

 

[Boldonian]

I've just bought a cheap Samyang 8mm fisheye from E-bay for £160 or so. It's manual ( aperture and focus ) but meters fine on my camera and gives full 180 degrees perspective on a DX camera. Quality seem good for the money. It's not be quite as sharp as equivalent Nikkor or Canon offerings but it gets good reviews and I'm impressed so far . Fisheye photography is just a bit of fun afterall.

 

[HoppyUK]

I've just bought a cheap Samyang 8mm fisheye from E-bay for £160 or so. It's manual ( aperture and focus ) but meters fine on my camera and gives full 180 degrees perspective on a DX camera. Quality seem good for the money. It's not be quite as sharp as equivalent Nikkor or Canon offerings but it gets good reviews and I'm impressed so far . Fisheye photography is just a bit of fun afterall.

Just googled that Samyang and came up with this review. Looks very good! http://www.lenstip.com/160.1-Lens_r...5_Aspherical_IF_MC_Fish-eye_Introduction.html

Samyang have a few interesting lenses and the fact that this one is fully manual doesn't strike me as a problem at all. You don't need to focus a fisheye anyway (massive depth of field) and you still get auto exposure on Av.

If I wanted a fisheye, I'd give it a punt for sure. Sure they are a bit of fun but I've also seen some spectacularly good mountain biking shots done with them so I think they do have a serious side.