Which dx fisheye?

Jiffy

Jiffy

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Graham
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I own a Nikon D2Xs and a Fuji S5 pro and I am looking for a great, afforable fisheye lens that would work well with these cameras and obviously to work with the cropped sensor. I have never used one, so any advice on which one to aim for would be great. I have heard good things about the Tokina and the Nikon (as much as I would love to get one) is no doubt too expensive. Are there any others out there? Are they any good? And anything iv missed, advice on anything would be welcomed. Thank you in advance.
 
There are 2 main types of fisheye lens, circular, which will be around 4.5mm on a dx body, or full frame, which will be around 8-10.5mm. The circular version exhibits severe vignetting and is very specialised, while the longer one covers the entire sensor.

Samyang are the cheapest brand I know of. Don't worry about manual focussing, they have a massive depth of field and are difficult to get wrong!

Next up will be the sigma then Nikon versions, which second had will cost slightly more than a new samyang.

Another possibility is the tokina 10-17mm, which starts out as a full frame fisheye then zooms into a distorted ultrawide. Very versatile lens but can be a little prone to CA. This will be around £300 second hand.

For a cheap trial you can get fisheye adaptors but don't expect too much in the IQ department

Have you considered renting?

Hope that helps a bit

Mike
 
Thank you for the advice. I have to say I am rather taken by the tokina. Time for me to look for some deals. Thanks again. :)
 
Nikon 10.5mm - amazing lens for sharpness. Tiny in size but very well made and focusses down to about 5cm, so greta for doing crazy close-ups.

Review here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/reviews/showproduct.php?product=107&title=nikon-10-5mm-f-2f2-8g-ed-dx-fisheye-nikkor&cat=10

It's true that if you're photographing things like landscapes, then you can use hyper focal distancing in MF but once you start bring things close to the lens, then you really have to watch your focussing, especially where narrow DoFs are concerned.

I used mine on a D2x and it was perfect.
 
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Nikon 10.5 fisheye for me too.

Awesomely epic little lens, I love it to pieces.
 
Another vote for the Tokina 10-17. Had mine for about 4-5 years and although its the lens I use least I'd never get rid of it. Good build quality and (as has been mentioned) very sharp.

:thumbs:
 
Nphoto mag has a group test of fisheyes,think the Nikon 10.5 wins it with honourable mentions to the Samyang 8mm,Nikon 16 and Sigma 4.5.
 
I would get the cheapest, which is probably be the samyang as you will be soon bored of it.
 
Everyone said I would be bored with mine.... but I'm not after a couple of years.

Throw it on to get some pleasingly different shots for a set, really makes a difference to have something whacky.

This shot for example has been used a lot this year:

sn_bsb_ak_120322-81.jpg


Although I'd probably say its the last thing you should buy to complete a set of lenses...
 
I highly doubt I'd get bored of it. The whole reason of getting one is because I have a use for it. Push the boundaries in certain areas, have some fun with my work. I'm not sure but I would say that's a bit rude to assume I will get bored of it. To be honest, I don't like to get things I won't use very often as its a total waste of time and money.
I love the Tokina and that's probably going to be the one I will buy, I have seen one for a great price, so I am saving up for it. The Nikon is just too expensive for myself. Thanks again for all the advice people.

Graham
 
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I have (and use a lot) a Sigma 8mm circular fisheye. I've used it on Dx and it gives results like this on a Dx body (D200 in this case).
2765297053_de6593ebf6.jpg


One thing to be aware of (doesn't affect the OP since I'm pretty sure both his bodies are proper ones with the AF motor in body rather than the gelded later, entry level ones that rely on AF-S etc lenses) is that the f/4 version (IIRC, there's a newer f/3.5 one available) isn't HSM, so needs the in body screwdriver AF motor.
CLICK HERE for a link to Sigma's page on the current lens - it seems from the name and letters following it that this lens is also screw driven. It's also reminded me that it's the only 8mm with AF, although that's hardly necessary since DoF is massive, especially stopped down! Flare is incredibly well controlled as long as the front element is kept scrupulously clean - if you want to use filters, they'll need to be gels, slipped in behing the rear element - not much good for grads or pols but with horizons often being curved, grads aren't really that useable anyway and with 180 degrees FoV, pols would give rather strange effects in the sky!

Even though I love it, I'm not sure I would pay the new price - I was extremely lucky to see one on the FS board on the forum for £220 inc P&P. I'd wanted one for around 25-30 years and finally found one I could afford. A quick look at the used dealers' ads in the back of AP doesn't show any 2nd hand and the new price seems to be £620 (bar a penny). MPB may have one in stock - check their link on this site.

On FF, it gives a full circular image (any excuse to post this again - I love it!)
8026090988_3e1a67fb88_b.jpg


In that pic, the sun is just out of shot, top left of the circle - spot any flare (or flair!)

If you want to play at fisheye "on the cheap", I may well be selling my Lomo fisheye film camera (fixed lens, gives images similar to the Dx body pic near the top) on the board in the not too distant future. NO offers or attempts to buy it in this thread. :rules: ! Image from it below.
2603935081_0826ae9083.jpg


Every day lens? Probably not, although when I'm taking a lot of photos, I'll often take a couple with it, either to capture the whole site or for impact. However, it's not really an effect that can be replicated in PP. BTW, beware of feet and bellies/boobies creeping into the bottom of the shot! 180 degrees is wiiiiiiiiiiiide!
 
Round fisheye must get old pretty quick but the frame filling rectilinear images must have more general appeal.
I'm at a bit of a crossroads now where I can either cut the shade of my 10.5 DX fisheye which would give a circular image on my D3 or stump up for a new lens....
 
IMO, the rectangular "fisheyes" are very distorting soopa doopa wide angles rather than true fisheyes, whatever the label put on them by the makers.
 
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