Opinion Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye DX series

[Heaterguy]

You guys are trying to shame me into this! Hey honey, it's not my fault I bought the lens blame Kirbster and Nicole, LOL!

Originally Posted by Nicole

You can definitely get the fisheye look on a crop body. Like I said, these definitely don't have the full fish effect, but that's more because of composition than anything. I'm with Kirb though, the last used lens I bought I managed to sell for more than I paid. You'll still really enjoy it on a crop body.

[inkista]

Wait, I haven't put my oar in, yet!

If $400 is too rich for your blood, you could go nuts and look at the Samyang/Rokinon 8mm fisheye. It's manual aperture/manual focus, so a bit more of a PITA to use, and only f/3.5, but it looks pretty good to me, and it's not like thin DoF or focusing accuracy were ever an issue for a fisheye lens. Also diagonal and designed for a crop. $300, new, and comes under a variety of brand names.

The first real lens I bought for my Canon XT was a Sigma 8mm f/4 circular fisheye. Because I like to shoot panoramas that cover the entire spherical view, and an 8mm circular fisheye means I can do it handheld.


Canon XT. Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye. four handheld shots, rotated at 90° intervals in yaw. Stitched in PTMac into equirectangular mapping.

interactive view (requires flash and probably a coffee break).

For me, the really fun begins once I have the pano stitched and put together, because I like to do crazy stunts like this:


Pano above, remapped in the Gimp with Mathmap plugin and breic's Quincuncial script, with drostify option.

Fisheyes are fun, but typically a niche tool for most shooters. Pano folks and skateboard photographers tend to be the exception, who use them heavily. Mine never leaves my bag.

When shooting with a fisheye, you do want to be careful with horizon placement. The closer the horizon is to the center of the frame, the less distortion you'll "feel" in the image. The closer the horizon is to the edge of the frame, the funkier the feel gets. And it's always a treat for emphasizing near objects against far.



And as Nicole says, watch that front element. Objects really are closer than they appear through a fisheye. Also be very very aware that you have no real way of protecting that front element. It will be curved, so the usual screw-on UV filter trick won't work. And I felt like a complete idiot when, after shooting with mine for three months, I realized that if I removed the collar for holding on the lens cap, I'd stop vignetting so damn much.

The Nikkor 10.5 has a terrific reputation, and is very good image quality, and typically goes in the $600 range. As was mentioned upthread, if it turns out not to be your cup of tea, you can always make a profit selling it on.

[Heaterguy]

That sure is nice work Inksta. Thanks for your input.

Originally Posted by inkista

Wait, I haven't put my oar in, yet!

If $400 is too rich for your blood, you could go nuts and look at the Samyang/Rokinon 8mm fisheye. It's manual aperture/manual focus, so a bit more of a PITA to use, and only f/3.5, but it looks pretty good to me, and it's not like thin DoF or focusing accuracy were ever an issue for a fisheye lens. Also diagonal and designed for a crop. $300, new, and comes under a variety of brand names.

The first real lens I bought for my Canon XT was a Sigma 8mm f/4 circular fisheye. Because I like to shoot panoramas that cover the entire spherical view, and an 8mm circular fisheye means I can do it handheld.


Canon XT. Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye. four handheld shots, rotated at 90° intervals in yaw. Stitched in PTMac into equirectangular mapping.

interactive view (requires flash and probably a coffee break).

For me, the really fun begins once I have the pano stitched and put together, because I like to do crazy stunts like this:


Pano above, remapped in the Gimp with Mathmap plugin and breic's Quincuncial script, with drostify option.

Fisheyes are fun, but typically a niche tool for most shooters. Pano folks and skateboard photographers tend to be the exception, who use them heavily. Mine never leaves my bag.

When shooting with a fisheye, you do want to be careful with horizon placement. The closer the horizon is to the center of the frame, the less distortion you'll "feel" in the image. The closer the horizon is to the edge of the frame, the funkier the feel gets. And it's always a treat for emphasizing near objects against far.



And as Nicole says, watch that front element. Objects really are closer than they appear through a fisheye. Also be very very aware that you have no real way of protecting that front element. It will be curved, so the usual screw-on UV filter trick won't work. And I felt like a complete idiot when, after shooting with mine for three months, I realized that if I removed the collar for holding on the lens cap, I'd stop vignetting so damn much.

The Nikkor 10.5 has a terrific reputation, and is very good image quality, and typically goes in the $600 range. As was mentioned upthread, if it turns out not to be your cup of tea, you can always make a profit selling it on.

[Fishpic]

We know you are going to buy it now It is calling you.....can you hear it?

Seriously - if you have your "need" lenses - it sure is a fun "want" lens.....

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by inkista

Wait, I haven't put my oar in, yet!

Just to minorly hijack the thread, I so need to re-read your threads about the things you've created with your fisheye (and possibly ask you some questions if I don't quite get it ).