Fisheye lens for Nikon D40

[Drihan]

I have a Nikon D40 and want to buy a fisheye lens/ lens adaptor. Im not sure what to buy. im currently looking at the Zeikos 0.18x Super Fisheye lens that mounts onto my 18-55mm lens. I also don't want the black circular frame, I want the wide angle pictures with the fisheye distortions on the edges. Will I be able to get this effect with a fisheye that mounts onto my lens? Or do i need to buy a 10mm fisheye lens?

Thanks
Drihan

[arlon]

If you are on a budget, Vivitar has started selling a new manual focus 7mm that sells for about $350. Seems to be a decent lens. Not a Nikon but 1/3 the cost too. Might be worth googling.

[Drihan]

Thanks Arlon, Ill take a look.

[vandergus]

Yeah, it's tough to find affordable fisheye lenses. Especially for DX cameras. You can find some older full frame fisheye lenses for pretty cheap but you lose a lot of the "fishy" effect when you use them with a DX sensor. The lens Arlon suggested is probably your best option. You should also know that in addition to manual focus (which shouldn't be much of a hindrance on a fisheye lens) you'll also be setting the exposure manually, because it's a non-CPU lens. But, hey, it's $300 so you've got to sacrifice something. Here's a review for the lens.

Samyang 8 mm f/3.5 Aspherical IF MC Fish-eye Review

P.S. You may see the lens branded as a Vivitar, Samyang, Bower, or even Phoenix depending on where you purchase it, but it's essentially the same lens.

[arlon]

If you don't mind the manual focus it looks like a pretty nifty lens. Probably not quite as sharp as a Nikkon lens but on a 6mp camera that should less of an issue than it would be on a D3X.. It's designed for the smaller sensor like the D40 has. It should give you a full 180 degree view on that camera and it fills the frame (not a circle).

I'm considering buying one for myself. At that price I can almost afford to buy it as a "toy". If it doesn't work out for me I'll resell it ebay.. Couldn't loose too much.

[kirbinster]

The Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye is a great lens, you can pick one up used typically for about $550. While it won't autofocus on the D40, that should not be an issue as the hyperfocal distance on it is tiny.

[inkista]

And if you want autofocus, there's always the Sigma 10mm fisheye. (~$600 new).

The Vivitar/Samyang fisheye, btw, goes by a lot of different badges. Rokinon/Bower/Phoenix etc. Chances are good that if you look for Vivitar, Samyang, or Rokinon, you're gonna find it. Prices are pretty equal across the board. But with the 85/1.4, not so much. On that, the Rokinon version is about $50-$100 less than the other labels, so spending a bit of time comparison shopping among the labels is not a bad thing with this brand. (It is, btw, made in So. Korea).

Also, the vocabulary for "I also don't want the black circular frame, I want the wide angle pictures with the fisheye distortions on the edges" is that you're looking for a "diagonal" fisheye, not a "circular".