fish eye opteka 6.5 mm

[simbok]

anyone has this lense??
just got this lense and tried it out, F came out to infinity , tried to change and nothing happen...

is there any tutorial that can teach me how to maximize this lense....
all advice will be highly appreciated....

[inkista]

It's a manual focus fisheye lens. You control the aperture by an aperture ring on the lens (the one labelled "22 16 11 8 5.6 3.5". The other ring--the one that goes to infinity--is your focus ring. Because the focal length of a fisheye is so small, you get a very very deep DoF, and nearly everything will be in focus most of the time with a fisheye, unless you are focusing on something very close.

My two tips would be: watch your front element. Because of the distortion of fisheyes, it's like a car side mirror: objects may be closer than they appear. Watch that you don't bump into something with the front of your lens.

Secondly, how much distortion will appear in your image is often dependent on how you place the horizon. The closer the horizon is to the middle of the frame, the less curved it will be, and the lest distortion will appear. To maximize the distortion effect, place the horizon nearer the edges of the frame.

[simbok]

thanks for your tips kista, wl go out and try it today
for sure I wl keep my lense away from something that may hit to front of it

can you up load some of your shots please......

[inkista]

I don't own the Opteka. I have a Sigma 8mm f/3.5 circular fisheye, though, which is similar. Don't think my photos will help you see what the Opteka/Samyang/Vivitar looks like, though.

I'd look at this Flickr group for samples from the lens (Samyang-badged).

[ddr]

this one is also a group for the same lens

I'm trying to figure out a sure way of de-fishing it before purchasing this lens per ur suggestion, inkista

[inkista]

Originally Posted by ddr

this one is also a group for the same lens

I wasn't sure from the name of that one if they included the Sigma 8mm f/3.5, too.

I'm trying to figure out a sure way of de-fishing it before purchasing this lens per ur suggestion, inkista

Hate to say it, but if you plan on de-fishing regularly, I wouldn't get a fisheye. That's what ultrawide rectilinear lenses are for. Fisheyes are all about the distortion.

[simbok]

@ kista, I did tried my lens yesterday, just wondering the final result not as per what I expected......some pictures over exposured and some under exposured, how could I set the correct white balance for this lense???

I looked for tutorial at you tube ,and can't find any..

[inkista]

White balance is white balance, it doesn't matter what lens you use. Shooting in RAW and applying white balance in post is probably your best bet.

As for exposure, this is a manual focus lens. It does not communicate any information to the camera, so the camera's stop-down metering may be thrown off. I'd say your best bet is to use the histogram to judge the exposure and then reshoot if you need to. After a while, you'll get the hang of how the lens may bias exposure.

What I've typically found with my manual lenses is that metering is most accurate with the lens wide open at its maximum aperture. From there, I do the mental math to adjust for stopping down the lens, and then ignore the metering after stopping down. But that may be more of a pain than you want to deal with.

[simbok]

@inkista....thanks for your briefly tutorial.....

after searching inet for quite sometimes I know that this lens isn't for anyone!
I hate to have it- but it is very challenging and I like it, even though I still don't know how to maximize it.

[ddr]

Originally Posted by inkista

I wasn't sure from the name of that one if they included the Sigma 8mm f/3.5, too.


Hate to say it, but if you plan on de-fishing regularly, I wouldn't get a fisheye. That's what ultrawide rectilinear lenses are for. Fisheyes are all about the distortion.

no not regularly. but this is a stepping stone towards the 11-16 that i want, but I'm not sure if I need. If de-fishing becomes a habit then it's hello tokina. Not a bad route if you ask me now that I think of it. I'm just fascinated by the fish-eye effect, and the manual aspect of it might force me to use my head more.