Fisheye lenses

[livin4lax09]

i did alot of research about it. and whoever saius that they were afraid if their mirror would hit. thers a site on google somwerhee where this guy tested a bunch of cameras and tels you if it either hits all the time, sometimes, or not at all.

thanks but you're going to have to be more specific. that only narrows it down to oh, say, a billion photography sites?

[mjs1973]

Thanks for joining the conversation Picturetaker! I would agree with you that the lens you purchased is of better quality than the Rusian made lens that I have. I haven't had any of the problems that you mentioned and I'm very happy with the lens I have. Maybe I got a good one. I think that any of the problems you will see in the corners do to uneven coatings is minimized on a DSLR with a 1.6x or 1.5x crop, since you don't use the entire image circle that the lens produces. Of course if you're using a full frame camera, the outcome could be very different.

Another big differance for me is the price of the lenses. For me, a fisheye lens has a very limited use. I do love the affect that it procuces with certain images, but it's not an everyday lens for me. I couldn't justify paying much more than what I did for mine, for a lens that sit's in my bag 99% of the time.

Sorry I haven't posted any of the detail shots of my lens yet. I haven't had time, but I will get them posted soon.

[picturetaker1239]

http://www.muellerworld.com/peleng/

theres the link to the site where i saw the thing he has a chart. i think hes talking about film cameras and you guys plan on using like dslrs. i also came across a site that had the peleng lens on a 300d so after you get the right mount it should work and then you're on your way. the lens was really fishy also. he had examples. but i dont know the site so yeah. thers also some things i saw about making your fisheye from a peep hole. but it was mostly for p&s cameras. it was also shitty quality and had alot of ambient light entering the illuminating the inside of the makeshift lens. overall i think that the peleng is your best best but i havent seen anything from raynox. they make fisheyes for video cameras. thats where ud best get a lens for you vx1 or 2000. However if its the same concept that i'm thinking of, you'll have to have a macro lens for it to work if its not included. its pretty much the same concept as the crappy ones you see on ebay that are just extentions. anyways off to work good luck finding any pelegs on ebay. if worse comes to worse you'll have to order one in from russia and then that'll boost your cost dramatically. but i have herd some good things about sending cameras and equipment overseas for service so you never know.

[specradio]

I bought a Russian made, Zenitar, 16mm Fisheye lens on ebay a few years back. The link I included is the exact lens that I have, but I don't think I paid that much for mine, but then again, it's been a few years. I think this lens works pretty good for the price I paid. Keep in mind that there are no electronics in this lens so everything needs to be set manualy.

There are a couple images that I have taken with this lens in this thread.

One thing to keep in mind when putting a fisheye on a DSLR with a smaller than full frame sensor, you are going to loose a lot of the distortion around the edges of your frame, due to the crop factor. The 16mm fisheye, becomes a 25.6mm on your DRebel.

That horseshoe bend picture was featured picture on wikipedia the other day...maybe it's yours?

[specradio]

Nikon has that badass 10.5mm 2.8 fisheye. I'll probably end up buying one around christmas.

[picturetaker1239]

yeah depending on what your shooting and how often you'll use the lens its worth it.

i use mine pretty much every shoot. since i shoot skate photography as a freelance photographer for this skate company now. its fun. i like the lens. i really want to know how much luck the others have had looking for peleng fisheyes. becaue if its not that bad then i might consider getting one for my nikon. as long as my chart checks out.

film would prolly look way better.

[mjs1973]

That horseshoe bend picture was featured picture on wikipedia the other day...maybe it's yours?

Thanks for the heads up. I looked that image up on wiipedia and it's not mine. It's deffinetly the same place, but that image is much wider than mine.

[mjs1973]

Here are a few shots of the russian fisheye I have. One with the EOS mount, one without it, and one of the mount itself. I leave the mount on this lens all the time. That way I can attach a real lenscap to it, and it's always ready to go.

[mikeb380]

That last picture with the film camera is making me "iffy" about this lens.

That image is distorted because it isn't horizontal, it is pointing down toward the ground. If you keep the camera horizontal it doesn't have much distortion. I loaned my lens to a friend with a 30D, full frame, and he kept getting his feet in the picture till he learned to keep the camera level. I think the Zenitar 16mm/2.8 is a very good lens and have seen comparisons with name brands and they are so close it isn't funny.

[mikeb380]

yeah depending on what your shooting and how often you'll use the lens its worth it.

i use mine pretty much every shoot. since i shoot skate photography as a freelance photographer for this skate company now. its fun. i like the lens. i really want to know how much luck the others have had looking for peleng fisheyes. becaue if its not that bad then i might consider getting one for my nikon. as long as my chart checks out.

film would prolly look way better.

Hartblei Camera have both the Zenitar and the Peleng. They have a web site and also sell on ebay. They have some other neat lenses for 35mm/DSLR such as tilt/shift in 4 or 5 focal lengths. Lots less money than Canon, Nikon, et al.