I want to get a fisheye lens...but...

[^MikeG]

But I dont really wanna spend like $500 on one! I really want to get one to just play around with and have as a fun lens to take some cool pics with...but I have failed to find a decent price on one. Anyone have any suggestions to anything...or have some pics with any!? If I have to spend that much I will, but I will have to save up......

Thanx!

[Jim_T]

I haven't used one, but there have been good reports on the Zenitar 16mm fisheye..

They go for a little over 100 bucks..

Here's a review..

http://photonotes.org/reviews/zenitar-fisheye/

[cactusclay]

I heard the same.

[^MikeG]

Wow that is nice!!! Thanx alot for the link...I'll look into it!

[velvetjones]

I got a new Sigma 15mm fisheye on ebay last year for $325...

It is REAL nice!

[rickyd]

I bought the Zenitar first and had so much fun with it that I bought the Canon.
Zenitar is worth what you pay for it (approx $100) but if you use it a lot you will want to upgrade to the Canon. Advantages are build quality, sharpness and auto focus. Have fun!!
Rickyd

[KevC]

Russian Fishy :) MC Zenitar 16mm f/2.8

[radar-eclipse]

I have the 15mm Canon that I bought eyons ago for maybe $625. It has been handy, but your probably not missing much. Try looking for the Sigma as it is perhaps half the price.

[Marshall]

The 8mm Peleng has had good reviews in the past & is relatively cheap in the U.S.A.compared with here in the "rip off" U.K.

[^MikeG]

A member pmed me about buying his Zenitar 16mm...so I'll see how that goes.

Thanx for the suggestions everyone!

[aam1234]

Can I hijack this thread for a sec. Was wondering what's the cut off point between a fisheye and a really wide lense. Is there a consensus on the definitions of both. Thanks

[Mike330R]

I would like a fisheye as well. Been meaning to buy the Zenitar but just dropped some coin on a zoom.

I had a cheapo fisheye on my old point and shoot and it was fun.

[greyson08]

hey, I checked out this site. http://www.kievcamera.com/
as well as the guy's ebay store. did he jack the prices up? cuz I don't see anything in the 100$ area. closer to 200$. just curious, also on the website, his canon section says "EOS/FD mount".
is that the right mound for EF?

anyways, anyone know where I can pick one up for the old price? or does it look like I missed out on that price. thanks!

[Tom W]

Can I hijack this thread for a sec. Was wondering what's the cut off point between a fisheye and a really wide lense. Is there a consensus on the definitions of both. Thanks

Design separates the two - a normal ultra-wide lens (like Canon's 14 mm prime) is designed to be rectilinear - that is, no circular curvature of the image. Rectilinear lenses are designed to make vertical lines remain vertical. That doesn't mean that you can't get a keystone effect - that is a matter of keeping the film plane parallel to the subject plane. It just means that buildings that are square-faced will remain square-faced if your camera is held with the sensor plane straight.

Fisheyes do not use corrective lenses to eliminate spherical curvature - they instead allow the curvature of the lens to remain in the image.

[Jim_T]

Can I hijack this thread for a sec. Was wondering what's the cut off point between a fisheye and a really wide lense. Is there a consensus on the definitions of both. Thanks

As far as defining lenses, there are fisheye lenses and rectilinear lenses. While the fisheye effect becomes pronounced at short focal lengths, this is not what makes a fisheye a fisheye..

There are two types of wide angle lenses....

The fishey lens creates the classic 'round' or curved distortion.

Rectilinear lenses produce 'normal' looking photos at wide angles by using an ashperical lens to correct the curve.

This is how Canon can sell a 14mm f/2 lens that takes 'normal' pictures and a 15mm that isn't quite as wide, but produces fisheye photos.

Actually, Canon has a new EF-S10-22 mm lens that doesn't produce fisheye results even at the very wide focal length of 10mm.

[blackviolet]

i have both the zenitar and the sigma. the zenitar is quite nice, but it's also completely manual. generally speaking you can stop it down to 16 and get everything in focus (you may have to adjust the stop screw to ensure accurate focus...).

on the otherhand, the sigma is sharp. it's EX glass and the colour and contrast and everything else is quite good. there are quite a few threads here which have examples from both.

[vjack]

Based on the pictures I've seen with the 16mm Zenitar on a 1.6 crop camera, it barely looks fishy. The 8mm Peleng seems to be a much better choice.