cheap fish-eye?

I wanna get a cheap fish-eye lens, just to goof around with maybe take candids and stuff.

doesnt have to be great, just decent...anybody point me in the right direction?

Oh yeah...its for a 40D

I've got an action in photoshop that will duplicate the fisheye look, does that help?

LeesaB wrote in post #7034585
I've got an action in photoshop that will duplicate the fisheye look, does that help?

Out of curiosity how would you duplicate a 10mm lens in photoshop not having a real lens in hand ?

You don't duplicate the lens, but you duplicate the finished product that the lens produces!

the action is likely just a pincushion adjustment. Thats not really going to replicate a fisheye lens very convincingly. The true benefits of fisheyes is the perspective stretching.

-Alan

It's actually not that bad....sure not exactly

But the OP was asking for an inexpensive (cheap) ..... To "goof around with"

So why go to the expense of a lens when you can "cheaply" goof around in CS3?

here is the site....enjoy, it's actually kinda fun!

http://digital-photography-school.com …rait-using-photoshop-cs3/

LeesaB wrote in post #7034874
You don't duplicate the lens, but you duplicate the finished product that the lens produces!

Not really. It mimics the distortion but that is all. They will always look fake because the source image is not as wide as a real fisheye lens. It's just missing too much information that a real FE lens captures.

RolandMel wrote in post #7034560
I wanna get a cheap fish-eye lens, just to goof around with maybe take candids and stuff.

doesnt have to be great, just decent...anybody point me in the right direction?

Oh yeah...its for a 40D

When it comes to fisheyes, its either TOTAL JUNK or SemiPro-grade Gear.

That said, if you MUST go thru with the "cheap fisheye" idea, get one of those add-on lenses. You can find one on ebay for as little as $30. But they truly stink. The IQ is generally worse than you will find if you use LOMO cameras. It has a very Lomo feal actually - the images come out looking like the lens used was plastic. On top of that, you will need to use it on your widest lens to begin with. The results are unimpressive, and mostly downright depressing. But once you live through the exersize in futility. You will come away with some images that will tell you pretty definitively IF in fact you like fisheye photography, if you do, then you can do some real shopping.

One thing to be ready for, the add-on lenses prices are dependant on size of their front elements, which are dependant on the filter thread of the lens you want to attach it to. The cheapest ones you will find are the 55mm and 58mm units, and usually they come with a step-up ring from 55mm - 58mm. Any unit bigger than that will cost more. Honestly, if you have to pay more than $50 for one of these things, don't waste your money - rent a real fisheye lens instead. I rented a Sigma 8mm last summer for $38 for the week (on www.lensrentals.com). I ended up finding I liked my Peleng better.

But, I do own one of those add-on hunks of crap too. I did buy it way back when, when I, like you now, wondered what it would be like. The IQ was horrifying, I think I used it just the 1 day. Its been in the box ever since. 2+ years gone by now.

-Alan

Get yourself a MC Peleng 8mm f/3.5 M42 mount lens + M42-EOS Adaptor. Total cost will be less than $400, usually less the $350. Its the best FishEye you can buy if you ask me. Unless you intend to hunt down some old Nikon 7.5mm or 6mm Fisheyes from the 70's/80's.

-Alan

nureality wrote in post #7036284
Get yourself a MC Peleng 8mm f/3.5 M42 mount lens + M42-EOS Adaptor. Total cost will be less than $400, usually less the $350. Its the best FishEye you can buy if you ask me. Unless you intend to hunt down some old Nikon 7.5mm or 6mm Fisheyes from the 70's/80's.

-Alan

It used to be even cheaper, but word got out that it didn't suck and the price went up. It's still probably the best deal in fisheyes (for serious photography and not just creating 800x533 web shots).

AngryCorgi wrote in post #7036862
It used to be even cheaper, but word got out that it didn't suck and the price went up. It's still probably the best deal in fisheyes (for serious photography and not just creating 800x533 web shots).

I know I got mine for about $300 originally, had a slight problem with it, the guy replaced it... so the extra shipping back and forth got me up to the current pricing of these things. If you don't get it on ebay its even more expensive - about $380 - $390.

Still worth every penny.

-Alan

peleng was my favorite for crops
zenitar is great and cheap for full frame

LeesaB wrote in post #7034874
You don't duplicate the lens, but you duplicate the finished product that the lens produces!

Yeah, you definitely can't duplicate a fisheye in software. Fisheyes are WIDE. Very, very wide. They make 16mm on full frame or 10mm on a crop look like telephotos in comparison.

This is a single shot, and I'm not all that far from the field. With my 12-24 (which I had at the game) I would have had to do two side by side shots to capture the entire field:

10mm on my Tokina 10-17 Fisheye

I would recommend the peleng, but if that's too high of a price. Might try one of those cheap screw ons...I mean it's not that wonderful, but if you don't want to spend money, and just for goofin' off, why not? I can't see spending big bucks on something your not goign to fully utilize. Here some of my examples using one of those cheapies. Maybe this would be enough for you?

^ Is that a screw on fisheye?