which fish eye lens is right for me?

Trbo323

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Ok so long story short I am going into photography and will be studying it at college starting in the Fall, I have already taken a few classes at a community college and have a sony A-300 (not the newest style body, but i dont know if that changes anything) with a sigma 18-200 on it, for a graduation present from the community college my parents basically said i could choose a gift for myself so i settled on a fish eye lens and have a few questions

first, i know the sony DSLRs are not the most popular cameras out there so i was wondering if you think this A-300 will be able to cut it for the long run or if another sony camera will because i dont want to get down the road, have 8 lenses and decide a nikon or a cannon is the way to go and none of my lenses will mount to them, if another sony alpha series will work then thats great i can worry about that when the time comes but if getting something else now would be the smart move i may do that with this graduation present, sell the a-300 and use that money to get a fish eye for the new camera instead

secondly, price needs to be under 1k, i know some fish eyes produce round images, i want a rectangular image, i know there were terms for that but i forgot what they were, a little help there would be appreciated. I would like to get a full 180 degrees horizontally but would go to around 160 at bare minimum, i dont think id like a 120 though, doesnt seem fish eye enough if you know what i mean, macro would be a plus (idk if some are not macros or not) but not absolutely needed, iv seen a few that are MF only and would like to keep AF but if i cant to keep it under 1k then i cant

I think that pretty much explains my situation, I am working at a summer camp right now so I will only be able to get on on the weekends, so my responses may be a bit spread out

thanks for any help as the camera jockeys at the local shops seem to know little to nothing about fish eye lenses
 
Welcome to the Photo Forum. You will find many great people on here that will help you.

I was not real familiar with the Sony A-300, so I did a quick search/review. While it is not as "main stream" as the Canon and Nikon, it is a very capable camera that can provide year's of great picture taking. Sony is continually producing and updating cameras, so you will always be able to upgrade to a better Sony body in the future, but what you have is a great starting point.

The fisheye lens that you are looking for is called a "full-frame fisheye", meaning it will have a rectangular (although distorted) image. It is a very specialized lens, that although fun with many uses, it will be somewhat limiting. If you are just starting off, I think you would be better served with a regular super-wide angle lens, that will produce "normal" images. Normal images will keep straight lines straight. This gives you more versatility than a rounded image of a full frame fisheye. Sony and Sigma have 10-20 MM lenses available in the Sony mount. Also Tokina makes their great 11-16 lens in Sony mount and you should also consider this lens.

Get out there and start taking lots of photos and have fun.

-Andy
 
Its not that I have not given a macro some thought and I am sure I will get one at some point but I just love the distortion that a fish eye gives, I know its not for every situation but the things I tend to find myself taking photos of are points of view, the final projects I picked for the photo classes I have taken both had to do with points of view, one of the photos was even looking into a bubble mirror and I really liked the way it turned out because of the distortion the mirror put on it. and while some of the photos will still be using the 18mm side of my current lens if I find myself hitting that all the time I may consider a macro like the two you have mentioned, thanks for those btw

Basically I have already settled on a fish eye, I am just looking for some input at to which full framed one I should take a look at in specific and any reviews people may have
 
This 6mm nikon fisheye can actually see behind itself. There's one on ebay right now for the low, low price of $36,000

116339.jpg
 
I would not recommend a fisheye lens. This is largely my own opinion, but also some factual observation. I think that a fisheye is a gimmicky photo-effect. You can create a similar effect in PP, but really, an image should not rely upon an effect for its merit. I think you should invest in a clear, sharp lens and learn the basics of composition. I really don't imagine that if you're taking a photography class in college, that the professor will encourage you to use a fisheye.
 
im not getting it for any class, not to mention both the professors i have had previous have said, "if you got it, you can use it"

do all the editing you want, and while you can stretch a image in photo shop (been there done that) to give it some distortion if you dont start with a 180 degree angle of view theres no way you can finish with one. while i do enjoy the distortion its the angle of view that intrigues me more than anything, like i said, point of view is one of the things i enjoy for myself most

While I dont expect everyone to have in depth knowege of fish eyes (although i was hoping i could find someone here) do you know where i can go to find some reviews/facts on them at least?
 
I would not recommend a fisheye lens. This is largely my own opinion, but also some factual observation. I think that a fisheye is a gimmicky photo-effect. You can create a similar effect in PP, but really, an image should not rely upon an effect for its merit. I think you should invest in a clear, sharp lens and learn the basics of composition. I really don't imagine that if you're taking a photography class in college, that the professor will encourage you to use a fisheye.

Gimmick this, son.


I use mine a lot. In fact, the Canon 15 f/2.8 is probably one of the sharpest lenses I own. Sharper than my other primes and L lenses. Also, 15mm on a FF camera servers the purpose of being insanely wide.

im not getting it for any class, not to mention both the professors i have had previous have said, "if you got it, you can use it"

do all the editing you want, and while you can stretch a image in photo shop (been there done that) to give it some distortion if you dont start with a 180 degree angle of view theres no way you can finish with one. while i do enjoy the distortion its the angle of view that intrigues me more than anything, like i said, point of view is one of the things i enjoy for myself most

While I dont expect everyone to have in depth knowege of fish eyes (although i was hoping i could find someone here) do you know where i can go to find some reviews/facts on them at least?

Look at this one.

Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye Lens for Sony Alpha 477-205 -

You want 8-10mm on an APS-C sensor. The aperture won't matter much, as even with a f/2.8, at 15mm you're going to have a huge DOF. The above photo I posted was shot at f/2.8. If it wasn't for the montion blur, everything would be in focus. Also, you can see that looking at the car.
 
I would not recommend a fisheye lens. This is largely my own opinion, but also some factual observation. I think that a fisheye is a gimmicky photo-effect. You can create a similar effect in PP, but really, an image should not rely upon an effect for its merit. I think you should invest in a clear, sharp lens and learn the basics of composition. I really don't imagine that if you're taking a photography class in college, that the professor will encourage you to use a fisheye.
Used properly a FE is not a gimmick. They are great for fun shots with kids or interesting perspective shots on location. Of course overused or used improperly it can be gimmicky. It's like B&W, done right it can add to an image, but some people will use it to try to hide poor composition, subject matter etc.

On a FF it isn't too far off of my regular UWA 17-40mm.
4816311841_d1754b15fa_b.jpg
 
finally a few people who take me seriously, thank you for the link village i do like my other sigma lens and that seems to be a very good price on it

are fisheyes overused by the majority of people? yes, iv heard of someone shooting a wedding with one, made me cringe, but that doesnt mean its a gimmick that nobody should use, i cant stand fish eyes on video cameras for the most part as well, same reason, they are over used but then you find that one video that is done right and it is very well done. im not looking to be shooting every day in every situation with this FE, i have a good walking around lens for that already, its for the perspective and angle of view that you can not get with a standard lens

village, scatter-any other fish eyes you think i should look at?

village- nice shot of the VW, were you in a car or van next to it? you must have been pretty close to it to do that with a FE
 
o ya, village, do you know what the angle of view on that sigma was? i didnt see it on the page, and if its measured horizontally or diagonally? also will that sigma work with the AF on my camera?

edit: found one piece of it "rectangular 180° view in all directions"

namtot- thanks for the link, ill keep it in mind, i would like the f2.8 of the sigma but still need info on both lenses, for instance, do you know if the Rokinin will still work with my cameras AF? or will it be manual focus only? metering? same thing?
 
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