70-200mm 2.8 or DX Fisheye?

ajmall · Jun 27, 2005

I'll be photographing digital at NASS (an extreme sports festival) with my newly invested nikon D70s. I found a great deal on a used sigma HSM 70-200mm 2.8 zoom which will be useful for the indoor skatepark comp but as some of you will know fisheye's are the most commonly used lens for extreme sports.

I have a 15mm film fisheye which will give me a focal length of about 22.5mm and will lose some of the fisheye effect. I can afford the nikon digital 10.5mm fisheye but if i get that i won't be able to get the 70-200mm 2.8 zoom.

What would be the better lens for the job? Also, my camera will be delivered this week so I haven't had a chance to look at the film fisheye lens on the D70s AND i fear the 70-200mm will sell quick! thanks for your help.

thebeginning · Jun 28, 2005

is it dark in there or is it outside?

&Denekamp · Jun 28, 2005

I own a vivitar 70-200mm 3.8 (would that make it a slower or a faster lens..?) And its great for portraits, scene's from some distance. But I don't think it will capture the mood you probably want. Skaters doing their thing, crazy tricks, having fun, etc etc. You need that fisheye for that.. also, that zoom lens will have smaller (?) dof, so it will make photographing - fast - moving objects a bit harder.

I don't know if you're planning on doing more skate photography, if so you migh wanne consider going for that 10.5mm. If not, I think it will be wiser to invest in that zoom lens. I think your 15mm fisheye will be able to do the job well enough.. even though it will be 22.5mm on the D70s.

anyway, to answer your question on what would be the better lens for the job, I would say the fisheye..

thebeginning · Jun 28, 2005

i also think the 10.5mm would be a nice idea. if you are good at focusing and it's a bright area, i would go for the 70-200, as it would be a good choice for other types of photography as well.

ajmall · Jun 28, 2005

I've been doing skate photography for a couple of years but i shoot a lot of different subjects.

the lack of light indoors and the distance i'll be at will mean i need a fast zoom lens. I think i will check out my film fisheye before buying anything new. thanks for the help

thebeginning · Jun 28, 2005

yeah i would do that. with a fisheye, the subject is smaller too (unless it is in the direct center and rather close), so you can set a high aperture like f11 or so and almost always get it in focus if you pre-focus it (if it's manual focus), especially since wide angle lenses tend to have greater depth of field.