FishEye for Nikon

ahphotography · Oct 12, 2007

I have been considering buying a fisheye lens. If I am going to do it I am going to do it right. What do you all think about this nikon lens: (link)
AF DX Fisheye-NIKKOR 10.5mm f/2.8G ED

Is it worth the money, or is fisheye effect something that won't stick around for long if ya know what I mean. Just wondering... anyone else know any good fisheye lens for a D1x that might be worth wild.

Thank you!

Sw1tchFX · Oct 12, 2007

I'm pretty sure the Nikon is the only one that will actually give you 180 degrees on a DX body.

sabbath999 · Oct 12, 2007

Hrmmm...

Honestly, while the 10.5 will be the widest fisheye that I can think of, I have real difficulty recommending any specialty DX lens, simply because I think the future of the Nikon line (and everybody elses) will be full sensor, and this lens can't be used to full effect on a full sensor lens.

If this was a lens you are going to use every day for thousands of shots, then I have no problem with recommending DX... because you would get your moneys worth out of it long before you upgrade to a full sensor camera.

BUT...

The D3 shows that the writing is on the wall for the DX lines... IMHO... and I personally am not going to buy any lenses that are DX only. I own one (18-200 DX) and while my wife likes it very much, that's the only one I am buying. If it were me, I would look at the AF NIKKOR 14mm f/2.8D ED instead. Not quite the coverage on your D1, but it will hold its value a lot more and work with full frame sensors.

But that is me.

johnmh · Oct 12, 2007

Not particularly worried about DX or not - I plan on keeping the cameras we have for a while and that's what we have. Made the Nikon/Canon choice a while back so that's the path we're on. No complaints.

Regarding this lens in particular.....if you plan on using a fisheye regularly and can foot the bill, this is the one to use on DX format cameras. The 16mm loses much of its fisheye effect in this format. Can't speak of the 14 mm as I have no experience with it. Can't speak of other brands though there are other non-Nikkor ones out there.

KaleyEs · Oct 13, 2007

I would really recommend this lens... My friend has it and I have borrowed it multiple times and I can't get enough of it. The fish eye effect is great for creating unique shots. The lens is fast and the glass is great. I would definetely suggest it.

I haven't played around with the 14mm at all, but I love how wide the 10.5 is. I don't think you would get as good an effect with the 14mm.

Iron Flatline · Oct 13, 2007

I think a fish-eye lens is a novelty-fun kind of way of shooting, I know few people who use it regularly as part of their creative output. Don't spend a lot of money on it - see if you can get one used. They don't hold value well.

Garbz · Oct 13, 2007

sabbath999 said:
Hrmmm...

Honestly, while the 10.5 will be the widest fisheye that I can think of, I have real difficulty recommending any specialty DX lens, simply because I think the future of the Nikon line (and everybody elses) will be full sensor, and this lens can't be used to full effect on a full sensor lens.

Yes but by the time we actually see an affordable full frame camera in the Nikon lineup the sensor is likely to be 15+Mpx anyway and when mounting a DX lens it'll crop back down to 8ish just like the 12Mpx D3 crops down to 5Mpx with a DX lens. So in essence you'll pull the same quality from them.

I on the other hand wouldn't because the lens is not compatible with my film body, which can't be easily cropped while retaining quality :er:

just x joey · Oct 13, 2007

the NIKKOR 14mm f/2.8D ED isnt even a fisheye is it? go for the 10.5 im saving for one of them also.

ahphotography · Oct 14, 2007

Great. Thanks everyone. I thank you for your help. I'm still unsure if I'll go for it. I'll let you know either way! Thanks again.

lamb · Oct 16, 2007

just x joey said:
the NIKKOR 14mm f/2.8D ED isnt even a fisheye is it? go for the 10.5 im saving for one of them also.

The 14mm is not a fisheye, the 16mm is the Nikon diagonal fisheye for full frame images...
The 10.5mm is the Nikon diagonal fisheye for DX images, as far as I know the only one existing...

The other choice would be a circular fisheye like the Sigma 8mm f/3.5 or the Peleng 8mm f3,5. They provide a circular image on a full frame sensor and a cropped image of still 180 degrees (along the diagonal) on a DX sensor.

L.

fmw · Oct 16, 2007

The 10.5 is basically the old 16mm full frame fisheye design implemented for the APS digital format. It is an excellent lens. I should also note that DX lenses will work with larger sensors. They just vignette so you have to crop the images down to what would have been an APS sized sensor in the first place.

Here's a shot made with my 10.5

lamb · Oct 16, 2007

By the way, I read somewhere that the 10.5mm dx fisheye works on a full frame image with almost no vignetting, if you cut out the built-in shade... And you get a diagonal field of view larger than 180 degrees...

Disclaimer: I am not suggesting to do so...

tallulah · Oct 16, 2007

I tried the 10.5mm out on the weekend and man I love it!

ahphotography · Oct 17, 2007

I'm love the photo, Fred. That exactly what I'm in the market for.

Bevel Heaven · Oct 17, 2007

I love the 10.5 - this shot my photog pal Gary Rather shot of me standing up in the corkscrew at Laguna Seca during the MotoGP this year. For the record my eyeball is about 2 inches from the front of the lens. The photographer behind me with the red hat is Brian J Nelson who is pretty famous in the moto crowd and widely published. I am saving up for this particular lens right now.