Fisheye Lens Help?

danaxrose · Jul 30, 2009

I'm pretty new at this. I just got my Canon Rebel XS in April and I'm looking to get a fisheye lens for it. I want to buy a CHEAP one. I don't really want to go and buy a $600+ Canon lens because I don't have the money xD Also, I want a full-frame/rectangular one, not the classic type that is a circle and has a black ring around it. If anyone can help me, I will love them forever

Hahaha. OH and it can also be one of those lens attachment or converters. I have the normal 18-55mm lens btw.

THANKS!<33

Village Idiot · Jul 30, 2009

I think tamron makes a zoomable one. I've only ever used the Peleng and the Canon.

danaxrose · Jul 30, 2009

i can't find one by tamron..

do you think that this one would work?
it says it fits my camera too so i'm hoping it would.
i just don't know technical stuff..

Precision Design 0.25X Super AF Fisheye Lens

Village Idiot · Jul 30, 2009

danaxrose · Jul 30, 2009

the problem is, i don't have THAT much money ha.

that's why i am looking for a cheaper solution..

SrBiscuit · Jul 30, 2009

danaxrose said:
i can't find one by tamron..

do you think that this one would work?
it says it fits my camera too so i'm hoping it would.
i just don't know technical stuff..

Precision Design 0.25X Super AF Fisheye Lens

i have it.
it's cheap alright.
it's a bit of fun.
what it's NOT is a lens.
it screws onto your existing lenses and reduces the focal length by.25x

so for easy numbers...you slap this thing on and dial your lens to 20mm...you'll have a fake 5mm.

the IQ is rather poor especially around the outsides...it just gets very blurry and distorted.
i was in the same boat you are...wanting a nice sigma 10-20 but couldnt justify the 479...so instead i bought this, and now am saving up for the sigma 10-20.
ill use the .25 thing for fun every now and then, but it;s really not a replacement for a good lens.

*EDIT*
here's a pic i took of an abandoned greenhouse with it (which i got a brutal case of poison ivy from that im still battling).
the pic is bad, but here's an idea of the focal fall off.

*EDIT 2 - the sequel*

mine came from cameta too, but i got it thru amazon and it was $59 if im not mistaken.
found it. http://www.amazon.com/Precision-Des...OBAG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1248988118&sr=8-3

danaxrose · Jul 30, 2009

errrm, i don't really see the curve at all in that picture ha.
maybe i'm just blind.
or maybe its like what you said about it being outside.

gsgary · Jul 30, 2009

Don't waste your money on cheap crap save and get the real thing

SrBiscuit · Jul 30, 2009

well truthfully...youre right...that was probably at about 40mm...so it was to mimic 10mm.
i dont like the true fisheye "looking down the tunnel" thing...i just wanted wide.
but you can see how quickly the focus turns into garbage.

ill take a full out fisheye shot now and post it for you.

danaxrose · Jul 30, 2009

see, i don't have money.. plus, the lens would be even more than i spent on my camera so i don't think i should do that.

i'm thinking of getting one of these two but i'm not sure which..
idk what the difference is cuz i don't know the technical stuff..
but maybe you all can help me

D

Amazon.com: 0.42X FISHEYE LENS W/ MACRO FOR CANON EOS DIGITAL REBEL: Electronics

Amazon.com: Precision Design 0.25X Super AF Fish Eye Lens for Film & Digital SLR Lenses by Canon: Electronics

danaxrose · Jul 30, 2009

and to srbiscuit, okiee thanks!

D
and i dont like the black barrel looking thing either. it looks kinda cheap..

SrBiscuit · Jul 30, 2009

you will hear from many people on here that it is NOT uncommon for lenses to cost far more than the body.
good glass aint cheap, and its often said that the glass is more important than the body.:thumbup:

look at the sigma 10-20...people love it and i cant wait to get mine.

www.10-20mm.com

Gaerek · Jul 30, 2009

I am going to parrot everyone else here. Even if you want a fish eye, and can't afford a dedicated fish eye, you would be much better served putting the money you are going to spend on the attachment into a "Real Fish-Eye Lens" Fund, and just saving for a few months. Those lens attachments truly are garbage and a waste of money.

If you need help saving money, think of all the things you spend money on in a month. Now think if there's anything you can cut out that can be saved for your lens. Do you buy a coffee everyday ($5 a day)? Just brew your own coffee for 3 months and you will have saved around $400 (enough for a real fish eye). Look on Ebay to see if someone has a used one for sale to get it lower than retail.

The people suggesting that you save your money for the real thing aren't trying to be difficult, or elitist, or anything like that. They're trying to help make sure you are buying a quality product that you won't be disappointed with.

danaxrose · Jul 30, 2009

true true. but i mean, i CAN'T save money because i have no way of earning it. i am only fifteen and i don't have a job so i can't save any money. plus, my parents wont participate in buying a really expensive lens so my dad says that its either this or nothing..

JerryPH · Jul 30, 2009

SrBiscuit said:
i have it.
it's cheap alright.
it's a bit of fun.
what it's NOT is a lens.
it screws onto your existing lenses and reduces the focal length by.25x

so for easy numbers...you slap this thing on and dial your lens to 20mm...you'll have a fake 5mm.

the IQ is rather poor especially around the outsides...it just gets very blurry and distorted.
i was in the same boat you are...wanting a nice sigma 10-20 but couldnt justify the 479...so instead i bought this, and now am saving up for the sigma 10-20.
ill use the .25 thing for fun every now and then, but it;s really not a replacement for a good lens.

*EDIT 2 - the sequel*

mine came from cameta too, but i got it thru amazon and it was $59 if im not mistaken.
found it.

Ugh, that is FAR from a clean picture... that thing is terrible. I am sure its not your camera, just that attachment.

THIS is a set of shots done with a true fisheye. It is a very fun lens, more fun than I thought... but with this lens, you cannot take 200 pictures and look at 200 fisheye shots, it gets tiring and boring very fast.

Dataxrose... what you are looking for is not realistic. Either you pay high and get a real fisheye... or you don't pay and do not get a real fisheye. It's one or the other in this case, I am afraid. I paid $575 for mine and really like it.

Never EVER center a nose with a fisheye... LOL!

Photography is often not a cheap hobby, and at 15 I can understand why your dad doesn't want to drop thousands of dollars into something that is a hobby for you. My suggestion would have been for you to take a part time summer job, but summer is nearly over.

Tough place to be... young, female, unemployed and under a very watchful father's eyes (that last one contains way more good than bad, BTW!). Still... where there is a will, there is a way. That is what I worked through when at the age of 14 I decided I wanted a NEW car (Mustang Cobra), by the age of 16. I made it too, and 100% all by myself, with the exception of a signature from my dad because, after all, I *was* a minor.

If you want something bad enough, there are ways to get it. By that I mean honest and legal ways too.

You just need to figure those out on your own.