Fisheye vs. Super wide angle

[lkWinnipesaukee]

Another thread got me thinking. Is there a dfference between, say, an 8mm lens labeled "super wide angle" and an 8mm lens labeled "fisheye?"


Thanks

 

[midget patrol]

You'll probably have a really difficult time finding anything in the 8mm range. Even 10 is pushing it. But to answer your question, yes. There is a difference.

Good Super-wides are distortion free. Just very, very wide.
Fisheyes, however, are heavily distorted. Here's a shot taken with a circular fisheye: http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/courses/arch245/images/fisheye.jpg

Fisheyes generally have a 180 degree field of view from corner to corner while superwides are less extreme. Fisheyes are commonly used for things like snowboard/bmx/skate shots. Superwides are often used for architecture, landscapes, the occasional off-beat portrait...

 

[lkWinnipesaukee]

Gotcha, thanks.

Are there any decent but cheap true fisheyes (I have a 1.6X Rebel XT) lenses I can toy around with? I'm going broke with all the lenses on my wishlist.


Thanks.

 

[shorty6049]

well... cheap and decent (as far as fisheyes go) are two different things...

i have a 40 dollar fisheye, (most of the ones sold on ebay are this the brand i have) and it does its job, its not razor sharp or anything and it just screws on the end of your existing lens, but it still works ok and it kind of satisfies my need for one for a while at least...