Fisheye Options For A Cropped Body

[princer7]

I currently own a Canon 15mm Fisheye but have never been really happy with the fish effect due to using a cropped body. I do not see moving on to a full frame camera anytime soon. Any recommendations of a good quaility replacement to the Canon lens?

[groovyone]

Sigma has a 10mm and an 8mm, or you could go the Bower/ProOptics/Rokinon/Samyang/Vivtar 8mm route.

[Jake]

Tokina makes a 10-17mm fisheye zoom that I've heard good things about. But I've never used it.
If I was looking for a fisheye for a cropped camera, I would probably try something like this though.
Amazon.com: Rokinon FE8M-C 8mm F3.5 Fisheye Lens for Canon (Black): Electronics

But that would be full manual only.

[princer7]

I like the idea of the Tokina fisheye zoom if I ever decided to go full frame one day. I have a habbit of not parting with many lenses Just wonder if 10mm would be wide enough or if an 8mm fisheye prime would be better.

[SCone]

Photoshop

[ddaquaria]

Tokina FE is awesome - especially underwater

[Jake]

Originally Posted by princer7

I like the idea of the Tokina fisheye zoom if I ever decided to go full frame one day. I have a habbit of not parting with many lenses Just wonder if 10mm would be wide enough or if an 8mm fisheye prime would be better.

Well, the Tokina is a DX lens meaning it's made for cropped sensors. So at 10mm it will give a 180 degree diagonal image. About the same as the 15mm fisheye on full frame.
It it get too much wider the camera it self will be in the shot....

[princer7]

Is the DX like an EF-S lens where it cannot be used on a full frame camera body?

[Jake]

Originally Posted by princer7

Is the DX like an EF-S lens where it cannot be used on a full frame camera body?

Yes. The Tokina will mount on a full frame, but vignette like crazy.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by thejakestir

Yes. The Tokina will mount on a full frame, but vignette like crazy.

Just like fisheye lenses did way back when. They could only manage a circle on film.
As for a full manual fisheye lens, what's wrong with that? It's not like you need to focus. Exposure shouldn't be a problem either. You do have instant exposure confirmation, right?

[princer7]

Full manual is not such a problem. The Rokinon (and variations) is a bargain. My biggest concern would be image quality with the 3rd party lenses. I tried a Peling before I got the Canon 15mm Fisheye and was not happy with the results. I like the image quality of the Canon, just don't like the amount of fish with the crop sensor.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by princer7

.... I tried a Peling before I got the Canon 15mm Fisheye and was not happy with the results. ...

The first review on Amazon says "Waaay better than the peleng"....

There is a risk with these off brand lenses, so who knows.

[groovyone]

The Samyangs (and the 14 rebadges) have been doing a lot better than the Pelengs in the field. A lot less flare, better contrast and sharper shots.

[rfortson]

Originally Posted by thejakestir

Tokina makes a 10-17mm fisheye zoom that I've heard good things about. But I've never used it.
If I was looking for a fisheye for a cropped camera, I would probably try something like this though.
Amazon.com: Rokinon FE8M-C 8mm F3.5 Fisheye Lens for Canon (Black): Electronics

But that would be full manual only.

I use the Pentax 10-17 fisheye zoom, and I believe it's very similar to the Tokina. I don't use it often, but I wouldn't sell it. I like the shots from it when I use it. At 10mm, you get nearly a 180 degree view (watch your feet!), and at 17mm the fisheye effect is much less pronounced, especially if you watch your horizontal lines.

Here are a couple of examples taken with it.
Peco River at US 90.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by princer7

Full manual is not such a problem. The Rokinon (and variations) is a bargain. My biggest concern would be image quality with the 3rd party lenses. I tried a Peling before I got the Canon 15mm Fisheye and was not happy with the results. I like the image quality of the Canon, just don't like the amount of fish with the crop sensor.

Keep the Canon lens. Buy a real camera. Heck, 5Ds are under 1k these days. Just leave the 15mm lens on the 5D. Until you want to use the 180mm on the 5D for portraits.