If your planning on buying a fisheye lens there are three things you need to know before production your purchase: Knowing these three things can save you a lot of money and disappointment, not to mention time wasted. First, you need to know the difference in the middle of a fisheye lens and an lowly wide angle lens. Many citizen confuse the two and end up buying being very disappointed with the results.
[b]Lens[/b]What's the valuable difference?
The difference in the middle of a Fisheye Lens and a Wide Angle.
Unlike a wide angle lens, a fisheye is not corrected for distortion. Because of this they have an extreme 180 degree angle of view and an image characterized by "barrel distortion". A regular wide angle lens is corrected for distortion by adding remedial lens elements. As a result, the angle of view is reduced considerably but with an image that is considerably less distorted.
A wide angle lens will all the time have an angle of view that is less than that of fisheye lens of the same focal length. Do you want a fisheye lens or are you truly seeing for an ultra wide angle?
Right Lens for the Right Sensor Size
Another error many citizen make is when they buy a fisheye that was not designed for their cameras sensor size. The vast majority of digital Slr owners shoot with the Aps-C sized sensors with a crop factor of 1.5x -1.6x times. For instance, if you bought a Canon 15mm full frame diagonal for your Canon 7D because you wanted to originate some cool fisheye images, you would be very disappointed with this Canon Fisheye. What you end up with instead is a wide angle lens with an effective focal distance of 24mm. (15mm X 1.6 = 24mm). To achieve the "fisheye effect" you would need a lens with a focal distance of in the middle of 8 or 10mm.
Here's a normal guideline: If your shooting with a full frame camera like the Canon 5d Mark Ii or Nikon D700 then you need a lens with a focal distance of in the middle of 15 or 16mm. If your shooting with a Camera that has the Aps-C sized sensor, then you need somthing in the 8 to 11mm range.
Buying The Right Type of Fisheye Lens
Another factor that is sometimes overlooked is the "type" of fisheye lens. There are two distinct kinds of fisheye lenses: Diagonals and Circulars. The diagonal type of fisheye is the most tasteless type and the most preferred. These lenses map a 180 degree angle of view "diagonally" across your frames sensor so that the image area is filled in with pixels. It's for this imagine that diagonals are often called "full frame fisheye lenses."
A circular fisheye on the other hand creates a circular image centered within your cameras frame. Circulars have a much shorter focal distance than the diagonals do. If your in the market for a circular and your shooting with a full frame camera then your seeing at a focal range of 8-10mm. If your using a digital camera that sports an Aps-C sized sensor then you need a fisheye lens with a focal range of 4 or 5mm.
Most of the time fisheye lenses are designated as whether circular or diagonal so just make sure you considered read the stock article of the lens in question.
Have fun shooting with your new fisheye lens!
Buying A Fisheye Lens - Three Things You Need To Know Before Buying Your First Fisheye Lens
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