Sounds like a great band name, doesn't it? I need a fisheye for some jobs coming up but don't want to spend almost twice what my camera cost on the new Panasonic one. I won't be using it enough to justify the price (which is probably the case with most people- hello Panansonic?!?). What are some legacy manual focus lenses to look out for- than can be had for not much $$$? Either that, or what's with that Zenitar model that's all over eBay? Looks a little dicey. Anybody have experience with it? It's a little too expensive to take a chance on...
The legacy fisheyes tend to not go cheap. I'd give the Zenitar a miss but suggest you look at the Samyang or Peleng 8mm. I think the Zenitar is 16mm anyway. Unlike the new Panny these are all manual focus and aperture but FEs are very forgiving with lots of dof.
Hi, I would like to ask for your attention when comparing such things as legacy fisheye lenses ! The vintage ones are probably designed for 35mm format, and show a cropfactor of 2 on :43:. This means that the fisheye effect is probably (completely ?) gone. Also, the Samyang and the Peleng are designed for APS-C sensors, that are a bit bigger than :43: The crop factor here would be around 1.5 (APS-C sensors have different dimensions amongst manufacturers) So, the only real fisheye lens for :43: remains the Panasonic 8mm f3.5, a lens that was readily developped for the :43: sensors ! But, I agree, it's not a cheap lens. Owning the 7-14, I'm not sure yet if I will buy the 8mm, given the very rare special occasions where I would need fisheye effects. C U, Rafael
You're absolutely right, Bill, the Zenitar is 16mm which will give a superwide rather than fisheye field of view on :43: but still with uncorrected distortions. The Peleng is a little more money but it does give a true full frame fisheye image on :43: and I know someone who gets superb results from his. Here's a link to one They eat soap, don't they? - Olympus UK E-System User Group Photo Gallery
Thanks for the info everyone! The Peleng uses an adapter and will still be MF/Manual Aperture, right? I think I'm going to need to spring for the VF-2 EVF at some point....
