LBA kicks in (again)

Well it finally arrived.................

[IMG]http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac49/johnwhit24/Lens%20Tests/FE_test.jpg[/IMG]

Just a quick shot to test it was working, SR set to 8mm on the K10D, I didn't know it went down that far

EXIF; F-Stop f/7.1
Focal length: 8.0mm
Lens: A series lens

Aperture control works fine from the body with 1/3 & 1/2 stops between all apertures, it's well built and finished. I'm a happy camper

More later,

Regards,

John

Congratulations John,
I am sure you are going to have a lot of fun exploring fisheye photography. When I had my copy I also experimented with de-fishing with PTLens. But as you have the Sigma 10-20 it is probably more satisfactory to use a rectilineal lens in the first place if you want a non-fishy picture.

Archie

Thanks Archie, I'm sure the novelty will wear off after a couple of days but I still have the 16mm Fisheye that I used with film and it gets an outing every once in a while. I just couldn't resist one for the digital, especially with the price being so reasonable.

Kind regards,

John

Hi,

Will someone please explain the purpose of a fish-eye lens, I find the pictures distorted, unnatural and ugly, I do not see what is being aimed at. Would a panoramic shot not achieve the same purpose more realistically.

I know I'm missing something in my understanding and that's what I'm trying to find out

Educate me please.

Greg

A fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in an extremely wide, hemispherical image. Originally developed for use in meteorology to study cloud formation and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted appearance. They are often used by photographers shooting broad landscapes to suggest the curve of the Earth. Hemispherical photography is used for various scientific purposes to study plant canopy geometry and to calculate near-ground solar radiation.
They're also quite useful for making panoramas when corrected, 3 images can provide a full 360 degree view.

Regards,

John

Thanks John
I can see the scientific us, it's use as a general photography lens will have to grow on me, like the appreciation of a fine wine.

Greg

Of course depending how you use it and the image composition, it's not always that noticeable that a Fisheye was used.....

[IMG]http://i884.photobucket.com/albums/ac49/johnwhit24/Picnic.jpg[/IMG]

Regards,

John

That last one looks like the results I get from stitching images taken with a 28mm together, the distortion isn't all that visible.

That looks almost like a normal photo, why are the trees not curving inwards?

Greg

Thanks Matt, I've a print somewhere of Llandudno coastline I shot with a 16mm Fisheye on the MX. You'd swear it was taken with an ultrawide rectilinear, taken with the coastline running through diagonally, I just love playing with Fisheyes every now and then

Best regards,

John

With careful use, "Normal" looking images can be captured using a fisheye. Just be careful to keep feet and elbows out of the picture

Just careful composition in the viewfinder and knowing what you're looking for I guess, it's totally uncorrected. You'll notice the signpost is bent, if it were in the centre it would be perfectly vertical.

Regards,

John

I felt the same way but there was a thread in "my photos" a little while back with some stunning fishy images. Galoot was particularly succesful in using his.

K.

Here is the link to the fisheye thread.

K.

Thanks, I remember seeing them at the time. There are some really beautiful shots there and I can now see why some people get addicted to a fisheye. I'm 70, so maybe there is still time for my taste to mature.

Greg