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Fisheye Lens for Portraits
I have been thinking about getting a fisheye lens for exaggerated portraits, close-up/macro shots, and ultra wide shots (with distortion correction). For any photographers that own a fisheye lens, do you regret the purchase, or do you feel like it helps to seperate your work from other photographers in your area? What is your best portrait taken with a fisheye lens? Oct 04 12 06:01 pm Link This really opened my eyes to what a fisheye can do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-WxCoDewbY It's not always about the distortion...though it is a lot of fun! Oct 04 12 06:15 pm Link Jacob delaRosa wrote: Some of the fish eyes have less distortion than you would expect, I think like the samyang 8mm. Seems like it's more about how you shoot the perspective. Oct 04 12 06:27 pm Link Karl Blessing wrote: I just purchased the Bower 8mm fisheye which is made by Samyang. I like it. Oct 04 12 06:32 pm Link Karl Blessing wrote: Jerry Nemeth wrote: I mainly want to get one for my pen for those moments when I want something 16ish without the stereotypical over-distortion. But I would get one in the pentax-K mount so that I can put it on my K10D if I need to. Oct 04 12 06:52 pm Link Drew Conerly wrote: Renting them to play with is cheap Oct 04 12 07:03 pm Link Images by MR wrote:
Oct 04 12 07:05 pm Link I would say buy with caution. Every time I get a piece of really specialized gear (lensbabies come to mind, ugh) I'm stoked on it for about a week and then I never pick it up again. If you can find a cheap used one, go for it. With fisheyes in particular, it's very easy for the "fisheye look" to take over the picture and make it look cheesy (plenty of examples can be found here on MM). Maybe try a more modest wide angle instead? Oct 04 12 07:17 pm Link Anthony Altamore wrote: I agree... ultra-wide zooms are far more versatile. You can capture some very interesting wide angle images WITHOUT venturing into that 'cheesy' fisheye world... Oct 04 12 07:38 pm Link I had the Canon 15mm fisheye that I used with my 1D Mark II (1.3x crop factor). I rarely used it to shoot portraits though. It's extremely difficult to shoot one that is at all flattering to the model. I did shoot a couple of fashion type pics with it that I really liked but only occasionally used to shoot models. I used my 17-40mm quite a bit more than the fisheye but don't care for wide angle much when shooting models either. A fisheye would be be WAY down my list of lenses to purchase but they certainly can be fun and creative. Oct 04 12 07:57 pm Link 7.5mm equivalent (.15x adapter on 50mm):  Overall fairly useless. Oct 04 12 08:01 pm Link -JAY- wrote: It's been *YEARS* since I've used an auxiliary lens. As you said, I generally find them useless. Oct 04 12 08:35 pm Link I also picked up one of those Samyang 8mm lenses a couple of months back. They had a sale for them for $229 and figured since I have ultra wide to super telephoto covered, I'll add a fisheye just in case. I think it's cool, fun to use. But I haven't actually shot anything serious with it. But if you plan to correct them so they'd have more of a ultra wide look, you're better off getting an ultra wide to begin with. Oct 04 12 09:09 pm Link a specialty lens like that is good for editorial portraiture otherwise there fun to play with. Oct 04 12 09:16 pm Link Images by MR wrote: Karl Blessing wrote: If I read right the OP's thinking about buying one so I'm going to assume he can afford the deposit to rent Oct 05 12 12:25 am Link Karl Blessing wrote: Borrowlens.com does not normally charge a deposit. Oct 05 12 07:13 am Link Jacob delaRosa wrote: Thanks for posting that, it was long but does show they are more than for just fun shots. Going out to use mine today in a different way than i did before. Oct 05 12 07:14 am Link I hesitate to think of it as a fisheye, but I use a 14mm f/2.8 fairly frequently. Rarely up close. This is as close as I dare get in portraiture, though I did want a little distortion:  I usually use it farther back, to get full-length shots. I used it a lot in newspaper work. Great for tight crowd scenes. Oct 05 12 01:38 pm Link I tried it once, Didn't like the image on it's own, so added it to this shot:  Also see: https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=815157 Oct 05 12 01:57 pm Link Jacob delaRosa wrote: Cool video.. it is worth noting that he uses a cropped sensor camera which negates much of the fisheye effect. Oct 05 12 02:08 pm Link I bought the 10.5mm Nikon DX fisheye used on a whim and its loads of fun. I have absolutely no regrets. That said, I probably wouldn't invest in the Nikon FX fisheye (which is a lot more expensive) as its sort of a one trick pony and, while I love having it when the occasion arises, it's still a bit of a novelty.  Oct 05 12 02:11 pm Link I have a Nikkor 10.5mm DX Fisheye - it's one of my most favorite lenses.  Oct 05 12 02:16 pm Link -JAY- wrote: Useless but fun at zoos Oct 08 12 03:45 pm Link 14mm. I'm about 6 inches from her nose.  Oct 08 12 04:48 pm Link Drew Conerly wrote: I don't regret having a fisheye. It's great for foliage. Not the best for close-up portraits unless you want your subjects to look like their nose is larger than their face.. BUT sometimes that's ...OKAY. Oct 08 12 04:56 pm Link Same as a few others. I love the 14mm perspective.At times it certainly has its place.  Oct 09 12 04:44 pm Link nice i like wide lens!! Oct 09 12 05:31 pm Link Andrew Somers wrote: very nice! Oct 09 12 07:48 pm Link Expansive Vegas background... and Katie!  Oct 10 12 01:59 am Link I was using a Tokina 11-16 on my 7D. Got some really cool perspective shots with it at the 11mm end and it was very useful at the 16mm as a wide angle. On my 5D mk3 I'm gettin the same use from my 16-35. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the zeiss 15mm 2.8 as I do a bunch of landscape stuff. Not a fan of the true fisheyes...much prefer a super wide with a bit of distortion. Here's a 16-35mm shot at 16mm on the 5D mk3. (Her legs are almost that long for real!)  Oct 10 12 02:14 am Link yipDog Studios wrote: And when you really want to put some emphasis on your SHOES... no lens does it better... Oct 10 12 11:48 pm Link Mandee flashes alittle flesh for some roadside assistance...   Oct 11 12 12:59 am Link Superb shot, lovelymodel Oct 11 12 12:31 pm Link Wild Image Media wrote: Cool... thanks for the kudos... one good superwideangle shot deserves another... Oct 11 12 12:41 pm Link |
Assuming you have the ability for them to charge a deposit/hold for the full value of the lens on your card.
