8mm Fisheye: I'm curious to ask, do any of you own an 8mm fisheye lens? And if so, how do you use it? Bill...

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

I'm curious to ask, do any of you own an 8mm fisheye lens? And if so, how do you use it?

Bill

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

elliott937 wrote:

I'm curious to ask, do any of you own an 8mm fisheye lens? And if so, how do you use it?

Bill

It has its uses.
Like for getting a very wide FOV for very narrow spaces.
The user must keeps things in check or stuffs not supposed to be seen can show into the photo, like my fingers on the second image.
Also difficult to straighten if the image is all straight lines.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

I just wish the barrow effect could be solved.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

elliott937 wrote:

I just wish the barrow effect could be solved.

That would be a wide angle lens, not a fish eye.

The fish eye was 8mm.
This is a Tamron wide angle at 11mm.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

I'm game. Let's call it a wide angle lens and not fish eye. Actually that is how I look at it. But I'd still like to solve the significant curving.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Change the laws of physics.

Wallen Loc: Middle Earth

elliott937 wrote:

I'm game. Let's call it a wide angle lens and not fish eye. Actually that is how I look at it. But I'd still like to solve the significant curving.

Some wide angles have almost no barrel distortions but one still have to be careful as things can get looking weird & stretched. But that is also the beauty of fish eyes and wide angle lenses. They make for a unique photo. My suggestion would be to keep moving about to find the best composition.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Wallen wrote:

Some wide angles have almost no barrel distortions but one still have to be careful as things can get looking weird & stretched. But that is also the beauty of fish eyes and wide angle lenses. They make for a unique photo. My suggestion would be to keep moving about to find the best composition.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

elliott937 wrote:

I'm game. Let's call it a wide angle lens and not fish eye. Actually that is how I look at it. But I'd still like to solve the significant curving.

Call it whatever you want, but your lens is a fisheye and not a wide angle lens. It is a special effects lens. The significant curving you refer to is intentional. It is not a distortion that needs to be corrected. Unfortunately you apparently purchased the wrong lens. What you seem to want is a rectilinear lens, not a fisheye. You really need to consider selling it and getting a lens that actually meets you needs. The results you get with this lens probably won't ever satisfy you regardless of how much you try to straighten the edges.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

mwsilvers wrote:

Call it whatever you want, but your lens is a fish... (show quote)

I have an 8mm fisheye (Samyang / Vivitar) and a Canon 10-22 zoom. Both excellent lenses, but it takes thought and planning to achieve the results you want.

Perhaps planning and practice could be useful…, maybe even visualizing the image you are looking for…

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

I have one because it came with a used camera I bought, but rarely use it. It produces a circular image and has a 180 field of view with much barrel distortion. Fun to play with on occasion.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

For APS-C Sigma makes a rectilinear 8-16mm. Same subject size in the center as the 8mm fisheye, but no curved lines, meaning significant stretching of objects near the periphery (kind of like Greenland on a Mercator projection map) and less field of view.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

Here's a thought. I've found that if I crop at 9X16 rectangle in the center, filling all of the image without catching any of the black circular surround, you can create an amazing wide angle shot.

avflinsch Loc: Hamilton, New Jersey

Wallen wrote:

It has its uses.
Like for getting a very wide FOV for very narrow spaces.
The user must keeps things in check or stuffs not supposed to be seen can show into the photo, like my fingers on the second image.
Also difficult to straighten if the image is all straight lines.

For me it is almost always my feet that get included in the image. I need to remember to lean forward a bit to prevent it.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

elliott937 wrote:

I'm curious to ask, do any of you own an 8mm fisheye lens? And if so, how do you use it?

Bill

I have a 9mm fish-eye lens that doubles as a body cap. Or maybe it's the other way around: I have a body cap that doubles as a 9mm fish-eye lens.
I find it handy to have the camera "shoot-ready" at all times.
Also fun with the grandkids: It's happened a couple of times now, that they thought they were standing outside the view-range of the camera and when I showed them the picture, they were in it anyway!