Best Canon Fisheye or Wide Angle Lens?

EddCope

EddCope

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Good morning all,

Haven't posted on here in a long while, but I'm currently after some advice and thought this would be the best place to ask.

I am thinking of getting a new fisheye/wide angle lens for my Canon 40D. I currently have the Tokina 12-24 f4, which has been good but it has started giving me a lot of problems and won't shot below 18mm, something to do with the aperture rings I believe.

So I was after something new. I'm thinking a fixed fisheye or wide angle.
What would people recommend? Is it best to stick with Canon? And what sort of price would I be looking at?

I'd also be buying secondhand, as with all my equipment, so are there any recommended sites for secondhand equipment?

Thank you,
Edward
 
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=451191

From personal experience, I can recommend the Sigma 8mm fisheye prime (mine's the slightly older f/4 version) - not as versatile as that Canon zoom but I'll bet it's a hell of a lot cheaper!

For prices, let your fingers do the Googling. For 2nd hand, I would suggest Mifsuds, MPB (they often have banner ads on this site) and Ffordes.

If you're after a replacement for your knackered 12-24, I can (again, from personal experience) recommend the Sigma 12-24, especially if there's any chance of a future FF upgrade. Not a fisheye, in fact it's incredibly well corrected for barrel and pincushion distortion even on FF (where it's almost insanely wide!).
 
If you don't have any FF upgrades planned in the future, Sigma also make an 8-16mm non-fisheye lens. This is as wide as you can possibly get on a crop frame without going fish.
 
Thank you for the replies guys.
Not planning any FF upgrades any time soon, the 40D is good for now.

I like the idea of a fixed fisheye, does the sigma 8mm give the round effect around the image? And on this subject what is the difference between diagonal/circular fisheyes?

In terms of Canon lenses, what do they offer in terms of fixed fisheyes and what prices can I expect 2nd hand?

Thank you.
 
A diagonal fisheye fills the whole frame. Across the diagonal, they tend to provide a 180° field of view.

Circular fisheyes create a circle in the middle of the frame (i.e. it doesn't fill the frame) whose edges should just or almost touch the top & bottom of the frame. They tend to provide a ~180° FOV across any line (that passes through the center of the frame, of course).

I believe the Sigma 8mm FE is a circular fisheye. Canon's only current FE is their 8-15mm L, which goes from circular to diagonal. Second hand, Canon's recently-discontinued 15mm FE is a diagonal FE.

Can't help too much on second hand prices though, sorry.

Oh, and someone will warn you, so it might as well be me: you might get tired of the fisheye effect quite fast. It certainly isn't for everything. Just something to keep in mind.
 
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On FF, the Sigma 8mm gives the full image circle but on a crop, you lose a bit from the top and bottom.

D700 (FF) 8mm.

GPN_6872.jpg


Either D200 or D70 (1.5x crop) 8mm

GPN_6871.jpg


A Canon 1.6x crop body will crop a little more off the photo.
 
Echo Johnson said:
A diagonal fisheye fills the whole frame. Across the diagonal, they tend to provide a 180° field of view.

Circular fisheyes create a circle in the middle of the frame (i.e. it doesn't fill the frame) whose edges should just or almost touch the top & bottom of the frame. They tend to provide a ~180° FOV across any line (that passes through the center of the frame, of course).

I believe the Sigma 8mm FE is a circular fisheye. Canon's only current FE is their 8-15mm L, which goes from circular to diagonal. Second hand, Canon's recently-discontinued 15mm FE is a diagonal FE.

Can't help too much on second hand prices though, sorry.

Oh, and someone will warn you, so it might as well be me: you might get tired of the fisheye effect quite fast. It certainly isn't for everything. Just something to keep in mind.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that explanation and the advice.

I've played around previously with fisheye/wide angle lens and really want another crack at it. Got a few ideas I really want to try.

I've seen a few of these other brands around on the internet, such as Samyang offering fisheye lenses. Is it too risky to go down this road, has anyone any experience of these?

I'd also be interested in looking at wide angle or fixed wide angle lenses if anyone has any suggestions.

Thank you for all the help.
 
I've been having a good look around for reviews on the Samyang 8mm Fisheye.
Seems a very good price for £200, I was worried it would be nasty quality and poor image quality, but that appears to not be the case.

Has anyone got any first hand experience of using this lens?
 
I can recommend the Sigma 8mm fisheye prime as they are much more cheaper and you can find them very easily. They can be very helpful for your use.
 
A higher price tag, but I love love love the Canon 8-15mm f/4L. I bought it thinking I'd have a quick play and move it on, but it has secured a permanent place in my kit bag.

I took this on a 7D (1.6x crop), but it also works great on 1.0x & 1.3x. Second hand price £800-£900.

p1300919002-5.jpg
 
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