Got a question about the zenitar fisheye. Manual focus lense.
on my zenitar when I move the aperture ring and take a picture, I can't tell the difference between f/2.8 and f/22. The shutter speed can stay the same and everything is the same. It's as if the aperture is totally not working. Is that supposed to happen?
My copy of lens was delivered 2 days ago, and I'm doing some shot of test. I can say the difference between f2.8 and f22 it's clear. A lot of light pass at 2.8 and the viewfinder is brighter. You have to set your camera in AV and you'll see that closing to f22 the shutter-speed it's going slower. If you are in M mode you can see that the indicator of exposition it's going down.
Lens need a bit of sharpening by my first shot, but i think I have to learn to focus properly with the mattescreen of my EOS 300D to get a crisp focus. without close it at f11 or f22
Does it do that with both bodies? I'm shooting a 10D with my 16mm fish. As it is a manual lens, you should see the difference in f/stops when you rotate the aperture ring. It will show up on the camera as 00, but it will be seen as if you've checked your depth-of-field with the preview button.
On a side note, if anyone is waiting for their Zenitar order from Russia... when they say "Please be patient," they weren't kidding. It took me a little over a month to get mine. And yes, it is well worth the wait.
I usually set my focus at near infinity at F16 and shoot away. Zero AF lag
One advice to get even sharper pictures from the Zenitar: There's a clear filter on the rear of the lens. Don't remove it! It is part of the optical system - removing it will prevent your lens from focussing sharp at infinity.
The trick is to to unscrew that filter by a couple of turns - this way the filter is nearer the sensor and by some optical physics magic, you should be able to get VERY sharp pictures with this lens. The number of turns will depend on your copy of your lens. I have mine on 3 turns - it doesn't really jiggle around as there is still plenty of thread left, but I wouldn't advice more than 3 turns... .why? read on..
********* Disclaimer: by unscrewing the rear filter by a couple of turns, you are physically moving that filter closer and closer to the mirror box. If you turn it out too much, the MIRROR MIGHT HIT THE REAR FILTER (ala the protrusion of the EF-S lenses) and thus damage your camera. You should not try it too if you are using a full-frame or 1.3x crop camera, as the mirror is larger. I have tried it on my D30 and it works, but your mileage might vary. ***************
there's a little pin on the back that has to be pushed in. Once I pushed it in all the way it stayed pushed in and the aperture could be set accordingly. Awesome. This will be really handy for landscapes now.
