Who has experience with this lens? I was looking for an alt fisheye to use on my D700 and found one of these in f-mount. It Ai-compatible, so it should be pretty nice to use on the D700 as well as my Nikon film cameras. Optically how does this compare with the other f-mount fisheye options: Sigma 15/2.8 AF, various Nikkor 16/2.8 and the Zenitar 16/2.8?
I recently picked up this lens at an auction with an old Nikon FE but I haven't shot a entire roll of film yet. I only have digital DX cameras so I really haven't used it on those since you lose the super wide fisheye look. I think I will do some test shots with it soon. I would love to hear what other people say about this lens. I searched for it when I first got it and really didn't find much info on it. How much is this lens worth?
I just bought mine in like new condition for $70 shipped. From what I've read it compares pretty well optically to other fisheyes. It should be about all the fish I'll ever need.
I got mine fore $75 but the focus ring comes off. Makes it annoying. Seems tough to focus too since everything is so far away. I threw mine on my D40x last night and did a couple of quick test shots. I compared it to my 12-24 f/4 nikkor. The fisheye lacks contrast and wasn't as sharp, but what really suprised me was the actual field of view. At 16mm the fisheye is basically the same FOV as the nikon at 12mm! And you do get plenty of the fisheye distortion in the corners still.
A quick question for you. Can I mount this on my D300 with no problems? I always worry a little putting old lenses on. I forget what you shouldn't put on them.
Yes, if you have the Ai-compatible version you can mount it on the D300 and actually enter it in as a non-CPU lens to get full metering and automatic stopping down of the lens. With a FF fisheye on a 1.5 crop you are just loosing so much of the effect.
Makes it annoying. Seems tough to focus too since everything is so far away. I threw mine on my D40x last night and did a couple of quick test shots. I compared it to my 12-24 f/4 nikkor. The fisheye lacks contrast and wasn't as sharp, but what really suprised me was the actual field of view. At 16mm the fisheye is basically the same FOV as the nikon at 12mm! And you do get plenty of the fisheye distortion in the corners still.