Opteka .35x HD² Super Wide Angle Panoramic Macro Fisheye Lens for Canon EOS / EF

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Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000TLVMIO
• Item model number: OPT-35X-EOS
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #146 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Lenses

• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 13, 2007

Product Description

Product Description
The new Opteka High Definition² .35x Ultra Wide Angle Fisheye Converter Lens increases the versatility of your existing lens to provide breathtaking ultra wide angle views. And it's so easy to use! Additionally the built-in detachable macro lens allows you to take extreme high resolution close-up shots! Nothing changes the way you see the world like High Definition² and no company does High Definition² like Opteka. Opteka's glass optics define High Definition. Change the way you view the world. Enjoy outstanding detail, enjoy enhanced clarity, enjoy Opteka!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheap, Handy Conversion Lens... I Like it a Lot., January 22, 2009

By	Neal R Boyd (Hammond, LA) - See all my reviews

As mentioned before, this is not a lens, it's a conversion lens.
I purchased this to use on the kit 18-55mm lens on my Canon Rebel XT. The kit lens on the camera is pretty decent, but not worth buying a ridiculously priced conversion lens... not to mention, buying a nice Canon fisheye is way out of my budget at the moment.
With all that said, I bought the Opteka because I wanted the semi fisheye effect for some experimental & skateboard photography, and because I'm too broke from the holidays to purchase a high end, dedicated fisheye lens.
The conversion lens impressed me quite a bit. Using the aforementioned kit lens, I attached the supplied conversion ring (metal, which is good) as the conversion lens' threads are too small to fit the 58mm threading of the Rebel XT's stock lens. No big deal, really... screw on the ring, then screw the conversion lens into the ring and you're all set.
If you zoom back all the way, you can get a significantly distorted image, appearing like an orb surrounded by dark vignetting (like looking through a door's peephole).
If you zoom past the vignetting, you can achieve some pretty decent wide angle shots, with some expected distortion on the far left, far right, and very center of the image... then again, that's what fisheye's are all about.
The conversion lens comes with a little hood scoop, but it really doesn't need it, and if you pull your focus back all the way with the scoop out, you'll wind up with two metallic crescents increasing your vignetting.
The conversion lens comes in a pretty rigid leather (or fake leather, I really don't know) case lined with a suede-like material. If you're buying this for your Rebel's 18-55 kit lens, expect to see a metal ring in the box.
The conversion lens unscrews toward the bottom, and when the bottom section is attached to your camera you wind up with a macro lens. I've played with it just enough to say that "it works," but 99% of my usage is based around the fisheye functionality.
If you're looking to blow around $30 and you want to have fun experimenting with your DSLR (or video camera if it fits or you have a ring adapter for it), you can expect to get your money's worth out of this thing.
Shooting with a fish/semi fish requires a different type of mentality than shooting normal photos. While fisheye photography can be overdone, they make for really good up-close action shots, nature shots, and even landscapes & experimental work. This conversion kit *will* distort your image, it's supposed to. It's all about using the curvature to enhance your subject.
Last note: on some tests from 2 up to 10 feet away, the auto focus functionality seems to work fine with this extension. If you pull the lense back all the way, the vignetting will be a black blurry halo, as the multipoint auto focus will concentrate on whatever you're pointing at (rather than the conversion lens' inner lining).
For best results, prepare your shot and focus manually. Very fun conversion kit, by no means professional grade, but pretty darn good. Great to have in the camera bag.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PERFECT FISHEYE FOR STARTERS!, April 2, 2008

By	Javier Antonio Rodriguez "-TonyTerror-" (Houston,Tx) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This fisheye lens is amazing,great quality in pics,comes with a macro lens also!
and fits my Canon Rebel xt/xti's perfect!!
good price!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite worth its cheap price, September 2, 2008

By	djb (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

I thought it would be fun to try a fish-eye lens (or a semi-fisheye). This sort of works OK, but the optics and image quality is very poor - quite fuzzy and unfocused. It's ok for small scaled (resized) down images.

Here is an example:

Note that, on my Canon 40D, the image is not fully round; part of it gets clipped at the bottom. This lens comes with an adapter for the standard 52mm lens; it will not work with the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens (72mm) that comes with the Canon 40D, for example.