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Product Description
The 8mm f/3.5 Pro-Optic Fish-Eye CS lens is a breakthrough in optical design producing the first affordable fish-eye lens designed for digital SLRs that have APS-sized sensors. APS-C sensors have a multiplication factor of 1.5 or 1.6x so the effect the lens produces will vary slightly between cameras. The well-constructed and precision designed lens features a built in lens hood and a sturdy locking lens cap to protect the large front element from damage when it's stored or not being used to make photographs. The optical construction consists of ten elements in seven groups and is computer optimized to produce clear, crisp photographs, which is critical with a lens like this that is capable of extreme depth-of-field. When set at f/22 the result is a great range in depth-of-field that makes focusing less critical. The field of view with the APS-sized sensor is a full 180° producing the kind of super wide-angle view found only in much more expensive lenses. With a close focusing distance of just 12 inches and its outstanding angle-of-view and deep depth-of-field, users will be able to produce truly unusual and dramatic close-up photographs. The compact size makes it ideal for travel photographers who want to add new perspectives to their work. The lens is also perfect for architectural interiors, landscapes, and special effects photography. And for infra-red explorers this lens will open up a new world.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By Interloper
This is the first creative lens I have purchased and am I in no way regretful nor disappointed. I use this with my T3i and it makes for very creative pictures, cool astrophotography, and works well shooting video too. 1280 @60fps on this cam is especially useful for action video. I can see people using this for abstract production video fills or shooting skateboarding or close-range sports (like someone mentioned). This lens focuses soft, infinitely wide DOF, letting you shoot without needing to stare down the viewfinder. So in the case of skateboarding just point in the general direction and you're sure to capture your subject -letting you stay on your skateboard, bike, or broom.
Set camera to aperture-priority (AV) as this is a manual aperture lens for your auto exposures. Some have said f8 is best for this lens, but I've yet to really test that. Lens is a little heavy and seems very susceptible to breaking especially the built-in hood petals but mine are still fine. Same goes for huge aspherical lens which is attractive -But mine IS still just fine and with no scratches after several months.
If you're needing to get away from the monotony of your standard lenses you need this. If you want to shoot the stars, get this. (8-10 secs exposure should do it)
If you don't want this, get it anyway and it'll give you something to do when you're thinking about what else to get.
It'll also makes your lens collection more robust without breaking the bank
Note to the other user mentioning deliberately breaking the hood for full frame use. The hood, in addition to what it usually does, is built-in as to protect the huge lens as well as give you an idea of the lens' frame of view. I don't think that the vignetting will disappear once your hood is gone anyway!
Set camera to aperture-priority (AV) as this is a manual aperture lens for your auto exposures. Some have said f8 is best for this lens, but I've yet to really test that. Lens is a little heavy and seems very susceptible to breaking especially the built-in hood petals but mine are still fine. Same goes for huge aspherical lens which is attractive -But mine IS still just fine and with no scratches after several months.
If you're needing to get away from the monotony of your standard lenses you need this. If you want to shoot the stars, get this. (8-10 secs exposure should do it)
If you don't want this, get it anyway and it'll give you something to do when you're thinking about what else to get.
It'll also makes your lens collection more robust without breaking the bank
Note to the other user mentioning deliberately breaking the hood for full frame use. The hood, in addition to what it usually does, is built-in as to protect the huge lens as well as give you an idea of the lens' frame of view. I don't think that the vignetting will disappear once your hood is gone anyway!
By Farace
Amazon Verified Purchase
Had this lens for quite a while now. It is a bit soft, but provides pretty decent images - very usable and its a great value for the price. I use it on a Canon T2i and it provides a very wide image, careful of your feet! I also use it for video and it works great for skateboarding and also for live music performance (when you have enough light). Check out the videos at youtube / faracechannel if you would like to see it in action.
By T. Parks
====UPDATED 4/23/2012====
I've used this lens for quite some time now. Experimenting with different settings, cameras, etc.
First off, I'm an enthusiast. Not a professional. I've done a little homework, but I have no degree. Feel free to correct me. Also, I use this with a Canon T2i mostly. Sometimes with a 35mm film Canon.
So on my T2i, this lens performs well in low light. Obviously your camera body has a lot to do with compensating with low light! Be it with higher ISO (noisy!) settings, sower shutter speed, or whatever. The Tv/Av settings to manually adjust the shutter speed work well with disabling the light compensation.
With this said, I used this lens on a Canon RebelG 35mm film camera recently. I didn't mess with the settings much, nor did I use flash. Just straight program settings, point and shoot. Without all the fancy low light compensation, the poor low-light performance of this lens shows through. It's an f/3.5 to f/22 lens, manually adjusted. Even at f/3.5 it had a hard time taking pictures in low light, however this was just with my settings. I'm 100% confident I can use a flash and/or change settings, shutter speed, exposure stops, etc and get better pictures with low-light.
___This is a completely manual lens, how well your pictures come out can heavily depend on the skill of the photographer and how well s/he knows his/her camera!___
Also, I have experienced over exposed pictures with excessive sunlight. Especially with ISO400 film, f3.5, and no exposure adjustments. My T2i can compensate for all this. The film RebelG, not so much.
This lens works with APS-C cameras. If you were to use it with a full frame camera such as the original 5D, it will not only show the lens hood, but even the "walls" of the barrel. The pictures taken with a full frame camera aren't admirable or desirable. Search around for cutting off the lens hood if you want to, because it can be fun to use it with a 35mm camera. I have attached a pictures here showing the product of a 35mm camera.
This is a 5-star lens for it's price range. Originally, I said I'd like to upgrade to a Tokina ATX107PRODXC 10-17/3.5-4.5 AT-X 107 Pro DX AF Fisheye Wideangle Canon Digital SLR Zoom Lens USA - Canon EOS Lens eventually, as this seems like the next best lens. Well, even if I get the Tokina, I still will be keeping the Pro-Optic. Because this lens is completely unique. I feel that with this lens, you get more than what you pay for. Even though fisheye pictures are generally only 'for fun.'
I don't use video much, yet I can say it has great performance. However, I think this may also depend on the camera. With the T2i at highest framerate, HD video is crisp and clear. More than appropriate if someone is wanting to use this for extreme sports.
I would list the lack of an autofocus as a con, however, the focus is actually somewhat negligible. It "focuses" up to a minimum of 12 inches away. Yet if I blow up the 18 megapixel picture to full size, the focus is barely noticeable. Other than this, it's quite obvious that the focus isn't important as an 8mm lens is hardly a macro lens. Furthermore, I haven't shot with ISO100 film yet, but on ISO400 the pictures have noticeable noise, and some haze. On my T2i, it is extremely difficult to focus subjects close up. I generally leave it on infinity and fire away.
I've had this lens about 10 months now, bought directly from Adorama. It's perfect for an enthusiast or if you're just recording some friends skating or skiing. After much experimentation, this manual lens is pretty good for teaching some fundamentals of photography, and once you figure out how to use it you can take some pretty cool shots!
Pros:
-Very sturdy, HEAVY. (I'd dread to drop it..)
-Low price compared to other fisheyes.
-Minimal distortion/chromatic aberration.
-Can adjust to make it darker, resulting in a vignette effect.
Cons:
-The lens cap is not as sturdy. I feel that mine will likely break soon. No doubt it's proprietary and might be hard to replace.
Pro and Con:
-Manual lens proficiency. If you don't know how to use, it, you'll learn if you stick with it!
PROTIP
They're a bit pricey, but if you're wanting to learn more the fundamentals, then check out some other manual lenses like the Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Lens for Canon Cameras or Rokinon 85M-C 85mm F1.4 Aspherical Lens for Canon (Black) and search the internet or get some books!
I've used this lens for quite some time now. Experimenting with different settings, cameras, etc.
First off, I'm an enthusiast. Not a professional. I've done a little homework, but I have no degree. Feel free to correct me. Also, I use this with a Canon T2i mostly. Sometimes with a 35mm film Canon.
So on my T2i, this lens performs well in low light. Obviously your camera body has a lot to do with compensating with low light! Be it with higher ISO (noisy!) settings, sower shutter speed, or whatever. The Tv/Av settings to manually adjust the shutter speed work well with disabling the light compensation.
With this said, I used this lens on a Canon RebelG 35mm film camera recently. I didn't mess with the settings much, nor did I use flash. Just straight program settings, point and shoot. Without all the fancy low light compensation, the poor low-light performance of this lens shows through. It's an f/3.5 to f/22 lens, manually adjusted. Even at f/3.5 it had a hard time taking pictures in low light, however this was just with my settings. I'm 100% confident I can use a flash and/or change settings, shutter speed, exposure stops, etc and get better pictures with low-light.
___This is a completely manual lens, how well your pictures come out can heavily depend on the skill of the photographer and how well s/he knows his/her camera!___
Also, I have experienced over exposed pictures with excessive sunlight. Especially with ISO400 film, f3.5, and no exposure adjustments. My T2i can compensate for all this. The film RebelG, not so much.
This lens works with APS-C cameras. If you were to use it with a full frame camera such as the original 5D, it will not only show the lens hood, but even the "walls" of the barrel. The pictures taken with a full frame camera aren't admirable or desirable. Search around for cutting off the lens hood if you want to, because it can be fun to use it with a 35mm camera. I have attached a pictures here showing the product of a 35mm camera.
This is a 5-star lens for it's price range. Originally, I said I'd like to upgrade to a Tokina ATX107PRODXC 10-17/3.5-4.5 AT-X 107 Pro DX AF Fisheye Wideangle Canon Digital SLR Zoom Lens USA - Canon EOS Lens eventually, as this seems like the next best lens. Well, even if I get the Tokina, I still will be keeping the Pro-Optic. Because this lens is completely unique. I feel that with this lens, you get more than what you pay for. Even though fisheye pictures are generally only 'for fun.'
I don't use video much, yet I can say it has great performance. However, I think this may also depend on the camera. With the T2i at highest framerate, HD video is crisp and clear. More than appropriate if someone is wanting to use this for extreme sports.
I would list the lack of an autofocus as a con, however, the focus is actually somewhat negligible. It "focuses" up to a minimum of 12 inches away. Yet if I blow up the 18 megapixel picture to full size, the focus is barely noticeable. Other than this, it's quite obvious that the focus isn't important as an 8mm lens is hardly a macro lens. Furthermore, I haven't shot with ISO100 film yet, but on ISO400 the pictures have noticeable noise, and some haze. On my T2i, it is extremely difficult to focus subjects close up. I generally leave it on infinity and fire away.
I've had this lens about 10 months now, bought directly from Adorama. It's perfect for an enthusiast or if you're just recording some friends skating or skiing. After much experimentation, this manual lens is pretty good for teaching some fundamentals of photography, and once you figure out how to use it you can take some pretty cool shots!
Pros:
-Very sturdy, HEAVY. (I'd dread to drop it..)
-Low price compared to other fisheyes.
-Minimal distortion/chromatic aberration.
-Can adjust to make it darker, resulting in a vignette effect.
Cons:
-The lens cap is not as sturdy. I feel that mine will likely break soon. No doubt it's proprietary and might be hard to replace.
Pro and Con:
-Manual lens proficiency. If you don't know how to use, it, you'll learn if you stick with it!
PROTIP
They're a bit pricey, but if you're wanting to learn more the fundamentals, then check out some other manual lenses like the Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Lens for Canon Cameras or Rokinon 85M-C 85mm F1.4 Aspherical Lens for Canon (Black) and search the internet or get some books!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Fun Budget Lens
I've used this lens quite a bit and I love it. It's a tad soft but it's not terrible. It's not really the kind of lens where you'll be worrying about the focus that much anyway. Read more
Published 21 months ago by William S. Streeter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens for the money!
Takes nice shots. Not for the serious pro but it really does the job well for amateur and part-time professional photographers.
Published on January 6, 2011 by Richard J. Diehl
