I Spy Fisheye for the Camera Guy
I heard about fisheye lenses a few years ago, when I saw a stereographic image for the first time. Stereographic images start with a 360-degree shot, then warp it to create a beautiful, other-worldly view of the whole image like this. These images have a great surreal quality and are usually achieved with fisheye lenses.
What fisheye lenses do themselves is warp the image to give the lines a curvier nature, while also allowing you a wider angle shot than a normal straight-forward lens. Taken completely zoomed out, the picture will be a circle. Taken closer in, the distortion has a much more subtle rounded look. And this fisheye look has been used in everything from everyday images to crazy stunt bicycle videos. So, with great anticipation, I finally tried out the Opteka HD2 0.20X Professional Super AF Fisheye Adapter .
The adapter was made for Nikon cameras and was smaller than I anticipated. It is not the same diameter as the typical D90 lenses, but instead about half the size with a size adapter that allows it to screw onto such a lens (52mm instead of 67mm). It could not, as far as I could tell be used as a stand-alone lens, but rather only an attachment, so make sure to purchase the fisheye compatible with your camera if you are so inclined.
The adapter-on-lens look is not a pretty one. In fact, it not only distorted the image of course, but made the camera itself seem odd-looking. Cameras don’t really have to be pretty if the pictures they produce are, but therein lies perhaps the lens’s biggest flaw and one of the deterrents to regularly using such a lens- towards the edge of the photo there is a definite color and light distortion beyond the desired fisheye effect. I believe the higher-end fisheye lenses do not have this problem to this extent. However, with this adapter, zooming in results in a much lower-quality image than the average Nikon lens for the camera, as you can see from the below images, the first without the adapter and the second through the fisheye.
I can still see uses for such a lens and if you are trying simply to take a few circular photos, then you’ll have fun with this fisheye. The price is currently coming in at a cheap $60, which certainly ups the inducement to buy. However, it seems a shame to attach this lens to a much superior one, and if what you need are some high-quality fisheye images, I would consider a more expensive version.
Another fun attachment for your camera is the Opteka Voyeur Right Angle Spy Lens. This lens has a mirror inside it so that it looks like you’re taking a photo from the front, but are actually taking a photo out of the side of the camera. It seems like a good idea for the photographer who is just a little shy at taking photos of strangers or wants to catch more candid moments.
In practice, however, it does not seem like the best candidate for the sneak attack. The hole in the side is large and obvious, as is the mirror (the edges show up in photos as well). Adjusting the lens to look at the right target requires a great deal of practice and the ability to unlearn left and right. And even with the relatively smart autofocus in the Nikon DSLR, the camera still had difficulty focusing on its target.
So, this “voyeur” lens probably isn’t the right tool to stalk Brad Pitt or Cameron Diaz with anytime soon, but what it does allow for are some very interesting angled shots that would be hard to attain without a very flexible neck.
Put your camera on the floor, point the mirror up and you’ll have an interesting image without having to lie on your back to take it. Though the situations are few and far between, it allows for those around-the-corner shots in tight spaces where humans cannot tread. Finally, though this lens is not great for moving human targets, it might be quite ideal for stalking your camera-shy cat, and for about $30 on Amazon, I would say go ahead. My lolcats supply is running dangerously low.
