Peleng/Samyang 8mm or Sigma/Zenitar 16mm?

[DanielBond]

Hi.

I've just started back in the photography game after selling all my gear a few years back to cover rent (mistake).

So I have just been bought a used 20d body for my birthday (!) and I'm picking up the cheap 18-55mm USM IS lens to get me going. I mostly wanted a good camera because I go on tour with my band a lot and I'd like to get decent photos at the gigs we play and the scenery we pass and generally document what we are doing better than I can on my blackberry phone.

So I want something wide for live gigs/documentary stuff. The 18-55 might cover that well, but when I shot my 10d, my 16mm fisheye was nice despite the 1.6crop and I really liked it.



But would a full frame fisheye be better for me? I can't decide if I would get tired of the extreme barrelling of a full fisheye - I got really used to the crop on my 10d/sigma fisheye combo and found that its lesser width was actually kind of cool. I can find a used zenitar 16mm for around £100.



This was a full frame fisheye on my old Eos 5 film camera. It's great for blading and real close up intimate stuff, but is it too much? (On a side note, does anyone else miss using Fuji Provia?)

What does be-mag think? Eventually I might get a better body and get into filming too, so bear that in mind.

Super wide, or just wide?

[al dolega]

Personally, I say all or nothing. It sounds like what you really want is an UWA, though, not a fisheye.

[danjama]

That Zenitar 16mm looks awesome tbh, but on a crop it is just a wide angle lens, not a fisheye. Saying that, I've heard the samyang 8mm are great for the price. If you're sticking with canon crop bodies, the samyang seems like a good step.

As a sidenote, i sold my 20d this morning. Regret it already, but super excited for the 600d i'll be buying at the end of the month.

[s.]

I am not sure whether the 20d will let you use Ap mode, or only M with a peleng/samyang/zenitar. You better check that if you want to do documentary stuff, where sometimes you won't have time to do test shots for checking the exposure.

Peleng sucks, you will get black corners since it's a circular fisheye for a full frame.
Zenitar is good stopped down. Can get very soft and fuzzy at 2.8, especially if the subject is backlit.

[danjama]

Quite a decent review here

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/526-samyang8f35eos

[DanielBond]

Personally, I say all or nothing. It sounds like what you really want is an UWA, though, not a fisheye.

I think you may be right, however if you look at the top photo I posted, the 16mm fisheye on the crop body, I kind of like the distortion because it feels close, but not over the top like a proper fisheye.

Are you talking about a linear wideangle? Those get pricey right?

[al dolega]

I meant an ultrawideangle, like the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 or the Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5. But those are out of your price range ($400+ easily). So between your listed choices I would probably actually go with the Samyang. Its distortion isn't quite as bubbly as most fisheyes, and it doesn't clump towards the edges like many cheaper fisheyes tend to, so I think you'll like its look. Plus it's sharper than the other cheap fisheyes.

[DanielBond]

Thanks everyone. I quite like the distortion on the Samyang - it would work great for photos at gigs. It's probably a little out of my range, but I guess I'll have to save for a bit.