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Home >> Photography >> Film Equipment Nikon 16mm
f2.8D AF Fisheye Lens
A wedding photographer friend was showing me some wedding photos taken by another photographer using the Canon 85mm f1.2 L lens. When used appropriately, the results were striking and called attention to the subject because of the extremely shallow depth of field offered by this very expensive lens. The photos and the lens’ potential made my friend drool over wanting to purchase the same lens for his own bookings. A little research into pricing found that the Nikon 85mm f1.4 could be bought new with Canadian warranty for less than the grey market price of that Canon lens. Toss in a cheap F80 camera and my Canon shooting friend would have his super fast 85mm lens for still less than that grey market Canon 85 L. All very amusing and all very exploratory at this point, but our conversation did get me thinking about other lenses and styles of shots. We both use some pretty good 35mm gear for photographing weddings and although I cannot fully match the professional status of all of my friend’s L zoom lenses, I’ve not been disappointed with the quality I’ve received from my complement of lenses. However, even with all that good gear and experience in photographing a wedding, it is often the case that wedding guests show up with some pretty decent equipment themselves. Perhaps not in the same league as the F100 or EOS 1V cameras, but F80 and Élan 7 cameras can still take some mighty fine shots with today’s lenses and films, such that a lot of those guest shots can equal the photos taken by myself or other wedding photographers. To which point, some people may wonder what is the point of hiring someone specifically to take their wedding photos? Along this thought process was how could we as wedding photographers come up with photos that would distinguish us clearly from the guest photographers? Certainly, artistry, creativity, originality and shear experience in knowing when to release the shutter are part of the package. And in a clear conflict of interest, I certainly recommend couples to hire someone who has the ability to provide you with some meaningful memories of the event. Unlike my Canon shooting friend, I also have a complete medium format system to help me distinguish myself from the 35mm only crowd – the size and appearance of that Bronica SQ-Ai sitting on the Gitzo almost always elicits some favorable comments and looks of awe from the crowd (shock and awe when I pull out the fully put together camera and Metz flash from the massive Lowepro Pro Roller 3 J However, since we’re talking about 35mm, the discussion came to what kind of lenses could we utilize that would definitely put us ahead of the pack of ravenous dogs nipping at our heels J
Since my widest lens only goes down to 18mm, which is plenty wide in most situations, but not necessarily dynamic because of its rectilinear design, I took another look at that curious fisheye lens. I first looked into purchasing a Sigma 15mm f2.8 full frame fisheye lens, which is priced in the CAN $770 range new and is a good savings over the $1100 plus Nikon 16mm f2.8 fisheye lens. However, as luck would have it, a like-new Nikkor came my way for the same price, as the Sigma lens would have cost après taxes, so it was a no-brainer to go ahead with Nikon. For a lens that covers such a wide field of view, the Nikon 16mm lens is surprisingly compact with decent heft. However, despite what looks like pretty good build quality, the exterior shell of the lens is plastic with a crinkle finish that mimics the high-end metal build Nikkor lenses. The lens hood is a permanent feature to protect the slightly bulbous front element, which obviously negates the use of any front filter; however, as part of the package, Nikon supplies you with four rear-mount filters in a small pouch. These are the:
In order for the lens to focus to infinity, one of the filters must be in place in the rear filter mount. Photographing without the filter in place will allow for even closer focusing by the lens, but then it will no longer be able to focus to infinity. Reference: Bjorn Roslett’s website review.
The angle of view afforded by the 16mm lens is breathtaking. It is so wide that even though straight lines are obviously distorted at the edges of the frame, you almost expect it and it doesn’t seem so bad. Perhaps it’s from seeing all those security mirrors that pop up everywhere these days or from seeing such views on large trucks and buses in traffic that makes the extreme view of the lens so acceptable. These comments are relevant when used with a film camera, but on the half-frame D100, the extreme view becomes merely wide and less dynamic, almost quaint and because of that, the distortion is less acceptable. Such is life during a time of ultra wide-angle lenses becoming so commonplace that the 24mm equivalent view on the D100 is passé. This is not to say that it still isn’t going to find a use for me, since there are applications and plug-ins for Photoshop that will correct the distortion in a shot taken with a fisheye lens. Even Nikon is getting into the act with such a feature as part of the coming NikonCapture 4; however, I do not know if it will only work with digital captures taken with the also coming 10.5mm fisheye lens or if it will work its wonders with the 16mm too. Update: none other than Bjorn Roslett himself pointed my technical error in equating the 16mm lens as being a 24mm equivalent on the D100, so here I am to make amends and indicate that although that may be the math from simply looking at the mm from 16mm and multiplying by 1.5, the real world result is still a much wider field of view than what a 24mm rectilinear view provides. Also, NikonCapture 4 will apparently NOT work its fisheye correction with the 16mm lens, being only good for shots taken with the new 10.5mm DX fisheye. The 16mm lens offers a 180-degree view of the world, but keep in mind that this is measured diagonally across the film frame, not horizontally as would be the case with regular wide-angle lenses. Still plenty wide though and care is needed to frame the view correctly and not incorporate unwanted elements such as the stray tripod leg or your own feet amongst other undesirables (like the left hand fingers getting too close to the front of the lens). This is where a camera with a 100 percent viewfinder comes into its own for precise framing and where a camera with a 96 percent viewfinder such as the F100, may provide some post-photography surprises on the light table or print. The lens is a hoot to use and spectacular for seeing the world as your move the camera up and down and all around, seeing in a different way. It can be overdone though and people quickly tire of the fisheye effect after the initial gee-whiz reaction, especially with the ultra-wide circular fisheye lenses in the 8mm and under range. With careful composition though, you can fool people into thinking that a photo was taken with a straight wide-angle because the central portion of the 16mm fisheye frame has no distortion. You generally need to find a composition that works with the horizon line running through the middle instead of the more usual rule of thirds arrangement and you need a subject with minimal straight lines except in the central portion of the frame. Technical considerations? Puh-leeze! Technical virtuosity is about the last reason why I bought a 16mm fisheye lens. I could care less if the lens could resolve x number of lines per mm at the edges as at the center, the perspective and view it offers is what I wanted and is what I receive. Forget the arcane technical BS with such exotic lenses and go out and have some fun.
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Correspondence & About this website Copyright © 1998-2008 Edwin Leong |
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A
fisheye lens has been on my lens wish list for some time, but because
it always seemed like such a limited use lens, I put off any desire
to purchase one. Things changed in recent times to have me think a little
more outside the box and trying to find a style and a more dynamic approach
to photography that made me go for the purchase quicker than I thought
I would and over some other lenses I wanted to purchase first, such
as a 1:1 macro lens.
As
mentioned already, a super fast prime lens that can produce incredible
looking photos was an option utilized by one photographer. The use of
special films, such as infrared (already tried and the results were
stunning in an unusual and edgy kind of way), or slide film to be cross-processed
to produce prints (also tried at the same wedding as the infrared film)
was another option, and finally, the use of a super wide lens to produce
photos that few could replicate.
A
conventional lens cap cannot cover the front of the lens so a custom
snug-fit plastic cap is provided to protect the lens.
