Socially Reclusive

For once I get a Xmas present early, and this one I’m pretty excited about. Since getting a Digital SLR, I’ve wanted a Fish-Eye lens. Alas, the official Nikkor lens, which I try to stick to, are £300 plus. Why should I spend £300 on a lens which I may not use all of the time. Luckily, a Russian company called Zenitar, provides an alternative. The £100 Zenitar 16mm Fish-Eye Lens. There are several versions of this lens, I chose the N version, which is Nikon compatible, but there are Fuji and Canon versions.

The lens comes in a small, green cardboard box with several Russian phrases over it. In the box is the lens and lens-caps, a carrying case, instruction manual and coloured filters. The lens is not heavy, but weighty, due to it being made out of metal. It snapped perfectly onto my D40 body.

Next step. Turn on the camera. “No Lens Attached”. Eh? But the lens is attached. After trying again, the lens will not be detected by my D40. I turn the camera to Manual Focus mode, and then I can just take a photo. One more little problem for this lens appears. If I do not fire Flash, no matter how light the day is, the lens will produce a very dark image.

The images produced from the lens are, technically, Fish-Eye. I would class Fish-Eye as having an angle of 120 Degrees or more. The Nikon lens gives around 160 Degrees whiles the Zenitar gives around 90 Degrees. While this does produce Fish-Eye results, its not completely what I would dream of. Its still a sturdy lens, and gets the job done for £100.

I feel that this lens is good, even if the results aren’t perfect and I have to fire flash every time. Check out this Flickr photo or this one here as example shots.

Emoticon Review:

[Update] Flash doesn’t have to fire every time, it depends on exposure time. I prefer a short exposure time, so I have to fire flash. Rookie mistake.