Bumping and older video, but i just picked up a used one of these lenses for US $60.00 and am having a lot of fun with it!. I think your review is spot on. Not an every day lens at all, but for certain things you can cerate some fun, interesting, and perhaps memorable images.
I own the lens and got some great shots with it on my Olympus PL6. I turned on the digital doubler while shooting jpg/raw to get a 15mm equivalent jpg and the full circle 7mm equivalent raw. The lens worked great on a cave tour capturing the immensity of the cave under low light conditions. Winter "snow globe" landscapes are intriguing capturing a whole world. Great review and I've subscribed to follow your work. Good job 👍
Nice that you finally discovered this interesting lens. It not as new as you claim here; I have had mine for about a year now. Finding the right angle and perspective for a pleasant photo is tricky.
Thanks for another great video. 👍🏼 I have the 3.5 and it's been a great addition. Used with a G80 and you can keep your fingers out of view. On my GH5M2 there's a very small amount of the grip in view. Overall, very happy with it, especially for the £104 I paid.
When I was in my photography apprenticeship, I spent a lot of time learning to get the best from a fully-circular fisheye lens. It takes a lot of work to become familiar with when-and-where to use it for the best results. Placing the camera on the ground, laying on its back with a remote (or delayed) shutter-release, should produce amazing 360° panoramic results. Alternatively, because this lens looks slightly behind it, you could also crouch down while holding the camera above your head, so you're not in the picture and you get a circular 360° panoramic image. While I liked the circular fisheye format, it has to be said that it has far less utility than a cropped image fisheye. Very often you'll find yourself having to heavily crop the circular image to produce a normal oblong print. Of course that'll definitely lose image quality as there's only so many pixels to play with. Would I buy this lens, especially as I already own the Olympus PRO fisheye? Very definitely "YES". Although it won't be used as often as the Olympus PRO fisheye, I can well image using it to produce superb unique images inside a tight space, such as a submarine or a cave system. Thanks for the Review, Jimmy. Now I just need to hammer my credit card again 😂. Rick (English Pro Photographer)
Sorry Rick hahaha but this guy is really value for money and cheap enough to not 'hurt' your wallet. There's one comment here said he got this for just over £100!! That's a bargain! This type of lenses you only need one in your life and at that price, you can't argue.
@@Red35Photography I totally agree, but perhaps you'd like to gift me the one they lent you (say it must have got lost in the return post or something) as this is a very expensive time of year for me, with all my insurance policies, road tax, MoT, a replacement cooker and washing machine, not to mention Christmas and New Year coming close together! I really do need that lens and promise I'll alway leave great reviews on your UA-cam videos 🤪. Shall we say that's a deal, sir? I can pop up to London to collect it next week. 🙏
hahah if they stop lending me lenses hahah.. It's funny that Dec/Jan is always expensive. Christmas, then lots of birthdays in my household, my kids (twins), my wife, my mom, and just like you, my car insurance, camera insurance, and also cold, heater is on more and you know how expensive gas prices are these days, and BT just said they are going to put the price up by 9,5%! OMG!!
I would say the biggest market for budget fish eye is for video, since it is the most used lense type for action sports video, there are a lot of young people buying these lenses to film slate snowboarding etc
Actually I am thinking about getting one of this for months! By a bit longer focal length brother of Meike 6.5mm fish eye, I was so disappointed due to it's minimal focus distance of 0.35m. This means you can not expect much deforming effect out from the lens. BUT I know this guy has minimal focus distance 3.5mm, not meter! I' excited to try one!
Cool lens! You could get some very tripy shots with that. I know that you said that you would have to be an idiot to use it in video but imagine doing a corridor follow with it, centered on the talent's face.
I would love to have a full circular fisheye for Underwater photography. I have the Meike its fun, but not usable for underwater. The Angle of view is to big an the Lens is to small. It in possible to make a housing where it will work. So still waiting on the some MFT equivalents like the 8-15mm Fisheye lenses ...
I like mine, but I only really use things like this for getting entire aircraft cockpits in! The full circular thing i don’t really use as I often crop in to create a 2x3, or 16x9 image. I must do more creative photography, or Astro photography with it on my EM1 mk2, though!
I haven't played with a fisheye lens in as many years as you have been alive Jimmy.. yeah. So when I saw this at the price it is, I had to check out your video..... I might just have to grab one of these before the inevitable price hike.... Hope you get a OK to play outside soon..... It would be interesting to see you do a image comparison of lens images from the same exact location of your feet...to get an idea of the difference in what the lenses cover... like in the Lake District... yeah, that would be fun!!!
Cheers Dave! haha I would love to go to Lake District again but it's 6 hours drive away haha.. Good idea though, so let me see how I can do something like this.
How about two of these side by side for 3D 180 vr photos or video? Wonder how that would compare quality wise with the Vuze XR. That has two 210deg fov lenses so very similar.
@@Red35Photography Sounds an interesting idea. Two lenses mounted on two bodies on a frame or bracket giving a stereo image. Would then be interesting blending the two images in LIghtroom or Photoshop and seeing the resultant image……
Canon has such a lens, with twin front elements. I wonder when the 360 camera people will be twinning their lenses, front and back, to get stereo 360? But hey, if such a thing could be constructed for M43, I would be very interested.
Hey, you mentioned the best body for this lens is most flat one but is there any sense to buy it for E-M1? I mean for pure fun in most amateur photography. I have some experience with 8mm on APS-C. Be health, stay positive (in attitude and humor i mean)!
Ahh, the circuiar fisheye! I rather like the full frame fisheye 8mm f/1.8 (and the Samyang 7mm f/3.5 that I had before it). But this is a different sort of thing entirely.
Is this a new version of the lens, you say several times that it’s new? I’ve had mine since 2020 and it’s a lot of fun to use. On the Oly EM1 series bodies it will shoot the grip in the shot, it works great on the EM5 size, and you still have to be careful how you place your hands!
Cheers Morey, well, like I said, I had no experience with Meike at all, they told me it's new, so I believe them. Anyhow, I love this little guy, to me, it's better than Laowa's 4mm, which is shorter (harder to use) and more expensive.
@@Red35Photography new moon on February 1 💪 but I know the British weather, from when I lived in the Faroe Islands 😅 we currently have negative 7 to 15 degrees here in Denmark 🥶❄️ yet I'm going out in a little bit, to see if I can get the moonrise over the horizon 💪
any way to get some straight lines in post production like using the 7artisans 7.5mm in hitfilm express with gopro settings, meaning getting a flat horizon at all!
@@Red35Photography im pretty sure Premiere Pro got that function too, if you are using that at all I mean!dont they sometimes shoot in 120 degrees and can get flattened in post production?
1st! ;) Hey, how are you? I'm "negative person" back. Since previous Friday I was test as positive. I'm in isolation until this Sunday and on Monday I will go to work again. To all: Be health and creative!
Yay! I am still positive, which is weird, it's been over a week since I tested positive and I feel fine. We are in the world of Wonder Covid... oh well. Be healthy and Creative mate!
@@powerlink2000 I bought my E-M10 II because of his review. If it weren't for David Thorpe, I probably wouldn't be subscribed to RED35 or Robin Wong or Peter Forsgård or Rob Trek. I never knew him personally, and yet my photography---my art---for the past 22 months has taken a path that he largely directed. I just hope he knew how much he meant.
A circular fisheye lens is useful for about 6 photographs in one lifetime for 99% of photographers. It is highly likely to be used a couple of times then soon as the novelty wears off,m will find its way to the bottom of the camera bag and stay there until the heat death of the universe. The 8mm f1.8 is far more useful for most, or the 7.5mm f2.
Bumping and older video, but i just picked up a used one of these lenses for US $60.00 and am having a lot of fun with it!. I think your review is spot on. Not an every day lens at all, but for certain things you can cerate some fun, interesting, and perhaps memorable images.
I own the lens and got some great shots with it on my Olympus PL6. I turned on the digital doubler while shooting jpg/raw to get a 15mm equivalent jpg and the full circle 7mm equivalent raw. The lens worked great on a cave tour capturing the immensity of the cave under low light conditions. Winter "snow globe" landscapes are intriguing capturing a whole world. Great review and I've subscribed to follow your work. Good job 👍
Nice that you finally discovered this interesting lens. It not as new as you claim here; I have had mine for about a year now. Finding the right angle and perspective for a pleasant photo is tricky.
It's brilliant for night time sky photos. Fireworks are amazing with it! I love mine coupled with an Air-A01 body to keep my fingers out of the frame.
Oh yes, it will be great on A01!!
Thanks for another great video. 👍🏼
I have the 3.5 and it's been a great addition. Used with a G80 and you can keep your fingers out of view. On my GH5M2 there's a very small amount of the grip in view.
Overall, very happy with it, especially for the £104 I paid.
Cheers mate.
When I was in my photography apprenticeship, I spent a lot of time learning to get the best from a fully-circular fisheye lens. It takes a lot of work to become familiar with when-and-where to use it for the best results. Placing the camera on the ground, laying on its back with a remote (or delayed) shutter-release, should produce amazing 360° panoramic results. Alternatively, because this lens looks slightly behind it, you could also crouch down while holding the camera above your head, so you're not in the picture and you get a circular 360° panoramic image.
While I liked the circular fisheye format, it has to be said that it has far less utility than a cropped image fisheye. Very often you'll find yourself having to heavily crop the circular image to produce a normal oblong print. Of course that'll definitely lose image quality as there's only so many pixels to play with.
Would I buy this lens, especially as I already own the Olympus PRO fisheye? Very definitely "YES". Although it won't be used as often as the Olympus PRO fisheye, I can well image using it to produce superb unique images inside a tight space, such as a submarine or a cave system.
Thanks for the Review, Jimmy. Now I just need to hammer my credit card again 😂.
Rick
(English Pro Photographer)
Sorry Rick hahaha but this guy is really value for money and cheap enough to not 'hurt' your wallet. There's one comment here said he got this for just over £100!! That's a bargain! This type of lenses you only need one in your life and at that price, you can't argue.
@@Red35Photography I totally agree, but perhaps you'd like to gift me the one they lent you (say it must have got lost in the return post or something) as this is a very expensive time of year for me, with all my insurance policies, road tax, MoT, a replacement cooker and washing machine, not to mention Christmas and New Year coming close together! I really do need that lens and promise I'll alway leave great reviews on your UA-cam videos 🤪. Shall we say that's a deal, sir? I can pop up to London to collect it next week. 🙏
hahah if they stop lending me lenses hahah.. It's funny that Dec/Jan is always expensive. Christmas, then lots of birthdays in my household, my kids (twins), my wife, my mom, and just like you, my car insurance, camera insurance, and also cold, heater is on more and you know how expensive gas prices are these days, and BT just said they are going to put the price up by 9,5%! OMG!!
Nice! I love my 8mm 1.8. It's great for Astro photography . This lens looks nice but I refer my 8nn
WOW... Fantastic... 😲😲
Thanks... 🙏🙏
Greetings from Spain... "SALUDOS... 👋🙋😃 "
I would say the biggest market for budget fish eye is for video, since it is the most used lense type for action sports video, there are a lot of young people buying these lenses to film slate snowboarding etc
Actually I am thinking about getting one of this for months! By a bit longer focal length brother of Meike 6.5mm fish eye, I was so disappointed due to it's minimal focus distance of 0.35m. This means you can not expect much deforming effect out from the lens. BUT I know this guy has minimal focus distance 3.5mm, not meter! I' excited to try one!
Cool lens! You could get some very tripy shots with that. I know that you said that you would have to be an idiot to use it in video but imagine doing a corridor follow with it, centered on the talent's face.
I have the Meike 6.5 f2 for a while but as you say not a full circle so thanks for this my 3.5mm arrives tomorrow to have a play with
请问有没有用过slr magic 的镜头呀？ 我看价钱还是不错的，想买。
I would love to have a full circular fisheye for Underwater photography. I have the Meike its fun, but not usable for underwater. The Angle of view is to big an the Lens is to small. It in possible to make a housing where it will work. So still waiting on the some MFT equivalents like the 8-15mm Fisheye lenses ...
I like mine, but I only really use things like this for getting entire aircraft cockpits in! The full circular thing i don’t really use as I often crop in to create a 2x3, or 16x9 image. I must do more creative photography, or Astro photography with it on my EM1 mk2, though!
I haven't played with a fisheye lens in as many years as you have been alive Jimmy.. yeah. So when I saw this at the price it is, I had to check out your video..... I might just have to grab one of these before the inevitable price hike.... Hope you get a OK to play outside soon..... It would be interesting to see you do a image comparison of lens images from the same exact location of your feet...to get an idea of the difference in what the lenses cover... like in the Lake District... yeah, that would be fun!!!
Cheers Dave! haha I would love to go to Lake District again but it's 6 hours drive away haha.. Good idea though, so let me see how I can do something like this.
How about two of these side by side for 3D 180 vr photos or video? Wonder how that would compare quality wise with the Vuze XR. That has two 210deg fov lenses so very similar.
WOAH! That could be a fun project!
@@Red35Photography Sounds an interesting idea. Two lenses mounted on two bodies on a frame or bracket giving a stereo image. Would then be interesting blending the two images in LIghtroom or Photoshop and seeing the resultant image……
Canon has such a lens, with twin front elements.
I wonder when the 360 camera people will be twinning their lenses, front and back, to get stereo 360?
But hey, if such a thing could be constructed for M43, I would be very interested.
Hey, you mentioned the best body for this lens is most flat one but is there any sense to buy it for E-M1? I mean for pure fun in most amateur photography. I have some experience with 8mm on APS-C.
Be health, stay positive (in attitude and humor i mean)!
Ahh, the circuiar fisheye! I rather like the full frame fisheye 8mm f/1.8 (and the Samyang 7mm f/3.5 that I had before it). But this is a different sort of thing entirely.
Is this a new version of the lens, you say several times that it’s new? I’ve had mine since 2020 and it’s a lot of fun to use. On the Oly EM1 series bodies it will shoot the grip in the shot, it works great on the EM5 size, and you still have to be careful how you place your hands!
Cheers Morey, well, like I said, I had no experience with Meike at all, they told me it's new, so I believe them. Anyhow, I love this little guy, to me, it's better than Laowa's 4mm, which is shorter (harder to use) and more expensive.
So it's still cropped while filming right?
Yes, cropping into the circle.
@@Red35Photography Would it be cropped if using a 4:3 aspect ratio video mode too?
@@sebastien.labrunie yes, you are basically cropping further from 16:9 so if you want full circle, you may need a focal reducer.
How about make a review of Meike 6.5mm fisheye which is more cheaper and available here. The 3.5mm is kinda hard to find and way more expensive
Astrophotography? Like the milky-way shots 😊
I would like to try one day, but it's too bright where I live.
@@Red35Photography new moon on February 1 💪 but I know the British weather, from when I lived in the Faroe Islands 😅 we currently have negative 7 to 15 degrees here in Denmark 🥶❄️ yet I'm going out in a little bit, to see if I can get the moonrise over the horizon 💪
any way to get some straight lines in post production like using the 7artisans 7.5mm in hitfilm express with gopro settings, meaning getting a flat horizon at all!
Wow really? Never tried that.
@@Red35Photography im pretty sure Premiere Pro got that function too, if you are using that at all I mean!dont they sometimes shoot in 120 degrees and can get flattened in post production?
I use FCPX ahha
@@Red35Photography Kevin Ross shows u how to fix it with fcpx!
1st! ;) Hey, how are you? I'm "negative person" back. Since previous Friday I was test as positive. I'm in isolation until this Sunday and on Monday I will go to work again. To all: Be health and creative!
Yay! I am still positive, which is weird, it's been over a week since I tested positive and I feel fine. We are in the world of Wonder Covid... oh well. Be healthy and Creative mate!
@@Red35Photography "fun" starts when or if you loose smell - i don't recommend it. I lost mine at the beginning of 2nd. week.
I'll stick with my Samyang 7.5mm Fisheye, even though you claim it's not fully Fisheye 📷👍
This comment is here just to give anyone a moment in the comments to remember David Thorpe, and his profound, exuberant love of photography.
His calming voice and demeanor while sharing his experiences will always be remembered…
@@powerlink2000 I bought my E-M10 II because of his review. If it weren't for David Thorpe, I probably wouldn't be subscribed to RED35 or Robin Wong or Peter Forsgård or Rob Trek. I never knew him personally, and yet my photography---my art---for the past 22 months has taken a path that he largely directed. I just hope he knew how much he meant.
Didn't you forget to mention something? 🤔 Oms Ambassador 😊
ahha I made this video before my official announcement. But it doesn't matter ;)
@@Red35Photography ah oki 😁
A circular fisheye lens is useful for about 6 photographs in one lifetime for 99% of photographers. It is highly likely to be used a couple of times then soon as the novelty wears off,m will find its way to the bottom of the camera bag and stay there until the heat death of the universe. The 8mm f1.8 is far more useful for most, or the 7.5mm f2.
Looks like a nice lens but a bit fishy for me!
LOL, you made me laugh. It's a fishy lens hahaha
Changes to a 7mm with teleconverter on.
Wow, then it will be similar to Olympus' 8mm
As a Flat Earther I reject this lens!
LOL, respect, not everyone can accept circles :)
Meke pronuces like 'metkat'
WOW... Fantastic... 😲😲
Thanks...🙏🙏
Greetings from Spain... "SALUDOS... 👋🙋😃 "