I've always thought of a fisheye lens as a novelty. I never really owned one, other than a toy fisheye film camera, and I only used that once or twice. Over the holidays, I found the Bower 7.5mm f3.5 fisheye lens for Micro 4/3 for an amazing low price, and bought it.
I decided to take it with me on my trip to New Mexico. Another place where Micro 4/3 compactness shines. I don't think I'd ever carry a lens like this with a full-sized DSLR kit. The probability of use : weight ratio would be too low.
Anyway, I used it. The shot below is the only interesting one I could make at sunset over the city. Instead of a beautiful desert sunset, on this evening the clouds were rolling in, and the color just wasn't there. So, I pointed the fishey upward, got right to the base of the tree, and shot this.
Upward Reach, by Reed A. George
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, Bower 7.5mm f3.5 Fisheye Lens
iso 200, 1/125 sec., f-stop unrecorded
The Bower lens is also marketed under other names. I believe it's identical to one sold under the Samyang and Rokinon name. It's a manual focus lens, but with the depth of field you get with a 7.5mm lens on Micro 4/3 sensors, that really isn't a drawback at all. At far less than half the cost of a Panasonic fisheye lens, I think it's a reasonable compromise.
Here's a shot I made outside a church in New Mexico:
Sacred Tree, by Reed A. George
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, Bower 7.5mm f3.5 Fisheye Lens
iso 200, 1/800 sec., f-stop unrecorded
Here again, the fisheye perspective allowed me to make a somewhat interesting image, even in midday sun. The distortion of the lens works with the tree branch arching overhead, with its crucifixes hanging down. Mother Mary makes a nice off-center focal point.
So, this lens has my vote. I enjoyed using it on the GX7 quite a lot.
Click on my Amazon link below to buy yours, and support this blog!
DMC-365.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment