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fish eye wide angle lens?

1K views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  Chris Bailey 
#1 ·
im looking to buy a new lens for the express purpose of taking close up pics of bugs and primarily fish with a smattering of scenery. I was considering the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 fisheye wide angle lens for my EOS 50D.

digital photography is still something I am horribly new at. however I feel that I am a capable beginner and was hoping to get some input from those who know (so you can dumb it down for me) why or why not this would be a good lens to get.

I was thinking it would be pretty versatile. often im holding a writhing fish in one hand and clicking and praying with the other. im thinking there would be less chance for me to cut out part of the fish in the picture because I can't see what I am doing with the camera.

is there a better lens for my ceiling of 600 bucks? would a real macro lens be better suited for my needs? I would prefer to only pack one lens with me as lately the shots i have been taking with camera have been pretty specific.
 
#2 ·
The fisheye lens is probably a bit too specific for what you want. It is great for getting a view of a large area at a close distance, such as for architecture, etc. You should check out a macro lens like the 50mm f/2.5, which will be much cheaper than the fisheye. It gets good reviews as an all-around lens that has macro capability. Also check out the EF-S 60mm macro. Just check out the sample photos for the EF-S 60mm: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=155&modelid=11156

Is that what you are looking for? This lens fits your price point, but since it is an EF-S lens you wouldn't be able to use it on the full-frame DSLRs or a film SLR.
 
#3 ·
the pics that lens takes look amazing, however from what I gather it wont work on my camera, but im sure there is an alternative that is close.

my only concern on a macro lens verses the fisheye (having never used either one) is: would longer distance shots be distorted if I tried to take a pic of a deer walking by or something of that nature.
 
#4 ·
If you have the 50D, the EF-S lenses should work. If you have the 5D, which has a full-frame sensor, they won't work. If you have the 5D, you'd remember forking over about $2,500 if you bought it new versus about $1200 for the 50D.

The fisheye is an extreme wide-angle lens and that deer would practically be able to eat out of your hand at the distance required to get a photo with that lens. It is really for taking pictures of really big things (buildings, mountains, etc.) at close distances. That 50mm macro might be the ticket as it has macro capabilities but is useful as a standard lens. It has been around for a while so you may be able to find a used one for a decent price.

If you can get to Seattle, and don't mind forking over some cash to try some of these lenses, stop by Glazers. They will be able to help you out alot and you can rent lenses from them to try. Here is the list of rental lenses: http://www.glazerscamera.com/rentals-cameras-lenses.html. They have both of those macros as well as the fisheye to rent.

It is pretty fun to pick up a lens for a weekend that you would never be able to afford to buy. I did this once a while back to take a trip up the Skagit in the winter to check out the Eagles. I rented a $1500 lens for about $40 and came away understanding why people pay that much for a lens. It was amazing.
 
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