You heard right! Lensbaby announced the official release of their new 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye Lens early this morning. It is currently available for pre-order for only $299.95 on B&H right now and the sample photos and details listed are definitely something that might make you consider adding this to your bag.
The new Lensbaby 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye Lens is going to be a manual focus lens with a very wide 5.8mm focal length. That will be able to provide an entire circular image which will be optimized for APS-C format cameras. Don't worry though, it is also compatible with full frame image sensors by producing a smaller image within the frame. The aperture of the lens has a range of f/3.5 to f/22 and captures a 185˚ angle of view. "It features a close focusing range starting at o.25" and going to infinity, all while providing expansive depth of field and image sharpness." Also, according to the B&H description, the Lensbaby lens "doesn't bend," which means that the fisheye images will always be perfectly centered within your frame.
The lens has a focus distance scale and DOF scale on it that will aid in focusing. That will definitely come in handy. A polished internal barrel has also been added to the lens to create reflection and "creative flare," which will fill the border around the image circle with the colors from the bright light sources. I think this is pretty cool and the sample photos found on the B&H official product listing below show some nice results.
B&H Lens Specification
Focal Length | 5.8 mm |
Aperture | Maximum: f/3.5 Minimum: f/22 |
Camera Mount Type | Canon EF |
Format Compatibility | Full frame APS-C |
Minimum Focus Distance | 0.25" / 0.6 cm |
Angle of View | 185° |
Filter Size | None |
Dimensions | 2.75 x 3.0" / 7.0 x 7.6 cm |
Weight | 10.5 oz / 298 g |
In the box
Lensbaby 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye Lens for Canon EF
- Front Lens Cap
- Rear Lens Cap
- Microfiber Lens Pouch
- Limited 1-Year Warranty
To view more information about this lens and place a pre-order, you can visit the official B&H product listing page HERE
This will be awesome for when I shoot big EDM nightclubs. Thanks for the heads up!
Any way it can stretch to full image? - corner distortion not a problem
Doesn't look like it. I would recommend the Canon 10-22 if that is what you are wanting (on crop) or something of similar size on Nikon. If you use full frame they have some great wide angle, non fisheye, lens that might meet your needs. @sncarletti:disqus
There's a plugin that does that with just about any fisheye. It's called Fisheye-Hemi:
http://www.imagetrendsinc.com/products/specpage_hemi.asp#hemi_lens