Product Description

Make interesting photos with this 0.25 fisheye converter. This lense will fit on any Digital SLR/ Video Camera lens that has a filter ring size of 49, 52, 55, or 58 with included adapters.

Product Details

• Brand: Phoenix
• Model: P09040
• Dimensions: 4.00" h x 3.25" w x 3.25" l, .70 pounds

Features

• 0.25X magnification makes your standard or wide angle focal length lens an ultra-wide "fisheye" lens
• Mounts to the filter threads of almost any digital or film SLR lens with series 7 adapter rings
• 4 adapter rings are included: 49mm, 52mm, 55mm & 58mm
• With 0.25X: 50mm Lens = 152 degrees; 35mm Lens = 166 degrees; 28mm Lens = 175 degrees angle-of-view
• Made in Japan with high quality all glass lens construction

Customer Reviews

Keep reasonable expectations - so what if it's a toy?
I have to agree with everything that has been written in the previous reviews. This is a fun gadget; it is not for serious photography. But so what? Who cares? For the vast majority of users, our cameras are toys. We use them for entertainment, not to produce income. But other than that, ALL fisheye lenses are toys. They are novelties for occaisonal use. How often do the pros use fisheye lenses? Only occaisionally. A fisheye lens is a special effect in the same way that solarizing is a special effect. I have a different expectation of resolution and detail in a solarized image than I do in a normal image. Likewise, I have different expectations of a fisheye image than I do of a normal image.

I will differ on one point made in a previous review in that I have not noticed significant darkening near the edges of the image using my Minolta Dimage 7i. Nor do I see significant darkening at the edges of the customer images at the top of the product page. Only at extreme magnifications do I become aware of color fringing at the edges. But again, so what? If you were really determined to make a giant print you would be doing post processing work anyway.

This fisheye converter seems to be reasonably well made, however mine was not assembled with the greatest care. The edges of the lens elements are blackened to reduce internal reflections. A smear of the black paint got on the inside of the front element and escaped the scrutiny of the QC inspector (if there is a QC inspector). The smear left very noticeable spots on the photos. I was able to unscrew the front element (required two strap wrenches) and clean the marks.

One of my photos taken with this lens was featured on Earth Science Picture of the Day, August 14, 2007. ([...])

This lens is a toy
First, this is not a lens. It is an adapter that mounts in front of your lens, using a standard filter mount. It says that in the description, but the item title can be misleading. The list of camera makers and lens mounts is irrelevant: the fisheye adapter will work with any lens that has a filter thread size matching one of the four included adapters.

Second, this is not a professional product. It is a toy. The image quality is ok in the middle of the frame, but suffers from significant blur and a lot of color aberration around the edges. The edges are significantly darker than the middle of the image. The distorted images are fun, but that's about it. Don't expect to be able to use this lens for something serious. It's not nearly good enough for Quicktime VR panoramas.

You need a 30mm lens to get the full image circle (equivalent to a real 8mm fisheye); on a "crop-frame" D-SLR camera with an 1.6x conversion factor, that would be 18mm -- so the basic 18-55mm lens that comes with the Canon Digital Rebel series (aka Canon D300/350/400 in Europe) will work fine: it will give you the full 180 degree field of view at the wide end, and almost no vignetting at the 55mm end.

A reasonable tool for the money
This lens provides a good low-cost fisheye option. It screws on the front of your existing lens using an adaptor ring. The quality of the images is NOT the ultra-sharp quality you are used to from D-SLR. But for under $100 bucks, I find them very satisfactory for fun close-ups, and for "recording the scene". I've posted two samples.

The lenses are glass (not plastic) at it includes two caps - one for front and one for the rear, plus a storage pouch.

Drawbacks/cautions: The weight of the lens may cause your zoom lens (i.e. a Tamron 17-200) to flex down a bit, leaving the image a touch low in the frame. The adaptor ring seems to have permanently affixed itself to one of my lenses.

The vendor shipped VERY fast, and packed it very well.