Wideangle Fisheye Lens: Oly 8mm Fisheye PRO or Pana 8mm Fisheye?

Hi guys,

I need your help. Has someone had the chance to compare those two Wideangle Fisheye Prime lens? I'm not sure which one will work better with a olympus 4/3 camera.

Olympus 8mm F/1.8 Pro Fisheye
Aperture range: F1.8 - F22
Weight: 315 grams
Size: 62x90mm
Min Focus Distance: 0.12m
Angle of view: 180 degrees diagonal angle of view

Panasonic 8mm F/3.5 Fisheye 
Aperture range: F3.5 - F22
Weight: 165 grams
Size: 61x52mm
Min Focus Distance: 0.1m
Angle of view: 180 degrees diagonal angle of view

Hi, I have a Oly EM1.2 and a Pana 8mm, but I am selling it to switch to the Oly fisheye. Reasons for that:

- Closer focusing distance (wrt to the Dome)

- Possibility to switch to linear wide angle

- Lower f-stop

Thanks Ibedogni!

Sorry for my question, but.... What do you mean, "Possibility to switch to linear wide angle"?

Myh thinking the Panasonic is compact if you want to save money get it

Olympus not much point by the time you add glass dome etc you may buy a metabones adapter and then choose a tokina or a canon fisheye so you will have zoom, this will give far greater possibilities that a fixed focus wont give you

Thanks Interceptor121!

I've planned to buy the lens in the second-hand market. I've seen the 8mm PRO below 600€ and Panasonic 8mm below 400€.

Others options:

- Olympus M.Zuiko 9-18mm F4.5-5.6 Lens ($699.99; low price; 100° - 62° angle of view)
- Olympus M.Zuiko 7-14mm F2.8 PRO Lens ($1,299.99; more very very expensive for me, 114° - 75° angle of view)
- Panasonic Lumix G 7-14mm F4 Lens ($799.99, maxing out at 114° angle of view)

Turandot

There's no advantage underwater to having an f1.8 aperture on a fisheye compared to f3.5. 

If cost is an issue, don't use your cash for a faster lens!

I got the Oly 9-18mm and the Zen dome. Sharp focus is affected by the f1.8. I get the good sharp focus at around f8. I have shot all types of scenes and have never regretted it. Been shooting it for a couple of years. Even does well with video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w-A5ZNClvA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNc-t1B1zgQ

Rec

3 hours ago, turandot said:

Thanks Interceptor121!

I've planned to buy the lens in the second-hand market. I've seen the 8mm PRO below 600€ and Panasonic 8mm below 400€.

Others options:

- Olympus M.Zuiko 9-18mm F4.5-5.6 Lens ($699.99; low price; 100° - 62° angle of view)
- Olympus M.Zuiko 7-14mm F2.8 PRO Lens ($1,299.99; more very very expensive for me, 114° - 75° angle of view)
- Panasonic Lumix G 7-14mm F4 Lens ($799.99, maxing out at 114° angle of view)

 

Rectilinear lenses are problematic. I have tried and tested them all the only one that meets my quality standards is the Panasonic 8-18mm in glass dome preferably. All the rest have a number of issues that I won't bore you with. Particularly I dislike 7mm lenses as they are too distorted at the edges and have all sorts of other issues also on land. You won't go past 110 degrees with those lenses due to optical issues and vignette at the end the 8-18mm with the correct extension will give you the same fov and better IQ. I am not talking out of phantasy I have spent months testing so when I say I am happy with the IQ means that is as good as it can possibly get period.

On a prime fisheye I would always go Panasonic because is a smaller lens and uses a smaller dome. If I had to go Olympus I would go Tokina or canon because the lens is large and you loose the CFWA opportunity. The 8mm pana also takes the 3.5 minidome that will loose a lot of field of view but get you very close for WAM

I have in fact sold my Panasonic and I shoot a Canon 8-15mm in a 140mm glass dome but it is practically full frame cost and more than APSC flexibility with a 8-15mm fisheye zoom on a metabones smart adapter.

Thanks Interceptor121!!

These are Nauticam's options with 8mm fisheye prime lens with acrylic dome port in Nauticam Housing:

Olympus 8mm F/1.8 Pro Fisheye (999€)
+N85 EXTENSION RING 20 (199€)
+N85 4.33'' ACRYLIC FISHEYE DOME PORT (522€)
+O8-F FOCUS GEAR (199€)

Total cost: 1.919€

Panasonic 8mm F/3.5 Fisheye (650€)
Opt1
+P8-F FOCUS GEAR (227€)
+N85 4.33'' ACRYLIC FISHEYE DOME PORT (522€)

Total cost: 749€

Opt2
+P8-F FOCUS GEAR (227€)
+N85 3.5" ACRYLIC WIDE-ANGLE DOME PORT (389€) 
*Slightly vignetting in 4:3 aspect ratio

Total cost: 616€

I have the Zuiko 8mm fisheye. In case you want to use the lens also above the water, I would go for Zuiko and pay the extra money. You can get the lens cheaper from so called "grey market" internet shops, as Panamoz or E-Infin, in case you need to save money.

You can easily save the money for the focus gear, AF works very well with the 8mm fisheye (I do not have a focus gear for the 8mm Zuiko and I never regret)...

In case you already have a dome port, you can try to use this one, even if it is not a dedicated fisheye domeport. I have e.g. the Nauticam 140mm (dedicated fisheye) domeport and the Zen DP170 (intended for rectilinear WA lenses). Both give brilliant IQ, the DP170 ist just bigger...

Wolfgang

On 4/17/2020 at 4:27 PM, Interceptor121 said:

Rectilinear lenses are problematic.

I read your article about "USING RECTILINEAR WIDE LENSES UNDERWATER", very good work! 

https://interceptor121.com/2019/10/13/using-rectilinear-wide-lenses-underwater/

44 minutes ago, turandot said:

I read your article about "USING RECTILINEAR WIDE LENSES UNDERWATER", very good work! 

https://interceptor121.com/2019/10/13/using-rectilinear-wide-lenses-underwater/

You don't need a focus gear on a fisheye lens. And personally a fisheye lens is not something you will ever use on land so make your choice accordingly. A glass dome is more important than the lens to avoid reflection but a bit of tape does miracles...

I have the Panasonic 8mm fisheye used with an EM-1 MkII.  Nice lens, though I did find that there was some purple fringing in the far corners. Initially I thought it was also a little softer but later decided it was an issue with where I selected focus.   

Regarding the purple fringing I started this post: 

View archived post in: Purple fringing with Panasonic 8mm f3.5 lens on Olympus body

It is mostly correctable with manual correction in my raw converter (Capture 1 pro).  Personally now I would spend a few more $ for the olympus which does not seem to have this issue.

If you have any interest in doing wide angle, land, astrophotography, get the Oly 8mm. The wide aperture will really help your shots. I doubt you'll be doing any fast-wildlife photog with this lens, but as always, Oly lenses on Oly bodies work better than mixing.

I rented the 8mm for a Hawaii trip last year. It's pretty nice but I had to crop due to cheap dome. I like it enough that I'd probably get it when I upgrade to em1.ii and Nauticam.

In fact, I was just reading a thread on mu-43 about the 8mm or the 7-14mm.

@Interceptor121 What do you think about LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT 8-18mm / F2.8-4.0 ASPH? Thanks!

Configuration for Nauticam housing in mft mount:

Option #1 Nauticam 7" Acrylic Dome Port + Zoom Gear ( Total price: 844€ + Price Lens)

PL818-Z ZOOM GEAR
SKU # 36062
275€

N85 7" ACRYLIC WIDE-ANGLE DOME PORT
SKU # 36129
569€

Option #2 Nauticam 180mm Optical Glass + Focus Gear + Adapter + Extension ( Total Price: 2.238€ + Price Lens )

PL818-F FOCUS GEAR
SKU # 36063
189€

N85 TO N120 55MM PORT ADAPTER WITH LENS CONTROL KNOB
SKU # 36401
493€

N120 EXTENSION RING 20 WITH LOCK
SKU # 21120
303€

N120 180MM OPTICAL-GLASS WIDE-ANGLE DOME PORT
SKU # 18809
1.253€

Option #3 Zen 170mm Dome Port for Nauticam Mirrorless Housing VERSION II (Total price: 1.099USD + Price lens)
SKU #zen-dp-170-n85II
Weight: 1.03 kg (2.27 lb)
https://www.zenunderwater.com/products/dp-170?variant=879335823
1.099USD

1 hour ago, turandot said:

@Interceptor121 What do you think about LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT 8-18mm / F2.8-4.0 ASPH? Thanks!

Configuration for Nauticam housing in mft mount:

 

Option #3 Zen 170mm Dome Port for Nauticam Mirrorless Housing VERSION II (Total price: 1.099USD + Price lens)
SKU #zen-dp-170-n85II
1.099USD 

I believe the recommendation for 8-18 with the Zen dome is the N120 version of the dome with 55mm N85-N120 plus 30mm extension.

I own this lens and I have used it in the acrylic and glass dome. There are obviously challenges due to dome port optics and field of curvature so the lens is really useable at f/8 on acrylic. On glass you can go to 7.1 because the length is fine tuned. This lens is my go to for split shots (I shoot splits with rectilinear lenses)

The best option is the option 2 however in most cases Option 1 will do. Do not get the zen 170mm is too small you do need the extra size of the acrylic or glass Nauticam

Shots with acrylic dome (glass only used in the pool due to covid)

Encircled by Interceptor121, on Flickr

Chrisoula K Bow by Interceptor121, on Flickr

Whirlwind Sunset by Interceptor121, on Flickr

On 4/17/2020 at 11:38 AM, lbedogni said:

Hi, I have a Oly EM1.2 and a Pana 8mm, but I am selling it to switch to the Oly fisheye. Reasons for that:

- Closer focusing distance (wrt to the Dome)

- Possibility to switch to linear wide angle

- Lower f-stop

I've read about this topic "Possibility to switch to linear wide angle", the solution is  "Defish correction" directly in camera settings with E-M1 Mark III or E-M5 Mark III. 'Menu'-->'Gear'-->'J1'-->'Fisheye Compensation' (Only in 8mm 2.8 Fisheye PRO)

More information in this articles:

8mm fisheye correction
https://www.creativeislandphoto.com/blog/8mm-fisheye-correction

Defish facility for the 8mm FE
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4260890#forum-post-60847173

I've read about this topic "Possibility to switch to linear wide angle", the solution is  "Defish correction" directly in camera settings with E-M1 Mark III or E-M5 Mark III. 'Menu'-->'Gear'-->'J1'-->'Fisheye Compensation' (Only in 8mm 2.8 Fisheye PRO)
More information in this articles:
8mm fisheye correction
https://www.creativeislandphoto.com/blog/8mm-fisheye-correction
Defish facility for the 8mm FE
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4260890#forum-post-60847173