LENSES

Nikon extends the scope of its FX and DX systems with this new fisheye zoom. Kevin Carter checks it out

Kevin Carter tests two more lens options this issue

Back in the Seventies and early Eighties, Nikon offered a range of esoteric circular and full-frame fisheye lenses, but even with all that experience, this zoom lens is the first of its type from the company. While this is much more affordable at today’s prices than those models, this zoom lens, which combines the attributes of both circular and full-frame fisheye in one, is rather more practical. With a length of 83mm, this lens is tiny and barely noticeable on a camera like the D810. With a small barrel and a zoom ring, there isn’t much room left for the focusing ring. As a result it is rather thin and, combined with high-gearing, it’s a little difficult to focus accurately in the viewfinder. Still, autofocus can be relied upon when using the lens handheld and the lens focuses quickly, quietly and efficiently.

Like any fisheye lens, the extreme viewing angle means you’ll not be able to use filters on the front, and with such startling barrel distortion you really need to frame your compositions carefully. At 8mm images are circular and while there’s some slight light falloff and a little lateral chromatic aberration, images are very sharp across the whole image field. At 14mm and 15mm there’s no mechanical vignetting, however there’s more pronounced fringing and it’s not so sharp at the periphery. All the same, both those shortcomings can be easily overcome in software, making this a lot more versatile than you might expect, especially when paired with a high-resolution body.

Left below DISTORTION Barrel distortion is inevitable with a fisheye but, with some care, the exaggerated perspective can produce dramatic images

Left above DEFINITION This lens is very sharp centrally but it is noticeably softer at the edges. Even so, images can rescued easily enough