9 replies to this topic

[caveman]

Well, got my fish eye last week, and borrowed a compact dome port for my Sea and Sea NX-80.

1. Surprised that even though I used the compact port instead of the fish eye port, I could not see really any abberations in the picture. Sure, at 2.8 Aperture, there was some Vignetting, but that exists even with out the port ( when you take normal pics )

2. Can any one tell if they know of any problems using the compact for the fish eye ? I cant really see any big issues. Above A= 5.6 there is virtually no vignetting

3. Well, I recon I got Macro ( even with 2x teleconverter) under the knee, but this fish eye stuff is a different animal for sure. Some potential nice pics, but no keepers

a) My slave strobe did not fire ( need a double synch cord I recon )
B) the ground was blown out by the left strobe
c) The back scatter was horrendous. Point taken that viz was not so good ( maybe about 5 -10 meters an object was barely visable) but every pic had very very clear back scatter ( any tips ? )

4. Even though the lens has alot of barrel distortion, under water it is not that visable, and can be managed.

I guess there is alot of home work required.

It was fun though !

[Alex_Mustard]

A few snappers in the UK use very small domes with their fisheyes. These domes are very compact and the results are, as you say, good from f5.6 - which is where you tend to use the lens anyway.

These small domes are designed and made by Warren Williams in the UK and are available from Ken Sullivan at http://www.pops.co.u...specs/ports.htm

They are also cheaper than larger domes. Smaller domes don't work so well for split levels.

As for using the fisheye - I think that once you learn the techniques they are very easy to use (as long as you are prepared to stick to the rules and curb, to some extent, your creativity).
I use three main techniques:
Most people shoot fisheye as close focus wide angle. Shoot on manual - expose or slightly underexpose on mid blue water, get close to colourful subject and flash fill with manual or TTL strobe , as here.

This is a bit over exposed on the background, but its the best I could find of mine online.
The FE is also good for shooting vistas in available light. Like wrecks or whole reefs (especially on Scala black and white film) - see the attached image at the bottom.
Finally I like the fisheye for split levels.


The fisheye is a very different lens on the current batch of UW digital SLRs - and I haven't really got my mind round shooting it yet!

Alex

[Alex_Mustard]

FE available light from a few meters away. Distant focus wide angle.

[caveman]

Thanks a million, great write up. the black and white pic was awsome ! Really good. Did you use the orange filter on the B/W or without the filter.

I was worried that if I bought the compact port , even though they recommend the fish eye port, there might be some issues. But so far I ahve not been able to find any. Everything seems to be hunky dory, and as I said earlier, I have not been able to detect any vignetting which is not already inherrent in the lens already.

I guess compact port it is ( by the way, does this company make for Sea and Sea ? )

[Alex_Mustard]

"by the way, does this company make for Sea and Sea ?"

They are all hand made so I'm sure they can but nor sure if they'll be in stock.

That black and white one was shot un-filtered on colour film and I black-and-whited it on the computer. Just about every photographer I know has that exact same shot, taken mid morning on the Giannis in the Red Sea with a fisheye.

That's the problem with the FE - the lack of creativity - we all end up with the same types of images because the lens works best when used in certain ways. OK the subjects change but look of the pictures is always very similar.

Alex

[caveman]

Still a great pic !. I am on film and will shoot B/W quite soon. I think for wrecks B/W has got a certain mystical feeling to it which colour does not. Maybe we are used to seeing 'old' films in B/W ( oops......sorry guys who grew up in the B/W era, you are not old, just the films are !....... people age slower )

Great shot !

[scorpio_fish]

Great wreck shot Alex.

That boy has the biggest head I've ever seen!

Never take a full shot of your wife with a fish eye lens. She will either look like a watermelon head on a petite body or if you position her just right (or just wrong) she will look 100 lbs. heavier.

[caveman]

I thought it was Alex !

[Alex_Mustard]

That's my brother - Oscar! I'm not sure about head size - but he sure has a big mouth! I took him to swim with the rays in Cayman this year and he is still talking about it!

I use a black and white film called Scala made by Agfa, quite a lot. It is a black and white slide film which saves all that dark room stuff - just scan it and get going in Photochop (much more wetpixel!).

Anyway - do try Scala it is really worth a try.

Alex

[caveman]

Thanks


Will try to hunt it down.