Ski/Snowboard Fisheye Lens?

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Shooting ski and snowboarding, I have a Nikon D-80, a 18-200m, 18-35m and am looking into getting a fisheye lens.</p>

<p>Any Snowsport por's out there offer some advice on what to get and what lenses i shoot shoot with.</p>

<p>I have had some luck, but it seems like I'm not getting the type of shots i want--they always seem a bit further away--I want to be more intimate and up close.</p>

<p>Probably my camera body? </p>

<p>This is why i want a fisheye----Pro's and con's and suggestions that would fit a D-80</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>--Ry</p>

<p>I think you want a zoom for more intimate shots. A fish eye is an extreme wide angle and your subjects will seem even further away. A reasonably-priced option, considering the current lenses you have, would be the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR Zoom. It's not the fastest focusing lens in the world, but I have found it useful for sports work like soccer, baseball, and softball.</p>

<p>If you use a fisheye you have to be literally right on the action. Most times with a fisheye you don't even look through the viewfinder, you just stick the camera out with your arms as close as you can to the subject and fire. This allows you to know where the lens is in relation to the subject. With a fisheye it's easy to hit the lens on the subject because you think its farther away than it really is. You also don't need to worry about framing because a fisheye will more than likely get the whole thing.</p>

<p>Nathan's right. You have to get closer - just don't get run over!!! But you have to be that close to be able to get a single athlete.<br>

regarding Mike's reply, I'd suggest a constant aperture lens like an f2.8. With that you can get blurry BG's that you cannot get with variable aperture. they're less - much less - expensive, but it's hard to get the quality aspects of a constant aperture zoom. Consider a Sigma 70-200 f2.8, much less that Nikon model.<br>

Also, a fisheye is a somewhat specialty lens. I think anyone might get bored, after awhile, looking at those images all taken with a fisheye. Maybe not! But they do produce a special look, but fun to use and be creative with. I would suggest a 12mm or maybe the 12-24 f4.</p>

 

<p>Speaking from experience Nathan ans Steve are right. I shoot with the Tokina 10-17 fisheye in my under water housing and I am either just about to go over the falls or get a surf board in my mellon. If you are more than a few feet away the subject will look miles away on film. As fishyes go I have been fairly happy with it.<br>

<img src="http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i287/dougolupski/20100102_0196.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I used to use a fisheye, have some pretty good shots with it. You literally have to set up maybe a foot or two to get a decent shot. There are two nice things though, if you are below the person, it can help make it look like they got more air than they did, and it allows a lot of environment in the shot also.</p>

<p>On the other hand, I ended up selling mine and shooting with a 20mm instead. That said, I think I do need to get a wider lens, but I am not sure I would ever go back to the fisheye, it's a little played out. That, and I was shooting it only a handful of times. My bread and butter comes from longer lenses.</p>

<p>The attached is at our Spring Board Meeting at Boyne Highlands, back in 2008. Shot with a Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye and a Nikon D200.</p><div></div>