Full-frame fisheye on crop body

<p>Hi all,<br>

A colleague of mine bought a Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye for use on her Eos 50D. It turns out that the lens is made for full-frame cameras. whoops.</p>

<p>She needs to get the full 360 degree hemisphere on the sensor, but right now it's being cropped. Is there anything she could do to modify the setup to make this work? Extension tubes do the opposite of what she wants. I expect she'll either have to get a new lens or a new body, but wanted to check here first before doing so. Thanks for any thoughts!</p>

<p>I don't think anyone makes a circular fisheye for a crop-sensor body. I could be wrong, but I couldn't find one in a five-minute search. If it's for one specific shoot, then she could rent a full-frame body for a few days.</p>

<p>There are so-called "fisheye adapters" that can produce a circular image on an APS-C body when screwed into another lens. The prices are often cheap, as are the results, as a rule. The very best of these are the Spiratone/Kenko/Samigon 0.15X adapters (<a href="/classic-cameras-forum/00WndY">link</a>), but they aren't always easy to find, especially with the required adapter ring.<br /> If a 180-degree circular image is wanted, that will work, however. The modern cheap fisheye adapters have been used by a few people for "Lomo-like" series of photographs, embracing, even reveling in the limitations of these lenses.</p>

<p>If the full 180 degrees is not needed, of course, you can always use the circular crop tool in Photoshop or other program. ;)</p>

<p>Like the others, I can't think of any easy way to adapt a 'full-frame' fisheye to APS-C. <br /> What would a tele-extender do? My brain is too fuzzy (and I am too lazy) this AM to work it out. ;)</p>

<p>I think that those adapter rings merely mask the frame. While not quite the same as a 5mm fish-eye on a crop-sensor, combining it with an 8mm will give somewhat authentic, with curved lines and distortion. The crop-senor reduces the angle of view of a lens compared to that lens on a full-frame. Adding a circular mask will further reduce the angle of view; however, that may accomplish what the friend is trying to do.</p>

<p>Just back up and do the circle in post.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.superfisheye.com/">http://www.superfisheye.com/</a> Sunex Superfisheye. 185 degrees on cropped sensor.</p>

<p>Sunex! Anyone ever used one?</p>

Ellis Vener has a few pictures taken with the Sunex lens on his portfolio. Search photo.net for 'Sunex' for some additional

info.

<p>Sigma makes a 4.5 mm fisheye for APS-C sensors, including Canon mount. I haven't used one, so I have no idea how it performs.</p>

<p>You can get an original 5D now for around $400, eg from KEH.com. Seeing that your colleague already put about a grand into this project, that might not be out of the question. And I dare say a full frame body, even if it's an old one, might come in handy in the future in more situations than just this one! Just a thought.</p>

<p>Yes, $400 is about right for a 5D. I bought one from a nearby store for that, with an unopened battery. </p>

<p>It seems that, unlike Nikon, there is no easy way to figure out how many shots it has done, but I chose one (they had two) with the higher serial number. </p>

<p>It might be that there are inverse telextenders that will fit a full-frame image on a crop sensor. <br>

I suspect the 5D is a better choice.</p>

<p>Your friend can rent the above mentioned Sigma lens at lensrentals.com. If you can rent from them, that may be the best solution. Here's a link to the page.<br>

<a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/canon/lenses/wide-angle/sigma-4.5mm-f2.8-dc-hsm-fisheye-for-canon">http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/canon/lenses/wide-angle/sigma-4.5mm-f2.8-dc-hsm-fisheye-for-canon</a></p>

<p>FWIW, when I had this lens I almost preferred it on a crop sensor body. It was a way to get an ultra-wide angle of view and use almost all of the sensor, while on full frame most of the sensor is wasted as outside the image circle. But if your project calls for a circular image then you won't be satisfied with the 'pill' shape you get after cropping. One could take two shots, rotating the camera from horizontal to vertical, and put them back in post; or else as someone else suggests crop to a smaller circle (but then you lose the 180-degree angle of view).</p>