Sigma or Canon 15mm Fisheye?

[peter_hughes1]

I've been doing some environmental portraiture with a Widelux camera, but its limitations (fixed focus, no really slow shutter speeds, etc.) make me want to try a full-frame fisheye on my Elan 7. My question is, how much difference is there between the Canon 15mm fisheye and the Sigma. The latter is half the price! I know this is a very subjective question and that probably very few people have tried both of them. But I would welcome any opinions.

[jimstrutz]

I've never tried either of them. I suppose the Canon is better for

the extra money, but oviously I don't know. What I do know is

Fisheye lenses are fun, but not used that often by most of the people

that have them. I like wide lenses and fisheyes but even the Sigma

would be more than I'm willing to pay for one. They're fun, but not

that usefull.

 

<p>

 

For a lot less money, I picked up a Zenitar 16mm f/2.8 fisheye in a

M42 Screw mount with EOS adapter. Manual focus and manual aperture

with stop down metering just doesn't matter with these things, so who

cares. It's sharp & it takes great pictures.

 

<p>

 

I have heard rumors that the Elan 7 has trouble metering with non-EF

mount lenses, but there are work arounds for that as well.

[lee_shively]

My opinion on fisheyes? Buy the cheapest one that will fit your

camera because you ain't gonna use it enough to justify the cost of

an expensive one.

[ralfbernert.com - photogra]

According to the german "Foto-Magazin" the Sigma is slightly better

than the Canon. The optics of the Sigma was rated with 8.8, the Canon

with 8.0 (10 ist best).

 

<p>

 

I once had to make the same decision. I am doing snowboard/surf

photography and so I am working a lot with the fisheye lens. Although

I don't like and use third party lenses I went for the Sigma because

of the price. I am very satisfied with the lens. It is very well

built, with a metal lens mount and the noble EX finish. The image

quality is very satisfying although you've got to stop down at least

to f/4 to get also the edges sharp. But this is a common problem of

fisheye lenses due to the angle of view of 180 degree, so the Canon

will definitely not beat the Sigam at this point.

 

<p>

 

I've never tested the Canon fisheye but I suppose it has one

advantage: the AF speed is faster. The AF speed of the Sigma is in my

opinion pretty slow. But this is not really significant for a fisheye

lens.

 

<p>

 

My tip: go for the Sigma and save a lot of money! The results will be

convincing.

[tokyotim]

The sigma lense is great, have been using the same one professionally for over two years... check my pictures for examples.