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Thread: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye

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Kim

Posts: 11
Location: Finland
Registered: 21 Aug 2007
Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 9:03 GMT
Im about to invest in a fisheye lens for my Nikon D200 but cant really decide on the lens... But basically i have it down to between these two:

Sigma EX 4,5/2,8 DC HSM Fisheye Nikon
Sigma EX 8/3,5 DG Fisheye Nikon

any pros / cons for these? Price is about the same for both

Head that i have is "Manfrotto 303sph"
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Matt Rogers
[360 Precision]

Posts: 231
Location: Oxford UK, United Kingdom
Registered: 16 Jun 2005
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 10:25 GMT
The two lenses when used on the D200 aren't really comparable. Both the number of shots you need to take and the resulting quality are worlds apart.

For anyone to really help you need to explain a little more about the type of panoramas you want to create, the scenes your shooting and how the panoramas will be published.

Matt
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mediavets

Posts: 536
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 11:07 GMT
updated: 27 Feb 2008 at 11:11 GMT
I suggest you add the Nikkor 10.5mm fullframe FE to your shortlist.

Depends on your proposed pano application - typical subjects and locations, intended ultimate means of delivery etc.- but this will give highest resolution of these FE lenses but requires more shots for 360x180.

Andrew
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Rosauro

Posts: 242
Location: Toronto, Canada
Registered: 15 Dec 2006
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 11:11 GMT
Actually move the Nikkor 10.5mm to the top of the list. smile
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Kim

Posts: 11
Location: Finland
Registered: 21 Aug 2007
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 12:17 GMT
im to take 360-180 panos both inside and outside. To be displayed on the web mostly in Hq tho.
Tbh i dont much mind if i need to take 3 shots or 6 shots to get it done .. im more interested in quality, and it seens the nikon is in the same price range as the 2 sigma lenses.

So new list then: wink
Sigma EX 4,5/2,8 DC HSM Fisheye Nikon
Sigma EX 8/3,5 DG Fisheye Nikon
Nikon AF DX 10,5/2,8 G ED fisheye

Pros / cons ?

I was however almost under the impression that the sigma was better .. but that i guess just comes from the fact that most of u guys here seem to use sigma of some sort..

seems i stand corrected .. even canon users seem to opt for the nikon .. why is that?
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Smooth

Posts: 1500
Location: Australia
Registered: 21 Jul 2004
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 12:39 GMT
Nikkor f/2.8 10.5mm Fisheye 6+TB = 8 shots (6+2) on your camera Quality will be great.

Sigma f/3.5 8mm Fisheye you can get away with as little as 3 shots (60 degree Oblique angle) or shoot 4 or 4+2 or even 6 or 6+2. Quality will be second to that of the Nikkor 10.5mm but not all that far behind. Very versatile quality VR lens.

Sigma f/2.8 4.5mm Fisheye will allow you to shoot as little as 2 shots but resulting image will be quite small in comparison and you are wasting a lot of the sensor pixels as you are shooting a full circular/bubble image with a lot of "Black" and black is useless. It would appear that the Sunex Superfisheye would be a better choice than the Sigma 4.5mm Fisheye as it allows for more use of the sensor (less black).

Regards, Smooth cool
www.smooth360.info
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mediavets

Posts: 536
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 13:03 GMT

Kim said:

I was however almost under the impression that the sigma was better .. but that i guess just comes from the fact that most of u guys here seem to use sigma of some sort..

seems i stand corrected .. even canon users seem to opt for the nikon .. why is that?


You may find this helpful?

www.panoguide.com/forums/qna/1950/

Andrew
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Kim

Posts: 11
Location: Finland
Registered: 21 Aug 2007
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 13:07 GMT
updated: 27 Feb 2008 at 13:08 GMT
Hmm ... Nikkor f/2.8 10.5mm Fisheye it is then ...

622€ is that a ok price (Europe) or can i get it cheaper than that somewhere?

Or should i order it from the US now that USD is so cheap? seems i can get the same lens for 394eur very surprised or does that boggle up warranty?
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mediavets

Posts: 536
Location: Isleham, Cambs., United Kingdom
Registered: 8 Feb 2008
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 13:24 GMT
updated: 27 Feb 2008 at 13:25 GMT

Kim said:

Hmm ... Nikkor f/2.8 10.5mm Fisheye it is then ...

622€ is that a ok price (Europe) or can i get it cheaper than that somewhere?

Or should i order it from the US now that USD is so cheap? seems i can get the same lens for 394eur very surprised or does that boggle up warranty?


622 Euros seems rather expensive.

Here is listing from Nikon UK reseller (ie. offical UK stock not grey import):

www.ajpurdy.co.uk/erol.html#333X545

Warranty can be an issue - AFAIK Nikon persist in not offering an international warranty, though maybe within the EU would be OK?.

Also if you grey import from outside the EU, for example from the US or Hong Kong (you'll find many attractive offers on eBay) then you may get hit by customs for import duty and VAT too; but many seem to avoid that - it's a bit of a gamble.

I bought my 10.5mm used (in very good condition) on eBay for 317 GBP.

Andrew
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Peter Patricelli

Posts: 117
Location: Eugene, OR, United States
Registered: 20 Dec 2006
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 13:42 GMT
There are an incredible number of tradeoffs in this game. And the one absolute is that there are only 360 degrees (in any direction) in a sphere

Wider field of view (smaller mm lens)
Pro =:
fewer shots around, less/easier stitching, less trouble with moving objects, people, etc., smaller file size, smaller (or none at all) hole to fill at the top and bottom. Deeper depth of focus in a complex near and far environment. Smaller files size so faster processing/stitching time.
Con=: Less resolution for either very large,full screen monitor projection or for zooming in for detail. Increased problems with lens distortion, chromatic aberration. Often wasting major percentages of the camera sensor (leading to all of the above)

In general better when shooting lots (easy stitching, fewer shots) of commercial panos which need fast internet loading (small file size) and are displayed in small(er) windows (lower resolution).

Smaller field of view lenses (larger mm size)
Pros: Higher resolution, less distortion. Can be reduced in file size for all of the advantages of above except fewer shots/easier stitching.

Cons: More shots, trouble with moving objects. Multiple rows or patching of top and bottom holes necessary. Narrower depth of focus. Potentially huge files, longer processing/stitching times.

In general preferred when the resolution of the panos is of maximal importance for large, full screen projection, for maximal zooming in detail, or for printing.

Note: there is, theoretically, no limit on the lens size with which one can shoot a pano. I could use my 600mm lens. With such a small field of view it would take tens of thousands of shots to fill in the full sphere, each of those shots 14MB of resolution. Due to computer and other limitations, this is impractical, to say the least. But can you imagine the potential for zooming in?

I hope I haven't missed anything. Others may fill in if I have.

Peter Patricelli
www.flyfishingfotography.com
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LensGuy

Posts: 18
Location:
Registered: 23 Feb 2008
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 14:58 GMT
I work for Sunex. I've done a competitive analysis between our SuperFisheye and Sigma 4.5mm lens from optical point of view. Smooth is correct that the image circle of the Sigma 4.5mm is only 12.5mm vs. 14.5mm for the Superfisheye. This means that Superfisheye captures 33% more pixels on the same camera. Here is an example of what you get on D300.
"www.sunex.com/dslr/indoor2.jpg"
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Kim

Posts: 11
Location: Finland
Registered: 21 Aug 2007
Re: Choosing between Sigma 8 or 4,5mm Fisheye
Posted: 27 Feb 2008 at 15:26 GMT
Thx to everybody that boderd to reply to my (silly) Q's, More of them to come...

I decided to go with the "Nikkor AF DX 10,5/2,8 G ED" That i orderd from the UK trough amazon.co.uk ... And even though i would have gotten it somewhat cheaper from the US i would probbibly have ben in trouble if i had any problem with it. But compared to the prices i had in my budget i was able to get a Nikon mc-36 remote shutter release and still have a few € to spare.

Thx again to all and il return with more Q's when i get the lens ... smile

but as for now il start banging in deval-vr usage between my ears.

Regards Kim
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