[amityak]

Hello everyone

I remember once reading something about have a sensor of full size of half size, and to be honest im not really sure what it means for my k10D. anyway i found this reasonably priced lens on eBay for about 170€ (Ms Zenitar-K 2.8/16 fisheye). Will I get the full results with it? or is this lens ideal for analog cameras?
will my light-meter function correctly with it?
did anyone has made an expirience with that combination? ill be happy to get links as well in case this subject has already been discussed here.

Thank you all and a nice weekend

Amit

[RioRico]

I have, love, and use the MC Zenitar-K 16/2.8 on my half-frame (APS-C) K20D, but it's NOT a fisheye on that camera. It IS pretty fishy on my full-frame ZX-M, but on the K20D it's just a distorted medium-wide. Mine cost US$172 last year; you may be disappointed with what you get for that price. Yes, it meters correctly; DOF is great; it's a bit soft at the edges wide-open, but sharpens up nicely when stopped down. But for fishier (and sharper) pictures, a new or used DA 10-17 would probably be more satisfying. Still, the Zenitar is a fun toy if you can afford it.

[amityak]

hey, thanks for the reply (:
do you have perhaps some photos online you took with that lense? i cant really find galleries which specifically state this combination, so i could get the feeling of the effect before actually spending now 170 bucks


thanks you

[RioRico]

hey, thanks for the reply (:
do you have perhaps some photos online you took with that lense? i cant really find galleries which specifically state this combination, so i could get the feeling of the effect before actually spending now 170 bucks

For you, sure!

Here are a very few shots I just took with my K20D - the flower shot is uncropped, the display cabinets shots are slightly cropped: RioRico's Album: Zenitar 16/2.8 on K20D (and I'll add more soon) - but I shot these in not-the-best-light, fairly wide open, handhheld -- so I'll try again when it's brighter and I can stop down more.

Here are some galleries shot with K10D: The World's Best Photos of pentax and zenitar and The World's Best Photos of k10d and zenitar

Here are some pictures taken with a Canon EOS (similar size sensor to K10-K20): MC Zenitar 16mm fisheye lens for EOS

And a gallery with a Canon with similar size sensor (some photos cropped?): Photos with 16mm Zenitar Photo Gallery by Doug Smith

EDIT: Doug Smith had an interesting idea, putting a closeup-diopter lens onto the Zenitar. The Zenitar has a grooved mini-hood that will take a 60mm thread -- but it won't screw on. If I could scrape up a few bucks I could get a 60-62mm stepup ring and a 62mm closeup-diopter set. Hold the adapter on with gaffers tape, stack the diopters, see just how close I can go. The vignetting shouldn't be too bad.

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Last edited by RioRico; 03-29-2010 at 12:04 AM.

[amityak]

thanks for sharing man. these photos have a very neat effect, even though really slight, as you say its not really a fisheye, it's just slightly bending all horizontal lines ... well, ill keep on considering getting this russian piece of glass (:

[Just1MoreDave]

EDIT: Doug Smith had an interesting idea, putting a closeup-diopter lens onto the Zenitar. The Zenitar has a grooved mini-hood that will take a 60mm thread -- but it won't screw on. If I could scrape up a few bucks I could get a 60-62mm stepup ring and a 62mm closeup-diopter set. Hold the adapter on with gaffers tape, stack the diopters, see just how close I can go. The vignetting shouldn't be too bad.

I have read that 67mm filters fit over the mini-hood. (I use this trick for my Sigma fisheye since it has no cap.) That might work better. The Zenitar doesn't focus very closely by itself, and that's one thing I prefer about my Sigma.

A lot of Zenitar images are here, and somewhere in this thread is the post that gave me the 67mm filter tip:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/33549-fisheye-...ye-photos.html

Here's one of mine, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO:

[RioRico]

I have read that 67mm filters fit over the mini-hood. (I use this trick for my Sigma fisheye since it has no cap.) That might work better. The Zenitar doesn't focus very closely by itself, and that's one thing I prefer about my Sigma.

A 67 filter fits pretty loosely over my Zenitar's hoodlet. I just tried it. Let's see, what do I have in 67... ah, a Spectral Star filter! Just the thing for those romantic, seizure-inducing moods. Anyway, the filter has about 2mm of play, so I have to hand-hold it. I suppose gaffer's tape would fix that.

thanks for sharing man. these photos have a very neat effect, even though really slight, as you say its not really a fisheye, it's just slightly bending all horizontal lines ... well, ill keep on considering getting this russian piece of glass (:

I'll go out soon to shoot some comparison shots of Zenitar vs DA 10-17 fisheye. The DA is a better lens, but it also costs much more. The Zenitar is better than any of the cheap so-called fisheye adapters, better than anything cheaper than the DA -- all these fill frames but don't produce 180 degree full-circle fisheye images.

If you're interested in full-circle fisheyes, the best lenses are VERY expensive. And the cheap adapter suck. But there are mid-point alternatives -- Spiratone and Kenko 180 adapters (also sold as various other brands). These are big chunks of glass that, when put on the right lens, DO produce a full circle. On your K10, that would be a 35-37mm prime, or even the kit lens. I have a Kenko 180 which cost me US$80 in a camera shop but I saw one on eBay yesterday for US$50. Read more about them here: Manual Focus Lenses :: Fisheye converter question

There's another common fishy ultrawide, a 12mm f/8 sold under various names -- mine is labeled Vemar Fish-Eye. It's slow and tricky, comes on a T2 mount, doesn't produce a full circle on APS-C but it's MUCH fishier than the Zenitar -- and mine never works right. Search for 12MM for all the dirt. Have fun.

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Last edited by RioRico; 03-29-2010 at 11:57 AM.