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Lensfest '08: Superwide zooms and fisheye lenses

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100 Photographic Tips in 100 Days, Part III: Day 62

By Mason Resnick

November 25, 2008

Go wider!

For more tips, go to the 100 in 100 Part III Homepage

Welcome to Lensfest ’08, where we look at the best of this year’s new optical marvels. 2008 turned out to be a fascinating year for the advancement of optics, with zoom lenses zooming farther, a resurgence in specialty lenses such as fisheye and perspective-control lenses, and expanded compatibility among third-party lenses. As more full-frame, 35mm format DSLRs were introduced (including Nikon and Sony’s first cameras to offer 35mm-sized sensors) we're starting to see more lenses compatible with larger-sensor cameras.

This week, we look look at this year’s greatest optical hits. (Note: Some of these lenses are so new they aren't available yet. But follow the links and if you place an order you will get priority when they arrive on Adorama's shelves.)

Today, we look at superwide and wide-angle zoom lenses.

With the advent of smaller sensors in APS-C Digital SLRs effectively cropping away part of an image and reducing the angle of view, photographers have been waiting for salvation in the form of wider-angle zooms to make up the difference. It came this year, with several interesting new indie-manufactured superwide zooms and really wide-angle lenses.

Sigma was especially active in wide-angle lensmaking this year, introducing several intriguing models. The Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 is an honest-to-goodness circular fisheye lens with a 180 degree area of coverage, designed specifically for Canon, Sigma, and Nikon APS-C sensor cameras. The Sigma 10mm f/2.8 Fisheye projects a rectangular image on the sensor that also covers 180 degrees. Fisheye fans, rejoice!

Another option is the Sunex 5.6mm f/5.6 SuperFisheye, which offers a 185-degree field of view and is designed for use in immersive imaging and QTVR. It’s available in Nikon and Canon mounts.

Tamron introduced a 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 DI_II BIM LD Aspherical superwide for Canon, Sony, and Nikon cameras (and yes Nikon D40 and D60 owners, it has a built-in motor). Sigma introduced a 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM AF lens for the Olympus/Panasonic/Leica four thirds DSLR project.

Maybe not as wide but just as important are the Zeiss 18mm f/3.5 lens for Nikon and Pentax and Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 for Nikon, Canon, Pentax K (coming soon), and Canon’s revamped 24mm f/1.4L.

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