Previous reviews are mostly accurate. This is a bit soft around the corners, but it's also 1/10 of the price of a high quality true fisheye. I do like that it's pretty well built. It's at least solid and won't fall apart. I use it with a Canon Digital Rebel XS and it kicks out some pretty cool effects and decent quality pictures as well. The one downfall to me personally is that most of the cool effect of this lens is found near the edges, right about where the picture starts losing quality. But on that note I still believe it's money well spent to see if you want to invest in the higher dollar fisheyes. Even if you don't use it much you're still sure to get your money's worth out of it, so you really can't go wrong. I personally like this lens for reasons such as good quality pictures, good construction, and the ease of use. This is an excellent beginning fisheye and it's a lot of fun to use. Just make sure you keep it at 18mm or you'll start losing the effect, but it's easy to master. Opteka .35x HD² Super Wide Angle Panoramic Macro Fisheye Lens for Canon EOS 1D, 5D, 7D, 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D, 60D, Digital Rebel XT, XTi, XS, XSi, T1i & T2i Digital SLR Cameras
I bought this lens converter a few days ago, and was very skeptical about it. I mean, fisheye lenses are usually extremely expensive, so what could I expect of a $29 lens?
Well, after playing with it, I have to say that I am quite impressed! If you are looking for some fun and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars, go with this product!
I have a Canon Rebel XS and this add-on works perfectly with my camera since there is a converter ring for a 52-58. I use it on my 18-55 lens and I can get some very nice images. If you stick to 18 especially, you will get the full effect of the fisheye. Obviously the more you zoom, the least the distortion will appear. Also, make sure you are taking pictures with plenty of light, otherwise your pictures will be dark.
So, for the price, I am really positively surprised and it is a fun little lens to play with! also, it comes in a little protection bag, which is nice and it seems to be well built. I was expecting something that would not be as solid as this seems to be. I'm very happy of my purchase!
This lens attachment does virtually that same thing as wide angle lenses costing $400+. For the amateur, this is all you really need. Little blurry around the edges, but clear in the center. Since I work strictly for the web (604 pixels wide), this gives adequate clarity, and it is vastly better than having no wide angle at all. Keep in mind this is a passive LENS ATTACHMENT, not a standalone lens. It screws on the front of the standard 18-55 lens that probably came with your camera (in my case a Sigma 18-50mm). The attachments is made for 52mm threads, but it comes with an adapter ring for 58mm threads (and a larger adapter whose size I forgot). Probably the only difference between various models of this lens (Canon, Nikon, etc.) is the adapter ring. Your original lens does all the focusing, zooming, etc. When you zoom out to 18mm, you see a nearly full fisheye circle surrounded by black (pretty close to a 180-degree view). When you zoom in, you essentially get a wide angle lens for everything below the 18mm of your normal lens. You have to learn how to use it (and learn how to use the fisheye correction feature in Photoshop or Corel), but there are huge possibilities. Shoot the whole inside of a Cathedral! And I actually like the blurring around the periphery, which gives an artistic affect. When my Sigma 10-20 wide-angle lens broke, I though I couldn't afford another. Now I kick myself for going without this cheap (attachment for so long!
If you're looking for the crystal clarity of a dedicated fish-eye or macro lens, then you will be disappointed with this. But if you just want an inexpensive way to experiment with a near-fisheye and a not-bad closeup filter for some creative shots, then this is a great addition to the bag at a bargain price.
Please note: this lens is an ADD-ON for an existing lens, NOT a lens itself. It has two parts, which screw together - the fisheye adapter and a macro filter - and then the entire unit screws onto the front of an existing lens like a filter. I use it attached to a Tamron 17-50 and the AF works just fine, although only with the macro filter screwed in between the lens and the fisheye (ie it won't AF if just the fisheye portion is attached to the lens) - YMMV. There are no included instructions so I'm not sure if this is how it's supposed to be set up, but it works and gives the desired fisheye effect. AF works fine with the macro filter alone.
Stopped down, pictures are quite sharp, if a little soft at the edges, but you need to be at f8 (f11 even better) or above; below 5.6 everything is pretty soft, but it can be an interesting creative effect.
The item includes both a 58 AND 67mm adapter ring - I wish they'd made that clear, since I bought an extra one which I didn't actually need (I didn't realise it came with a 67mm). - Canon - Canon Lens - Digital Rebel - Photography'
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