Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye
With all of these incredible Micro Four Thirds cameras surfacing, I’ve been feeling a bit blue over the lack of lenses available to accomodate this growing market. The smaller size of mirrorless cameras makes for great action shooting. Researching tonight I delved into fisheyes. A fisheye lens is an ultra wide angle lens that gives a spherical view of the environment you’re shooting. The 180ยบ field of view is responsible for the curvature at the edges of the outer corners that gives this lens its distinct look. Fisheye lenses are capable of allowing you to get in close to your subject. This perspective can really exaggerate the fisheye and look very cool for video.
I like YouTube user, JardannM’s usage of his Rokinon 8mm fisheye in the video above. It’s a simple clip but notice how he bends lines and changes up the perspective to emphasize the ultra wide angle. Using a wide angle lens will also reduce the appearance of micro vibrations and hand shake, which is why it’s common to find it camera footage that requires the operator to move around quickly.
Quick Specs
180 degrees angle of view
Aperture range of F/3.5 ~ 22
180 degree angle of view
Built-in petal type hood
The Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye is also available for other popular camera companies like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, and Olympus.
Rokinon 8mm for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus
Another very popular lens is the 7.5mm Fisheye found for smaller Micro Four Thirds cameras (found here).
Rokinon 7.5mm Fisheye for MFT
Hi Olivia,
I’ve been checking out this lens recently for use with my GH2. Given the 2x crop on it, do you think the distortion would be low enough to use for home interiors? I need a solid wide angle and my 14mm isn’t cutting it.
Hi Daniel, first off.. what type of home interior shots are you looking to achieve? Are these for commercial usage? The Rokinon made specifically for micro four thirds is the 7.5mm f/3.5 (last link in posting). There will be no crop factor, as this lens is compatible with your GH2. One thing to note however, this is a fisheye lens so there will be a LOT of distortion. The lines in your images are going to appear curved. Is this a look you are going for with the interior shots?
Ah. I didn’t notice that it was for micro 4/3. I was hoping the crop factor would reduce the distortion. Honestly, I’m just looking for a decently priced wide angle. The 14mm and 20mm aren’t cutting it. I use it for real estate videography. What about the 8mm version for Nikon? Since it’s not for micro 4/3, do you think it’ll be any better? Any advice is really appreciated!
Hi Daniel, the lens might get a bit pricey.. Have you seen this 7mm lens
? Using, say, a full frame lens, yes, the crop factor will be introduced, this will bring the distortion down but it may also really take away from what you are trying to achieve which is the wide angle. I haven’t tested this out yet on my own so I’m not 100% positive about suggesting the Nikon lens. I’d go to a camera store and test out some lenses so you can get an accurate look at what you’ll be purchasing.
yo! is this fisheye compatible to panasonic gh2? that you dont need to buy any adaptor?
@Beep Yes, look up Rokinon 7.5mm for micro four thirds, it will come up. I’ll actually be doing a review on this lens soon as I just got one.
does the rokinon 8MM lens fit a micro four thirds camera
@Justin Yes, so lone as you’re certain the lens has a micro four thirds mount.