Fisheye lens upgrade

[Trevor Curtis]

Hi Guys

I've been using a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14–24mm f/2.8G ED usually at 14mm for my panorama shoots for sometime now but I'm 

considering moving to a fisheye lens namely the Nikon AF-S FISHEYE NIKKOR 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED which gives a 180 deg POV at 8mm

I have the Nikon 10.5 DX lens which I have had mixed results with on a D800 FX body so I would like the groups view on moving to a fisheye zoom

and has anyone any experience with using the AF-S NIKKOR 8-15mm lens they would like to share

Many thanks

Trevor

[Gary Davies]

I switched from a shaved 10.5mm to the 8-15mm, although I still use it on a the same D5300 DX camera. The overall quality is noticeably better, especially the much reduced CA. The only 'downside' is the extra step I have to take to ensure the zoom is at the DX mark (11mm) as it occasionally moves off it when kept in the bag. 

Gary

[Trevor Curtis]

Hi Gary

Thanks for update most appreciated..... looks like I may buy this lens then 

 Another couple of  questions that comes to mind is that with the Nikon 10.5mm the Nodal Point is always at the "gold ring" at the front of the lens  (as it is a fixed focal length) and the 8-15mm has a similar "gold ring" so do you find that there is a fixed NP at one of the focal lengths and if so which. Also is there a chart that sets out the NP distances for this lens such as the one produced by the Nikionians forum (which doesn't give the NP distances for this lens)?

Thanks in anticipation

Trevor

[Gary Davies]

Hi Trevor,

I worked out the settings for my nodal ninja 3 MkII the old fashioned way that seems to work quite well. Florian Knorn explains a very good method on YouTube for getting an accurate set-up. The lens/camera combo is locked in as I use it exclusivley for 360 work. I'm sure if I zoomed to another range, such as 15mm, that the NPP would shift. There are experts on this forum much better qualified to explain the technicalities than I. I guess it's only critical if you have near objects.

Gary

[John Houghton]

On Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at 4:28:57 PM UTC+1, Trevor Curtis wrote:

 Another couple of  questions that comes to mind is that with the Nikon 10.5mm the Nodal Point is always at the "gold ring" at the front of the lens  (as it is a fixed focal length)

Trevor, that statement is not actually correct.  It's not the nodal point about which you need to rotate the camera, but the entrance pupil.  However, for fisheye lenses the entrance pupil is generally not located at a single point, but rather at a point that appears to change position according to the angle at which light rays enter the lens. The optimum rotation position therefore varies according to how many shots around you choose to take, as this determines at what angle the images join..  For the 10.5mm lens, you might typically use 3, 4 or 6 shots around.  You might find this article by Michel Thoby of interest:  http://michel.thoby.free.fr/Fisheye_history_short/Beyond-the-pupil.html .  But the important point to make is that the Canon 8-15mm fisheye behaves in a similar way.  The optimum lens position (referred to as the no parallax point or least parallax point) varies with focal length setting and number of shots around. Measure it for yourself according to shooting requirements.

John

[Trevor Curtis]

Gary

Thanks for reverting and I am being a little lazy in my old age by using a series pre determined points as given in tables by people such as the Nikionians and not going back and setting up and determine the NP or as John rightly puts it the entrance pupil in the proper manner ………...thanks for your help most appreciated

[Trevor Curtis]

John

Thanks for jumping in and reminding me that the optimum point with fisheyes lenses is the entrance pupil which is generally not located at a single point, but rather at a point that appears to change position according to the angle at which light rays enter the lens. As I opened this thread I usually use a Nikon 14-24mm lens more times than not set at 14mm and on my Really Right Stuff pano rig the setting is 149mm from sensor to NP or as you rightly pointed out entrance pupil (must stop interchanging terms) so when I purchase this lens I must go back and stop being lazy and set up the pano head/camera from scratch each time 

Thanks for the very useful  link which has again reminded me of the theory and mechanics of lenses and pano set up and as always nice to be reminded of the things that are forgotten over time.

John, many thanks for your help and amazing knowledge on the subject of panorama shooting

Trevor