This Samyang 8mm Fisheye is a great tool and a secret weapon
Through my years as a commercial photographer and principal at a marketing agency, I understand the importance of creating compelling images. That doesn’t always mean the best images, but it does mean representing common themes in uncommon ways to get people to take notice and hopefully action.
One way I’ve always like doing this it by using interesting angles or perspectives to common subjects. A good way to do this is through a creative lens that may or may not be in your everyday kit. Although SRQPS doesn’t endorse one kind of camera or lens over another because what’s best for someone else may not be best for you, one I’ve found is this 8mm Samyang Fisheye lens (shown). It’s kind of old school as it is a totally manual lens with no auto focus, but that’s a good thing as it keeps the price way down.
This inexpensive and compact Samyang fisheye lens offers a unique perspective of downtown Chicago.
I’ve found you simply set the focal length to infinity and forget about it for most of your shooting. Everything within a few feet to infinity is in focus. The more I shoot with it the more I love it. It’s great in situations where you don’t have enough light to focus or simply don’t have time and are “shooting from the hip. It makes boring subjects fun and the creative possibilities are endless.
Here the bend in the pilings makes for a compelling look at a rather common scene. If you were to Google the Venice Pier you would find hundreds of images but perhaps only one like this. In this image, I was literally only a few inches above the sand to get this interesting perspective.
This lens cost me only $269 from Amazon and is available for a variety of different cameras. It’s small and very compact and is surprisingly sharp for the price. I call it a real value lens. On my Fuji Four Thirds system this 8mm lens is equal to a 16mm lens on a DSLR.
In this image I wanted to really highlight the sky and vastness of the Gulf as seen from Siesta Key for a skim board manufacturer and the Samyang fisheye was the perfect tool.
It may be time for you to start to get really creative with your photography and bend the lines a bit between perception and reality.
You can see this lens and more like it on Amazon here. Available for a variety of different cameras.
