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best fisheye lens for Leica M9? (for photographing fast moving subjects)

snappert

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snappert

snappert

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Hi all,

I use my Leica for a whole range of my professional work as a photographer, but one of the big areas I work in is shooting for skateboard magazines in Europe. A fisheye lens is paramount for this area of photography, so I am forced to travel always with my Peica kit as well as my full frame canon and 15mm or my Hasselblad with my 30mm when I am required to shoot with a fish' as I have yet to find a adiquate fisheye lens to fit and work well with my M9...

I have been doing a small about of research up to now into this matter, but I feel it is time to finally committ to finding a real and permanent solution to this.

The most "make-shift" fisheye adaptations I have seen on an M9 to date is a Nikon 16mm with the corresponding adaptor to fit lens to body, but reading the info put forward from those who use this lens like this is that it is not very stable or versatile, more often than not I am reading that the camera is best mounted to a tripod when shooting with this lens attached. In my line of work that is not really a possibility for me.

I have also seen 8mm fisheye lens mounted quite successfully to an M9 but sadly that is far too wide for my needs.

So, my question is what are my choices?

What are other peoples experiences with getting and using a fisheye on an M9?

What are the best options available?

Any info or help you guys could give would be much appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

N.

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jaapv

jaapv

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What type do you want? the full-circle 180 degree one or a 180 diagonal one?

 

If the latter I can thoroughly recommend the Elmarit-R Fisheye 16 mm. It is basically a Sigma on steroids, but through the choice of coatings the colour rendering will match your other Leica lenses.

I had no problem using it hand-held on the M9 using the Voigtlande 15 mm viewfinder. Well, to be honest it was difficult to keep my toes out of the frame :D.

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Erik Gunst Lund

Erik Gunst Lund

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I have used a Nikon 16mm 2.8 180 degre full frame Fish Eye on my M9 works flawless with a adapter and just prefocus and shoot away.

They have a huge depth of field!

 

All of your wide Canon lenses can work like that... except if the have electronic control of the aperture, then you need an adapter made for manual stop down

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01af

01af

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... but reading the info put forward from those who use this lens like this is that it is not very stable or versatile ...

"Not very stable or versatile"? Huh? That's nonsense.

 

Of course there simply are no original Leica M fisheye lenses. So obviously you'll have to use an adapted 3rd-party lens. You can use any 15 mm or 16 mm fisheye lens meant for 35-mm-format SLR cameras, preferably one with an aperture ring, such as Canon FD, Leica R, Minolta SR, Nikon F, Olympus OM, Pentax K, etc. As an adapter, the best are those from Novoflex ... or, for Leica R lenses, the Leica R-Adapter-M.

 

On a Leica M9, of course you won't be able to focus or to frame a fisheye lens properly. But at 15 or 16 mm local length, zone focusing will do. For framing, you could get an accessory finder for a 12, 15, 16, or 18 mm super-wide-angle lens and then learn to extrapolate the fisheye view from there.

 

On a Leica M (Typ 240), using fisheye lenses would be much nicer, using the electronic viewfinder ... but with a little practice, it's viable on an M9 as well.

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snappert

snappert

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"Not very stable or versatile"? Huh? That's nonsense.

 

Of course there simply are no original Leica M fisheye lenses. So obviously you'll have to use an adapted 3rd-party lens. You can use any 15 mm or 16 mm fisheye lens meant for 35-mm-format SLR cameras, preferably one with an aperture ring, such as Canon FD, Leica R, Minolta SR, Nikon F, Olympus OM, Pentax K, etc. As an adapter, the best are those from Novoflex ... or, for Leica R lenses, the Leica R-Adapter-M.

 

Thank you for your excellent info!

I asked why using the Nikon (for example) on the M9 wasnt very sturdy and the reply I received was that the adaptor did not hold the lens that well thus did not fit perfectly onto the body... But good to hear that is not the case, sounds more like a personal error perhaps...?

but I have heard good reviews of the novoflex adaptor so I think I may head down this route...

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snappert

snappert

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I have used a Nikon 16mm 2.8 180 degre full frame Fish Eye on my M9 works flawless with a adapter and just prefocus and shoot away.

They have a huge depth of field!

 

All of your wide Canon lenses can work like that... except if the have electronic control of the aperture, then you need an adapter made for manual stop down

 

Thank you for your reply!

I think I will be looking for the same Nikon fisheye lens you are using! Sounds like the best fit to me, as well as an easier lens to find than elmarit R 16mm fisheye lens for me here in the UK... I still have my canon ef 15mm fisheye but once I find a fisheye lens for my Leica I will be offloading my entire canon dslr kit.

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snappert

snappert

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What type do you want? the full-circle 180 degree one or a 180 diagonal one?

 

If the latter I can thoroughly recommend the Elmarit-R Fisheye 16 mm. It is basically a Sigma on steroids, but through the choice of coatings the colour rendering will match your other Leica lenses.

I had no problem using it hand-held on the M9 using the Voigtlande 15 mm viewfinder. Well, to be honest it was difficult to keep my toes out of the frame :D.

 

Hi,

I am indeed looking for a 180 degree diagonal fisheye lens.

thank you for your lens recommendation. I had a quick browse for the Elmarit 16mm fisheye on the second hand market here in England but so far havent found any reputable sellers or decent items currently up for sale... I will keep an eye open and on it.

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01af

01af

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I asked why using the Nikon (for example) on the M9 wasn't very sturdy and the reply I received was that the adaptor did not hold the lens that well thus did not fit perfectly onto the body. But good to hear that is not the case, sounds more like a personal error perhaps ...?

Sounds like that person was using a cheaply-made adapter from China or so. The shorter the focal length of the lens, the more important the quality of the adapter. The Novoflex adapters aren't cheap but well-made, precise, and sturdy. For professional use, I wouldn't go for anything less.

 

 

I had a quick browse for the Elmarit-R 16 mm fisheye on the second-hand market ...

The Leitz Fisheye-Elmarit-R 16 mm is the very same lens as the Minolta MC or MD Fisheye Rokkor 16 mm 1:2.8, just in a Leica R barrel.

 

 

I still have my Canon EF 15 mm fisheye ...

Unfortunately, Canon EF lenses cannot be adapted to Leica M cameras easily due to their electronically controlled aperture mechanism.

 

There are more lenses without aperture rings, notably Nikon 'G' lenses and Minolta A/Sony Alpha lenses. Still, these can be used on adapters when the adapter provides an aperture ring (like the Novoflex NT adapters do). However, no such thing for Canon EF. Still, lenses with good old aperture rings are to be preferred ... an aperture ring on the adapter is more like a makeshift solution, not really comfortable to use.

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pgk

pgk

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The Leica-R Fisheye works well and if an original Leica adapter is used, fits as well as anything could - I used one on an M8 for a time. Its a Minolta design but I assume 'tweaked' by Leica - prices are probably greater than the MF Nikon (another very well respected lens) and the Nikon should be as good if used with a well made adapter (such as Novoflex?). I see someone has suggested the OM lens which would be another very effective choice.

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jaapv

jaapv

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I've only got an old shot to hand for the M9/Fisheye-R

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snappert

snappert

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just to ask those who use the R-fisheye, does anybody use a viewfinder adaptor to roughly frame the shot before shooting? I know the focusing will have to be done solely by distance focusing which I have no problem with, jut curiously wondering if there even is a viewfinder attachment available?

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Bill W

Bill W

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There are quite a few Leica fisheye examples on ebay. You could pick up a mint one for US $1,000 of you shop. Not sure what you budget is. Of course the adapter is another $300. I have never been a fisheye user but now that I have an M and the adapter, it certainly is intriguing.

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