16mm fish-eye rectilinear or circular

[wlaidlaw]

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Can those folks who have or have owned this Fish-Eye lens advise me if this lens makes a rectilinear (rectangular image) or circular image. I might buy one of these if it is a rectangular image but no interest if it is a circular image. I would really like the 15mm Super-Elmarit-R but the prices are astronomical - in excess of £6,000! The 19mm is I know a good lens but too close to my 21/4 Super Angulon. The alternative might be the older Zeiss made 15mm Elmar-R but I am not sure how good this is. Folks have mentioned quite heavy vignetting. 

Wilson

[a.noctilux]

Hello Wilson,

this one 16mm

is fish-eye only in diagonal (180°), so it fills the frame.

 

 

 

 

As side note, the other circular type (not existing  in Leica R mount) would be 180° in each direction and they would have much shorter focal (7mm or 7.5mm, 8mm depending on brand)

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by a.noctilux

[AZN]

Full-frame fisheye.  Not available in ROM version. Has a built-in filter turret with 3 colours (blue, yellow and orange), similar to the 19mm Elmarit-R (v2)

Pretty good lens but is starting to show its age.  Used it extensively @ 15 years ago to earn a living, shooting 360° panoramas for clients.

There are much better options available today - not by Leica of course 😃

[wlaidlaw]

Funnily enough I have this same 16mm Minolta lens in M mount, "Made by E Leitz Japan". I assume this was either a prototype made by Minolta as a sales pitch to Leica, which had no take up or a very made fake. I am currently selling this lens in Japan. I bought it in Tokyo 15 years ago. 

Wilson

[adan]

Just to clarify, the 15/16mm fisheyes (from just about all makers - Canon, Nikon, Leica, Minolta, etc.) produce rectangular pictures.

But NOT rectilinear pictures, or they would not be fisheyes. You'd have to have the 15mm Super-Elmar or Super-Elmarit (or the Voigtlander 15mm, versions I-III) to get rectilinear.

Rectilinear means straight lines inside the frame remain straight (even though they may not be parallel or perpendicular or level). You can stick a ruler along them at all points.

By definition, a fisheye lens can't and won't achieve that - it has infinite (off the charts) barrel distortion, and curved lines everywhere, except those that pass directly through the center of the image.

A bit more here: https://vrphotography.com/data/pages/techtutorials/technotes/panolenschoice.html