PhotO TehniquE

Nikon SB-900: The Basics

This video demonstrates the basic hands-on demonstration on Nikon's new professional-grade speedlight of SB-900. If you are not so sure about ...

Opteka 6.5mm f/3.5 Manual Focus Aspherical Fisheye Lens for Nikon ...

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Just received this lens in the mail today. It really is an all manual lens. It will only work with the ‘M’ setting on a Nikon. All the other settings will say “Lens not attached”. It’s a little bit complicated to understand right off the bat but if you have some experiences with ISO/aperture it really is not too bad. My only complaint is that the built-in flash does not work with the lens. You can go buy an external one, which I might do. If the lighting is good, there is NO reason this lens needs a flash because it’s manual anyway…you can just adjust the settings. I just would like a flash for people-portraits in low lighting. Overall…great lens! Image quality is great. I’m going to love it.

Oh, and fyi…this lens is not a “true” fish-eye…the kind that makes a circle. So if you’re looking for that kind…look at the other Opteka lens!

What can I say, I wasn’t sure I would like this lens, but for the price, it was worth a try. I am impressed. It does what I want it to do for half the price of Nikon glass. It is a full manual lens, meaning you’ll be playing with aperture, iso and shutter speed, no sissy auto exposure. It’s also manual focus, but the in focus indicator works on my D90. Which past f/11 means the light is always on. At f/3.5 it’s soft in the corners, but by f/8-11 everything is sharp from 12 inches to infinity. Also note, this is not a true fisheye lens where it looks like a sphere, it’s more like an ultra-ultra-ultra wide lens where with careful composition you can make the image look almost normal or get in close and make some more creative images. Would I recommend this lens, Yes. It is something I won’t use everyday, but for the price, it’s worth it.

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