Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX Fisheye

When it comes to photography, there is a right digital SLR camera for the right job resulting to each camera specializing in its own features for certain types of photographers to take advantage of. Nikon has its own selection of cameras for beginners, intermediates and experts alike. But those having their own midrange or high-end cameras still need to choose a lens that expands the cameras capabilities in taking more defined photos and the Nikon opens up with a special lens called the Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye Lens.

Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 ED DX Fisheye Lens

Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX Fisheye | Lens Details Opens in new window

Design & Construction

The build quality of the Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye lens is superb for a first attempt in making a fisheye lens for Nikon DX format DSLRs. Perhaps the best thing about the design and construction in general is its small size and light weight making it extremely easy to carry around in a small bag pocket without any fear of it breaking. It is designed in a compact way to achieve a wider angle of view profile that optimizes itself well with other Nikon cameras.

Features & Specifications

The Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye lens is famous for its ultra-wide-angle of 180 degrees and fancy fisheye effect that fills the entire frame. These effects will be observed on cameras with the DX sensor including the midrange and higher-end models. The 10.5mm is probably the most advanced fisheye on the market. It has an internal focusing and close-range correction system that lets it focus to a rated 5-1/2″ (14cm). The sharpness levels aren’t the best in the category, but it is just good enough in the right areas most especially the colors. In addition, the contrast of the lens is excellent and it renders accurate colors very well.

When smaller aperture settings are used, image quality is generally better along with the contrast, saturation, and chromatic aberration as well. Users shouldn’t see any signs of flaring or ghosting on the images at all as long as these low settings are maintained. The f/2.8G specification makes this lens very quick to focus when paired with any camera so that some low light effects can be achieved.

Actual user review:
“This item does everything it will say it does, and do them all very well. The lens is great for landscape shots or shooting up-close, fun shots with friends. The fisheye distortion is noticeable, but that is what makes it fun. It allows you to bend the horizon and is a very small lens so you never have to worry about running out of space to pack it. It is a bit pricey, but worth the money if you like fisheye photography. The hardest part is keeping the lens clean with its large exposed lens.” – A.Bennett (Iowa,USA)

 

It is also fitted with some special features including Close-Range-Correction which further boosts the camera’s performance by sharpening the images for close shots. Close shots can be really close and still looking good with a minimum distance of 0.14m or 0.03m from the lens front. Combined with the Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Glass technology, chromatic aberration is dramatically reduced even further. Other worthy features include a rounded diaphragm so any elements that are out-of-focus turn out to be more naturalized and the lens hood is a flower-type like some of the other good lens by Nikon.

Bottom Line

Being a fisheye lens, the Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G has limited use. But the distortions are nice and the image quality is superb making it great for taking breathtaking landscape shots or close-up subjects where the fisheye effect spices things up. Those that have an existing lens and want to have more fun with shooting without sacrificing on quality will be impressed with this lens.

Average User Rating:

  • “This lens is a wonderful wide angle lens. It’s light weight, focuses fast, and is nice and fast. Wide angles are lots of fun for close up work and this lens focuses down to 5.5 inches. Shooting groups indoors this lens allows you to capture the whole group. If you user Nikon’s Capture NX 2 software you can un-wrap some of the distortion introduced if you wish. Attached to my Nikon D90 it takes amazingly sharp and vibrant photos and makes fun distorted video clips.” – P.Claxton (CA,USA)
  • “I cannot say enough great things about this lens. I have a blast shooting with it – it always brings a smile to my face. It’s reasonably fast and VERY compact. if you’re more than a few feet away from your subject, you can safely “defish” your images with a wide variety of software tools – and the results are fantastic, even if you lose some of the details on the sides. Of course, you shouldn’t buy this lens if you only plan on defishing to get a rectilinear image, but sometimes the ability to do that is useful. Another amazing aspect of this lens is the ability to focus VERY close to the lens – probably about an inch from the glass. It will not autofocus on a D40, but you can usually focus between 2 feet and infinity and expect the entire image to be sharp. It’s a very unique and fun lens.” – B.Stephens (USA)

 

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