This is my favorite lens... with Olympus workspace is possible to apply the fisheye correction to the raw file (the same correction of the camera). It is very very fast so it is very good for Astro photography or in low light panorama... in my opinion this lens is a good reason to buy a m1mark2 ... I think that don’t exist a combo better than this in the market!!!
I own the Olympus bodycap 9mm f/8 fisheye lens and I must say it is much sharper than expected. Instead of a focus ring there is a focus lever which is a bit fragile, maybe flimsy, it needs special care and focus peaking switched on. It has turned out that the open source software darktable does a great job with this lens on defishing. For my needs, the resulting ultra-wide-angle photos are surprisingly good, especially for architecture.
I like to use fisheye lens to make 3:1 aspect ratio panoramic photos. I like the field of view and the sense of space that you get when using fisheye lenses.
Interesting thing I have noticed with mine. If you set the camera to fisheye compensation two things are rendered unavailable. One shooting in all Raw images. And focus peaking can’t be activated. Just a side note. I love the lens for video and photos
When I shot film I had a fisheye for my RB 67, using it mainly for wedding photography in churches. I now own a Rokinon 7.5mm manual focus for my E-M1ii but use it now for landscape and interior fine art work. But not much use at all so the reason for a manual focus lens. If I don’t want the distortion I’ll use the 7-14mm instead but kinda like the distortion for some things. Great review. If I had more of a need for this I would definitely buy one.
This lens is superb for astro work and I also use it partially defished (done in processing) as often somewhere between full fisheye and full defish a shot looks just right, especially landscapes if you keep the horizon level. Using the built in defish when you compose a shot you intend to defish in processing later, helps with composition as well.
Fisheye comp was new to me; will have to try it - vid implied the comp in cam was only avail in jpeg mode - true? Have used the lens in close quarters vegetation shots, like tree crotch. Crossroads pano, as well. Plan to try others, like view from inside a clothes dryer, looking out. The challenge with any such lens is that images tend to scream “fisheye” - detracts from subject.
Thank you for showing this lens with some real estate photography. How would you put this when its up against the olympus 8mm f3.5 for real estate photography?
Thanks for the info about fisheye compensation! I didn’t know that was an option. After watching this video, I think I’ll be using this lens more frequently.
I used the Samyang 7.5mm for a long time, and liked the results. However, I couldn't get the 'What if...?' question out of my mind, so I bought the Oly 8mm. I A/B'd them after they arrived, and IMO the difference in IQ was negligible. I figured I could cope with a slower, MF lens, so I stuck with the Samyang. If I was doing astro it might be a different story.
Thank you for another excellent review and insight into the Olympus line of lenses. I have a number of fisheye lenses and even some fisheye converters the Nikon coolpix FC-E8 appears to work well with the m.zuiko 17mm f2.8 and you get a full circular image from it. Which works ok for the odd shot now and again. My favourite fisheye is my Tokina 10-17mm zoom very sharp and versatile.And I keep The Olympus 9mm f8 body cap lens on one of my two Omd bodies.
I rented the 8mm/1.8 last year to shoot the Milky Way and it worked very well, especially after using the Imadio Hemi defishing PS plugin. I ended up buying it for astrophotography and also closed spaces. I already had the 9-18mm m. Zuicko. With the incamera defish capability, the utility of the lens has been greatly extended. However, the 7-14mm/2.8 would probably be my choice if I did not already have the 9-18mm.
@@ForsgardPeter No problem: I asked the question at getolympus.com and got the following answer: "The three levels of the in camera compensation are : 1 (widest): approx 5.5mm (11mm equiv. to 35mm) 2. approx 7mm (14mm equiv. to 35mm) 3. approx 9mm (18mm equiv. to 35mm)." I have both this lens and the 7-14 2.8 so I will try and set up my camera on a tripod and see if this holds true.
The next question I have is if level 2 and 3 are crops of level 1 and lose resolution or if they are just processed differently and maintain resolution. Do you know? I've also asked the follow up question at getolympus.com. This certainly seems like a handy feature as I can pair the fisheye with my 12-40 2.8 and a 75 f1.8 and have a really light kit for travel that covers a broad range. I really like the 7-14 2.8 but it is heavy for a M4/3 lens. Thanks again for all your reviews.
It’s interesting, this lens is awesome for astrophotography (mikway and stars) but you don’t talk about that. Will you try this lens again? Maybe with new E-M1 M3
Hi Peter and everybody else. Thank you very much for your work. Considering these are not cheap lenses, would you choose fisheye 1.8 pro over 7-14 2.8 pro if you are to going to use it mainly for astrophotography or 7-14 would be fine and more versatile? Thank you very much
I don't own it, but I rent it from time to time from Olympus Bulgaria and I love the fisheye effect. Very good for big concerts, sports or some events and for fun of course :)
Thanks Peter, very interesting video. By the way is there any alternative such as Samyang or Meike that could take benefit of the fisheye compensation or does it just apply to this lense ?
Did you get a chance to try astrophotography with this? And landscape, without filter? I'm looking for something wide-angle, especially for astrophotography 😊
I have this one and I am using it SO MUCH.I shot landscapes and his LOD and sharpness are awesome. Let me tell you that I hate Olympus (just the necessary bit) for not adding the fisheye compensation on EM10 and EM5 (I have both). I had to purchase the EM1 too!!! (I know is a poor excuse, but I need a way to justify myself!!!). Seriously now: Olympus should treat better specially the EM10 users. This would be just a soft update and it would be so nice to have. By the way, I asked Olympus twice and I just get a polite "we don't know" Said so... thanks a lot for your videos. They are awesome!!
I have always disliked the way camera manufacturers disable some features from some cameras. But on the other hand, they have to differ the cameras someway.
Hi Peter, on the question of filters, STC (stcoptics.com/en/clip_filter/) is making a series of in-body filters for cameras - they don't have any for Olympus yet but their website says 'coming soon'. It would be interesting to see how these perform when they become available.
![Olympus 8mm F1.8 Pro - [Ultra Wide-Angle FUN!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yunyPGK2CO8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Olympus 8mm F1.8 Pro - [Ultra Wide-Angle FUN!]](/img/tr.png)
This is my favorite lens... with Olympus workspace is possible to apply the fisheye correction to the raw file (the same correction of the camera). It is very very fast so it is very good for Astro photography or in low light panorama... in my opinion this lens is a good reason to buy a m1mark2 ... I think that don’t exist a combo better than this in the market!!!
I forgot all about the new software, Olympus Workspace! Thanks for bringing it up.
I own the Olympus bodycap 9mm f/8 fisheye lens and I must say it is much sharper than expected. Instead of a focus ring there is a focus lever which is a bit fragile, maybe flimsy, it needs special care and focus peaking switched on. It has turned out that the open source software darktable does a great job with this lens on defishing. For my needs, the resulting ultra-wide-angle photos are surprisingly good, especially for architecture.
Hi Peter -thanks for the great vodeo - I can't find the link for the filter in you're link section
I pulled the trigger today (refurb for $600). Can't wait to try this lens! Thanks for your thoughtful review!
Hi Peter, I have the 8mm fisheye and use it mostly for wide landscapes without the obvious fisheye look. It became one of my favorites 👍
I like to use fisheye lens to make 3:1 aspect ratio panoramic photos. I like the field of view and the sense of space that you get when using fisheye lenses.
Interesting thing I have noticed with mine. If you set the camera to fisheye compensation two things are rendered unavailable. One shooting in all Raw images. And focus peaking can’t be activated. Just a side note. I love the lens for video and photos
I have the Fisheye, honestly it comes out of my bag maybe twice a year but it is a beautiful, sharp and light weight lens. Great review btw 😊
When I shot film I had a fisheye for my RB 67, using it mainly for wedding photography in churches. I now own a Rokinon 7.5mm manual focus for my E-M1ii but use it now for landscape and interior fine art work. But not much use at all so the reason for a manual focus lens. If I don’t want the distortion I’ll use the 7-14mm instead but kinda like the distortion for some things. Great review. If I had more of a need for this I would definitely buy one.
This lens is superb for astro work and I also use it partially defished (done in processing) as often somewhere between full fisheye and full defish a shot looks just right, especially landscapes if you keep the horizon level. Using the built in defish when you compose a shot you intend to defish in processing later, helps with composition as well.
Fisheye comp was new to me; will have to try it - vid implied the comp in cam was only avail in jpeg mode - true? Have used the lens in close quarters vegetation shots, like tree crotch. Crossroads pano, as well. Plan to try others, like view from inside a clothes dryer, looking out. The challenge with any such lens is that images tend to scream “fisheye” - detracts from subject.
Unfortunately, the Fisheye correction makes jpg images. If you want to use orf-images, try to use Olympus Workspace.
Thank you for showing this lens with some real estate photography. How would you put this when its up against the olympus 8mm f3.5 for real estate photography?
I have not tested the f3.5 lens. That is why it is very hard to say anything.
@@ForsgardPeter no worries, cheers for doing this video. Appreciate it.
Thanks for the info about fisheye compensation! I didn’t know that was an option. After watching this video, I think I’ll be using this lens more frequently.
I used the Samyang 7.5mm for a long time, and liked the results. However, I couldn't get the 'What if...?' question out of my mind, so I bought the Oly 8mm. I A/B'd them after they arrived, and IMO the difference in IQ was negligible. I figured I could cope with a slower, MF lens, so I stuck with the Samyang. If I was doing astro it might be a different story.
Thank you for another excellent review and insight into the Olympus line of lenses.
I have a number of fisheye lenses and even some fisheye converters the Nikon coolpix FC-E8 appears to work well with the m.zuiko 17mm f2.8 and you get a full circular image from it. Which works ok for the odd shot now and again. My favourite fisheye is my Tokina 10-17mm zoom very sharp and versatile.And I keep The Olympus 9mm f8 body cap lens on one of my two Omd bodies.
Thanks. A fisheye converter on a 17m lens sounds interesting! Cool.
I rented the 8mm/1.8 last year to shoot the Milky Way and it worked very well, especially after using the Imadio Hemi defishing PS plugin. I ended up buying it for astrophotography and also closed spaces. I already had the 9-18mm m. Zuicko. With the incamera defish capability, the utility of the lens has been greatly extended. However, the 7-14mm/2.8 would probably be my choice if I did not already have the 9-18mm.
Thanks for the comment. I need to check that Imadio Hemi plugin.
Hi Peter, what's the tripod that appears in this video? I tried to follow the link above to your camera gear but all I got was a blank page.
Dorr Racer CR1440 Carbon.
This is the next lens on my list, want to use it for astrophotography.
Good choice.
Thank you for the video. Do you now the approximate equivalent focal length of level 1, 2 and 3 compensation?
Unfortunately I cannot.
@@ForsgardPeter No problem: I asked the question at getolympus.com and got the following answer: "The three levels of the in camera compensation are :
1 (widest): approx 5.5mm (11mm equiv. to 35mm)
2. approx 7mm (14mm equiv. to 35mm)
3. approx 9mm (18mm equiv. to 35mm)." I have both this lens and the 7-14 2.8 so I will try and set up my camera on a tripod and see if this holds true.
This article does a comparison and level 1 is wider than 7mm on the 7-14: www.creativeislandphoto.com/blog/8mm-fisheye-correction
The next question I have is if level 2 and 3 are crops of level 1 and lose resolution or if they are just processed differently and maintain resolution. Do you know? I've also asked the follow up question at getolympus.com. This certainly seems like a handy feature as I can pair the fisheye with my 12-40 2.8 and a 75 f1.8 and have a really light kit for travel that covers a broad range. I really like the 7-14 2.8 but it is heavy for a M4/3 lens. Thanks again for all your reviews.
I have a Rokinon 7.5mm F3.5. It's great for astrophotography stuff and for portraits of people you don't like I'd like to get a Laowa 7.5mm f/2.
Yes, a fisheye lens as a portrait lens can make people look a bit odd. :D
It’s interesting, this lens is awesome for astrophotography (mikway and stars) but you don’t talk about that. Will you try this lens again? Maybe with new E-M1 M3
Hi Peter and everybody else. Thank you very much for your work. Considering these are not cheap lenses, would you choose fisheye 1.8 pro over 7-14 2.8 pro if you are to going to use it mainly for astrophotography or 7-14 would be fine and more versatile? Thank you very much
I would probably go for the 7-14mm zoom.
@@ForsgardPeter for Wide Astrophotography the fisheye is by far the best. F stop is most important.
I don't own it, but I rent it from time to time from Olympus Bulgaria and I love the fisheye effect. Very good for big concerts, sports or some events and for fun of course :)
Thanks Peter, very interesting video. By the way is there any alternative such as Samyang or Meike that could take benefit of the fisheye compensation or does it just apply to this lense ?
Thank you. I am not sure if the correction works with other lenses. I need check that.
Did you get a chance to try astrophotography with this? And landscape, without filter? I'm looking for something wide-angle, especially for astrophotography 😊
I have used it for astrophotography. It is great, the fastest aperture is f1.8. I have also used the 7-14mm for astro. That is also great for that.
Peter Forsgård I thought a wiser investment especially in relation to astrophotography is a used zd 8mm + a star tracker.
I have two fish 7.5 7artisans and 3.5 meike, but I don't use them.
Astrophotography! We need more bright, wide angle lens in our system :) I’m hoping they do an f1.2 7mm prime 😍
Yes! f1.2 would be finer than frog hair.
17 elements in 15 groups!
The only lens that I regret selling is my old Zuiko 8mm f3.5 which I used with the old E-1.
I bagged one of these bad boys for £106 on eBay and a 14-54 for £70. The zd still commands £900 at the Olympus shop.
The 8mm fisheye lens is a fun lens. I guess my main use is astro landscape.
The fast aperture makes quite good for astrophotography also.
Moi moi Peter. very well types. I prefer the 7-14 2.8 an use it quiet often..
I have this one and I am using it SO MUCH.I shot landscapes and his LOD and sharpness are awesome.
Let me tell you that I hate Olympus (just the necessary bit) for not adding the fisheye compensation on EM10 and EM5 (I have both). I had to purchase the EM1 too!!! (I know is a poor excuse, but I need a way to justify myself!!!).
Seriously now: Olympus should treat better specially the EM10 users. This would be just a soft update and it would be so nice to have. By the way, I asked Olympus twice and I just get a polite "we don't know"
Said so... thanks a lot for your videos. They are awesome!!
I have always disliked the way camera manufacturers disable some features from some cameras. But on the other hand, they have to differ the cameras someway.
Peter Forsgård would the keystone programme not correct the distortion in camera before taking the picture?
Hi Peter, on the question of filters, STC (stcoptics.com/en/clip_filter/) is making a series of in-body filters for cameras - they don't have any for Olympus yet but their website says 'coming soon'. It would be interesting to see how these perform when they become available.
Thanks for the link. That would be cool and perfect for this lens and also for the 7-14mm f2.8 zoom.
I like tossing fisheye views in and it can be great for astrophotos and you can pick this up for $500 or so used which is reasonable
This lens is awesome. Turn out like wind lens.
After correction = approx 10mm??
It is a bit wider than the 7-14mm f2.8 at 7mm.
@@ForsgardPeter you mean narrower ?
My dear friend, you have 7 elemets, are you sure it's not 8 omelettes?:)
Now that I think about it, it could be omelettes! :D