LENS-DB.COM

Abbreviations

Model history (3)

Specification

Sources of data

• Manufacturer's technical data.
• Nikon Sales Manual (July 1977).
• Nikkor lenses sales manual (January 1979).
• Nikon Sales Manual (June 1978).

Manufacturer description #1

This is a compact fisheye lens that excels in versatility because of its fast lens speed, reflex viewing and thru-the-lens metering capabilities, as well as the unique fisheye pictorial qualities it delivers. It is excellent for the initial approach to creating fisheye effects in general as well as special-purpose photography. Designed on the equidistant projection formula, this fisheye lens covers an angle of view of 180° and produces a circular image on the film. The automatic diaphragm and the bright f/2.8 aperture facilitate viewing and focusing through the viewfinder. Exposure measurement is done at full aperture. Its compact size and light weight allow hand-held shooting. All these advantages contribute to the ease of handling and the versatile application of this lens in commercial and advertising photography as well as in scientific photography, photojournalism and news and sports coverage. This lens comes with 5 filters on a rotating turret.

Manufacturer description #2

The 8mm f2.8 Fisheye-Nikkor produces a circular image on film with 180° field of view. It incorporates a set of five filters (skylight, two yellow, orange and red) built into a revolving turret, and may be focused down to one foot. Supplied with CL-11 lens case.

Manufacturer description #3

Sales Points

• Circular fisheye coverage of 180 degrees
• Large maximum aperture.
• Through-the-lens viewing and focusing down to one foot (0.3m).
• Supplied with a set of 5 filters (skylight, two yellow, orange and red) built into a revolving turret screw-in front lens cap.
• Photographic uses include scientific and industrial applications, and special effects in sports, travel, photojournalism, advertising, and commercial work.

Typical characteristics of fisheye lenses

• Extreme angle of view (at least 180° diagonally);
• Circular types (the image circle of the lens is inscribed in the image frame) or diagonal types (cover the entire image frame);
• Usually of equidistant projection type, with the distance from the picture center to any given point always proportional to the angle from the optical axis to that point;
• Huge barrel distortion;
• Short closest focusing distance (0.20 - 0.30m with 35mm full-frame prime lenses);
• Very large depth of field, eliminating the need for autofocus or precise manual focusing;
• Due to the extreme angle of view and convex front element, front filters cannot be used;
• Often equipped with a filter turret with swivel-mounted filters;
• Often come with a small, built-in petal-shaped lens hood.

Notes

• This AI lens was designed for Nikon F3, EL2, EM, FE, FE2, FE10, FG-20, FM, FM2, FM10, FM3A, Nikkormat FT3 AI cameras and Nikon FA, FG, N2000, N6000 AI-S cameras.
• AI and AI-S lenses are backward compatible with Nikon F, F2, Nikkormat FS, FT, FT2, FTN, EL, ELW cameras.
• On Nikon digital SLR cameras, the automatic exposure metering with AI and AI-S lenses will not be available on D40, D40X, D60, D70, D70s, D80, D3000-D3500, D5000-D5600 series.

Other fisheye lenses in the Nikon F system

Lenses with similar focal length