Nikon OP-Fisheye-NIKKOR 10mm F/5.6

Fisheye lens • Film era • Discontinued

Features highlight

Extreme AoV
Non-retrofocus
1
ASPH
Fixed focus
MF
Manual
Built-in filters

Specification

Production details
Announced:July 1968
Production status: Discontinued
Original name:Nippon Kogaku Fisheye-NIKKOR 1:5.6 f=10mm OP
System:Nikon F (1959)
Optical design
Focal length:10mm
Speed:F/5.6
Maximum format:35mm full frame
Mount and Flange focal distance:Nikon F [46.5mm]
Lens construction:9 elements in 6 groups
1 ASPH
Non-retrofocus
Fixed focus
Focusing
Closest focusing distance:<No data>
Maximum magnification:<No data>
Manual focus control:None
Diaphragm mechanism
Diaphragm type:Manual
Aperture control:Aperture ring
Number of blades:7 (seven)
Physical characteristics
Weight:400g
Maximum diameter x Length:⌀84×74mm
Weather sealing:-
Fluorine coating:-
Accessories
Filters:Removable front filters are not accepted
Built-in L1A, Y48, Y52, O57, R60, X0 (part of the lens optical system)
Lens hood:Not available
Teleconverters:<No data>
Sources of data
1. Manufacturer's technical data.
2. Nikon Sales Manual (July 1977).
3. Nikkor lenses sales manual (January 1979).
4. Nikon/Nikkormat Sales Manual (March 1972).
5. Nikon Sales Manual (June 1978).
6. Nikon F2 Photography Guide.

Compatibility

  • This non-AI lens was designed for Nikon F, F2, Nikkormat FS, FT, FT2, FTN, EL, ELW 35mm film SLR cameras.
  • Non-AI lenses cannot be used on Nikon digital SLR cameras (except for the Df) or late (AI) film SLR cameras. However, non-AI lenses can be fitted to Nikon FM, FE, EL2, F3, F4 and Nikkormat FT3 cameras which used the AI metering system but allowed the metering coupling lever to be disengaged. The F5 could have this mechanism fitted as an optional extra. Non-AI lenses can be also fitted to the Nikon F2A and F2AS cameras because the AI mechanism was fitted to the removable metering prism.
  • The lens was designed for use with 35mm film SLR cameras with the mirror locked in the up position.

Manufacturer description #1

High-rise construction in urban planning is now found throughout the world. Care must be taken to avoid narrow streets thus cutting the level of illumination, both inside and outside high-rise areas. Considerable study must also be given to the effects of radiant heat, generated by fire, on adjacent buildings to give maximum safety to inhabitants.

The OP Fisheye-Nikkor lens was designed especially to meet the needs of the urban planner and safety investigator. The lens is used to determine the quantitative luminance of an area or the effects of radiant heat by providing a geometrical configuration of the subject image.

The OP Fisheye as well as the Fisheye 7.5mm and 8mm lenses covers an angle of view of 180 deg. But this lens is designed on an orthographic projection formula, from which the "OP" designation is obtained.

Other Nikkor Fisheye lenses are designed on equidistant projection formula.

The construction of the OP F isheye-N ikkor has been accomplished by use of an aspheric front element to meet the exacting requirements of the orthographic projection formula.

When it is required to measure luminance of a certain area, it is easy to use a photometer. But the data obtained by such measurements cannot be utilized objectively to compare the luminance at different places or to evaluate the illumination of an area because of dependence on season, time and weather.

This being the case, it is more convenient to use, instead of the intensity of illumination, the configuration factor. When an area of light is measured in a picture made with the OP Fisheye, it is proportional to the illumination of the plane parallel with the film surface. The configuration factor is the ratio of this area to the total area of the picture.

In other words, the proportion between the total area pictured and the light source is termed the "configuration factor." When the light source is the sky, the configuration factor is called the "sky factor."

In a photograph taken with an OP Fisheye-Nikkor, objects of the same luminance are pictured with the same density regardless of their position in the whole picture. This is attained by the orthographic projection formula and is especially useful for measurement of sky light distribution. And even with the use of narrow latitude color film, uniform image brightness over the entire circular field is obtained.

In use with the Nikon F camera, the OP Fisheye Nikkor lens is mounted after the viewfinder mirror has been placed in the up and locked position. An optical viewfinder with a 160 deg. angle of view is mounted on the camera body accessory shoe for viewing. Six filters are built into the lens in a turret which is rotated easily for the necessary filter.

The lens is fixed focus since its extreme depth of field covers from infinity to one meter even at full aperture.

Manufacturer description #2

Specially Designed for Scientific and Industrial Applications

Sales Points

  • Circular picture coverage of 180 degrees
  • Employs unique orthographic projection formula.
  • When a light source is photographed, the proportion of image area of the light source to the total area represents the luminance or brightness of a place. This proportion is called the " Configuration Factor" and is often used in civic planning, architectural design and fire safety studies.
  • Subjects of equal brightness are reproduced with equal density regardless of their position in the picture, facilitating the use of color films.
  • Produces a more conspicuous fisheye effect than other fisheyes in that the image reproduced is larger in the center and becomes gradually compressed at the periphery.

The OP Fisheye was not only the world's first orthographic projection fisheye lens, but also the first aspherical SLR lens in the world. In the OP Fisheye-Nikkor the front element is aspherical to ensure that its mathematically correct illumination pattern, indispensable for scientific applications, is indeed obtained in practice.

Typical application

fisheye lens

A fisheye lens is a type of ultra-wide angle lenses with extreme 180 degree angle of view. Unlike conventional wide-angle lenses, fisheyes are not corrected for distortion - strong barrel distortion is a characteristic of all lenses of such class.

Fisheye lenses are normally used for specialized purposes and unusual special effects in advertising, commercial, scientific, surveillance, meteorologic and astronomic photography, but also popular for shooting extremely wide landscapes, interiors, action sports and even funny close-up portraits.

There are two types of fisheye lenses:

  • a circular fisheye produces a 180 degree angle of view in all directions (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) and the image circle of the lens is inscribed in the image frame;
  • a diagonal fisheye produces a 180 degree diagonal angle of view and covers the entire image frame. For this reason diagonal fisheyes are often called full frame fisheye lenses.

Professional model (Top class)

  • Specialized tool

Genres or subjects of photography (2):

Scientific photography • Industrial photography

Adaptation to digital SLR cameras:

Canon EOS SLRsSigma SD SLRsSony SLRs/SLTsPentax SLRsMore information

Not adaptable

In order to adapt the lens, the flange focal distance (FFD) of the lens mount must be equal to or greater than the FFD of the camera mount. This lens has the Nikon F mount with a FFD of 46.5mm. This is even shorter than the FFD of Canon EOS digital SLR cameras, which have the shortest FFD of 44mm of any modern digital SLR cameras. Therefore, this lens cannot be adapted to any digital SLR camera.

Recommended slowest shutter speed when shooting static subjects handheld:

1/10th of a second

Alternatives in the Nikon F system

Sorted by focal length and speed, in ascending order

Lenses with similar focal length

Sorted by manufacturer name

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Pros and cons
Nikon non-AI Nikkor series lenses (106)
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Nikon non-AI Nikkor series lenses

Offer optical performance similar to AI Nikkors but do not incorporate the automatic maximum-aperture indexing (AI) and Aperture Direct Reading (ADR) features. They are used with stopdown exposure measurement on Nikon cameras. However, most Auto-Nikkors equipped with meter-coupling shoe can be converted to AI operation and full-aperture metering.

Diaphragms - automatic, preset, or manual - of non-AI and AI lens types function in an identical manner with all Nikon-system cameras.

The A-type

The very first lenses for the Nikon F and the Nikkormat FT/FTN belong to the A-type and can be distinguished by the fact that no screw heads are visible on the lens bayonet ring, and the distance scale was only marked in meters. Later A-type lenses have screw heads protruding through the lens bayonet and a distance scale in both meters and feet. All A-type lenses have a chrome finished filter ring and the designation was engraved with the name "Nikkor", the maximum aperture, and the focal length. Early A-types have the focal length shown in centimeters, whilst on later lenses it is given in millimeters. Lenses having "Auto" are equipped with automatic diaphragms which are coupled directly to the shutter release and mirror action mechanisms.

Several of these lenses were modified by the addition of multi-coating to their glass elements to become C-types.

The code letter after the "Nikkor" engraving is indicative of the number of elements in each lens. The letters are from Latin or Greek: U for 1 element (Uns),B for 2 elements (Bini), T for 3 elements (Tres), Q for 4 elements (Quatuor), P for 5 elements (Pente), H for 6 elements (Hex), S for 7 elements (Septem), O for 8 elements (Octo), N for 9 elements (Novem), D for 10 elements (Decem).

Thus, the Nikkor-P Auto 105mm lens is constructed with five lens elements, and the Nikkor-UD Auto consists of eleven elements.

The C-type

The C-type Nikkors resemble the A-versions, but some or all of their glass elements are multi-coated. Slight cosmetic changes also differentiate the C-type lenses, which have a black finish to their filter ring with the additional "C" after the code letter for the number of elements. The C-types were introduced from 1967 and remained in production into the early 1970s.

The K-type

Most K-type lenses were fitted with a rubber covered focusing ring, which makes them instantly recognizable from their predecessors. Their depth-of-field rings were usually finished in black, but otherwise their internal construction was the same as the C-types. During 1977, after a relatively short time in production, the K-types were replaced by the AI Nikkors.

Copyright © 2012-2023 Evgenii Artemov. All rights reserved. Translation and/or reproduction of website materials in any form, including the Internet, is prohibited without the express written permission of the website owner.

35mm full frame

43.27 24 36
  • Dimensions: 36 × 24mm
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Diagonal: 43.27mm
  • Area: 864mm2

MF

Sorry, no additional information is available.

Aspherical elements

Aspherical elements (ASPH, XA, XGM) are used in wide-angle lenses for correction of distortion and in large-aperture lenses for correction of spherical aberration, astigmatism and coma, thus ensuring excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. The effect of the aspherical element is determined by its position within the optical formula: the more the aspherical element moves away from the aperture stop, the more it influences distortion; close to the aperture stop it can be particularly used to correct spherical aberration. Aspherical element can substitute one or several regular spherical elements to achieve similar or better optical results, which allows to develop more compact and lightweight lenses.

Use of aspherical elements has its downsides: it leads to non-uniform rendering of out-of-focus highlights. This effect usually appears as "onion-like" texture of concentric rings or "wooly-like" texture and is caused by very slight defects in the surface of aspherical element. It is difficult to predict such effect, but usually it occurs when the highlights are small enough and far enough out of focus.

Low dispersion elements

Low dispersion elements (ED, LD, SD, UD etc) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. This type of glass exhibits low refractive index, low dispersion, and exceptional partial dispersion characteristics compared to standard optical glass. Two lenses made of low dispersion glass offer almost the same performance as one fluorite lens.

Low dispersion elements

Low dispersion elements (ED, LD, SD, UD etc) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. This type of glass exhibits low refractive index, low dispersion, and exceptional partial dispersion characteristics compared to standard optical glass. Two lenses made of low dispersion glass offer almost the same performance as one fluorite lens.

Canon's Super UD, Nikon's Super ED, Pentax' Super ED, Sigma's FLD ("F" Low Dispersion), Sony' Super ED and Tamron's XLD glasses are the highest level low dispersion glasses available with extremely high light transmission. These optical glasses have a performance equal to fluorite glass.

High-refraction low-dispersion elements

High-refraction low-dispersion elements (HLD) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture.

High Index, High Dispersion elements

High Index, High Dispersion elements (HID) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture.

Anomalous partial dispersion elements

Anomalous partial dispersion elements (AD) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture.

Fluorite elements

Synthetic fluorite elements (FL) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. Compared with optical glass, fluorite lenses have a considerably lower refraction index, low dispersion and extraordinary partial dispersion, and high transmission of infrared and ultraviolet light. They are also significantly lighter than optical glass.

According to Nikon, fluorite easily cracks and is sensitive to temperature changes that can adversely affect focusing by altering the lens' refractive index. To avoid this, Canon, as the manufacturer most widely using fluorite in its telephoto lenses, never uses fluorite in the front and rear lens elements, and the white coating is applied to the lens barrels to reflect light and prevent the lens from overheating.

Short-wavelength refractive elements

High and specialized-dispersion elements (SR) refract light with wavelengths shorter than that of blue to achieve highly precise chromatic aberration compensation. This technology also results in smaller and lighter lenses.

Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics

Organic Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics material (BR Optics) placed between convex and concave elements made from conventional optical glass provides more efficient correction of longitudinal chromatic aberrations in comparison with conventional technology.

Diffraction elements

Diffraction elements (DO, PF) cancel chromatic aberrations at various wavelengths. This technology results in smaller and lighter lenses in comparison with traditional designs with no compromise in image quality.

High refractive index elements

High refractive index elements (HR, HRI, XR etc) minimize field curvature and spherical aberration. High refractive index element can substitute one or several regular elements to achieve similar or better optical results, which allows to develop more compact and lightweight lenses.

Apodization element

Apodization element (APD) is in fact a radial gradient filter. It practically does not change the characteristics of light beam passing through its central part but absorbs the light at the periphery. It sort of softens the edges of the aperture making the transition from foreground to background zone very smooth and results in very attractive, natural looking and silky smooth bokeh.

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Image stabilizer

A technology used for reducing or even eliminating the effects of camera shake. Gyro sensors inside the lens detect camera shake and pass the data to a microcomputer. Then an image stabilization group of elements controlled by the microcomputer moves inside the lens and compensates camera shake in order to keep the image static on the imaging sensor or film.

The technology allows to increase the shutter speed by several stops and shoot handheld in such lighting conditions and at such focal lengths where without image stabilizer you have to use tripod, decrease the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO setting which can lead to blurry and noisy images.

Original name

Lens name as indicated on the lens barrel (usually on the front ring). With lenses from film era, may vary slightly from batch to batch.

Format

Format refers to the shape and size of film or image sensor.

35mm is the common name of the 36x24mm film format or image sensor format. It has an aspect ratio of 3:2, and a diagonal measurement of approximately 43mm. The name originates with the total width of the 135 film which was the primary medium of the format prior to the invention of the full frame digital SLR. Historically the 35mm format was sometimes called small format to distinguish it from the medium and large formats.

APS-C is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the film negatives of 25.1x16.7mm with an aspect ratio of 3:2.

Medium format is a film format or image sensor format larger than 36x24mm (35mm) but smaller than 4x5in (large format).

Angle of view

Angle of view describes the angular extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera. It is used interchangeably with the more general term field of view.

As the focal length changes, the angle of view also changes. The shorter the focal length (eg 18mm), the wider the angle of view. Conversely, the longer the focal length (eg 55mm), the smaller the angle of view.

A camera's angle of view depends not only on the lens, but also on the sensor. Imaging sensors are sometimes smaller than 35mm film frame, and this causes the lens to have a narrower angle of view than with 35mm film, by a certain factor for each sensor (called the crop factor).

This website does not use the angles of view provided by lens manufacturers, but calculates them automatically by the following formula: 114.6 * arctan (21.622 / CF * FL),

where:

CF – crop-factor of a sensor,
FL – focal length of a lens.

Mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a camera body and a lens.

A lens mount may be a screw-threaded type, a bayonet-type, or a breech-lock type. Modern camera lens mounts are of the bayonet type, because the bayonet mechanism precisely aligns mechanical and electrical features between lens and body, unlike screw-threaded mounts.

Lens mounts of competing manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony etc.) are always incompatible. In addition to the mechanical and electrical interface variations, the flange focal distance can also be different.

The flange focal distance (FFD) is the distance from the mechanical rear end surface of the lens mount to the focal plane.

Lens construction

Lens construction – a specific arrangement of elements and groups that make up the optical design, including type and size of elements, type of used materials etc.

Element - an individual piece of glass which makes up one component of a photographic lens. Photographic lenses are nearly always built up of multiple such elements.

Group – a cemented together pieces of glass which form a single unit or an individual piece of glass. The advantage is that there is no glass-air surfaces between cemented together pieces of glass, which reduces reflections.

Focal length

The focal length is the factor that determines the size of the image reproduced on the focal plane, picture angle which covers the area of the subject to be photographed, depth of field, etc.

Speed

The largest opening or stop at which a lens can be used is referred to as the speed of the lens. The larger the maximum aperture is, the faster the lens is considered to be. Lenses that offer a large maximum aperture are commonly referred to as fast lenses, and lenses with smaller maximum aperture are regarded as slow.

In low-light situations, having a wider maximum aperture means that you can shoot at a faster shutter speed or work at a lower ISO, or both.

Non-retrofocus lens

The lens was designed for use with 35mm film SLR cameras with the mirror locked in the up position. The lens extended into the SLR's mirror box when mounted. Mirror lock-up must be activated prior to mounting the lens; otherwise its rearmost element would be in the way as the mirror flipped up and down during exposure. A separate optical viewfinder had to be mounted on the accessory shoe to confirm angle of view, because when the mirror is in the up and locked position, the subject is no longer visible through the viewfinder.

Closest focusing distance

The minimum distance from the focal plane (film or sensor) to the subject where the lens is still able to focus.

Closest working distance

The distance from the front edge of the lens to the subject at the maximum magnification.

Magnification ratio

Determines how large the subject will appear in the final image. For example, a magnification ratio of 1:1 means that the image of the subject formed on the film or sensor will be the same size as the subject in real life. For this reason, a 1:1 ratio is often called "life-size".

Fixed focus

There is no helicoid in this lens and everything is in focus from the closest focusing distance to infinity.

Internal focusing (IF)

Conventional lenses employ an all-group shifting system, in which all lens elements shift during focusing. The IF system, however, shifts only part of the optics during focusing. The advantages of the IF system are:

Manual diaphragm

The diaphragm must be stopped down manually by rotating the detent aperture ring.

Preset diaphragm

The lens has two rings, one is for pre-setting, while the other is for normal diaphragm adjustment. The first ring must be set at the desired aperture, the second ring then should be fully opened for focusing, and turned back for stop down to the pre-set value.

Semi-automatic diaphragm

The lens features spring mechanism in the diaphragm, triggered by the shutter release, which stops down the diaphragm to the pre-set value. The spring needs to be reset manually after each exposure to re-open diaphragm to its maximum value.

Automatic diaphragm

The camera automatically closes the diaphragm down during the shutter operation. On completion of the exposure, the diaphragm re-opens to its maximum value.

Fixed diaphragm

The aperture setting is fixed at F/5.6 on this lens, and cannot be adjusted.

Number of blades

As a general rule, the more blades that are used to create the aperture opening in the lens, the rounder the out-of-focus highlights will be.

Some lenses are designed with curved diaphragm blades, so the roundness of the aperture comes not from the number of blades, but from their shape. However, the fewer blades the diaphragm has, the more difficult it is to form a circle, regardless of rounded edges.

At maximum aperture, the opening will be circular regardless of the number of blades.

Weight

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

Maximum diameter x Length

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

For lenses with collapsible design, the length is indicated for the working (retracted) state.

Weather sealing

A rubber material which is inserted in between each externally exposed part (manual focus and zoom rings, buttons, switch panels etc.) to ensure it is properly sealed against dust and moisture.

Lenses that accept front mounted filters typically do not have gaskets behind the filter mount. It is recommended to use a filter for complete weather resistance when desired.

Fluorine coating

Helps keep lenses clean by reducing the possibility of dust and dirt adhering to the lens and by facilitating cleaning should the need arise. Applied to the outer surface of the front and/or rear lens elements over multi-coatings.

Filters

Lens filters are accessories that can protect lenses from dirt and damage, enhance colors, minimize glare and reflections, and add creative effects to images.

Lens hood

A lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare. Flare occurs when stray light strikes the front element of a lens and then bounces around within the lens. This stray light often comes from very bright light sources, such as the sun, bright studio lights, or a bright white background.

The geometry of the lens hood can vary from a plain cylindrical or conical section to a more complex shape, sometimes called a petal, tulip, or flower hood. This allows the lens hood to block stray light with the higher portions of the lens hood, while allowing more light into the corners of the image through the lowered portions of the hood.

Lens hoods are more prominent in long focus lenses because they have a smaller viewing angle than that of wide-angle lenses. For wide angle lenses, the length of the hood cannot be as long as those for telephoto lenses, as a longer hood would enter the wider field of view of the lens.

Lens hoods are often designed to fit onto the matching lens facing either forward, for normal use, or backwards, so that the hood may be stored with the lens without occupying much additional space. In addition, lens hoods can offer some degree of physical protection for the lens due to the hood extending farther than the lens itself.

Teleconverters

Teleconverters increase the effective focal length of lenses. They also usually maintain the closest focusing distance of lenses, thus increasing the magnification significantly. A lens combined with a teleconverter is normally smaller, lighter and cheaper than a "direct" telephoto lens of the same focal length and speed.

Teleconverters are a convenient way of enhancing telephoto capability, but it comes at a cost − reduced maximum aperture. Also, since teleconverters magnify every detail in the image, they logically also magnify residual aberrations of the lens.

Lens caps

Scratched lens surfaces can spoil the definition and contrast of even the finest lenses. Lens covers are the best and most inexpensive protection available against dust, moisture and abrasion. Safeguard lens elements - both front and rear - whenever the lens is not in use.