LF fish-eye?

[Charles Twist]

I quite like the fish-eye effect of an 8mm lens on a 35mm camera, but the problem is the lack of detail resolution. Is it possible to get a big round picture on a 4" by 4" sheet of film with similar angles of view? I guess that the round image comes from the limited coverage of the lens; I am not so hung-up about that, but I am keen on the distortions such as bending horizons etc. I think that a simple box with a ground glass on one side and a lens on the other, with no bellows would do nicely. What about the lens? Is anything up to the job - without breaking the bank?
Any links to people working on this aspect and general information are all gratefully received.
Thank you,
Charles

[George Hart]

Is anything up to the job - without breaking the bank?
Any links to people working on this aspect and general information are all gratefully received.
Thank you,
Charles

Charles: I suspect that the answer to your question is a resounding no! Here is a page of MF examples, some of them looking pretty exotic, with image circles approaching 100 mm, http://panopticus.altervista.org/fishli ... ist-mf.htm

[Tim Myers]

Hi Charles,

If memory serves me right there was someone using an old Kodak lens designed for use in aerial weather reconnaisance and getting fisheye effects on 10x8. I didn't save the link, nor can I find it now, but I'll do some digging and see if I can find any more info.

[Joanna Carter]

Hi Charles

Were you thinking of the distorted view that a true fisheye lens gives, or simply a very wide angle lens that does not cover the film but that would not give the distortion?

If the former, then you could always "bodge" something like the 37mm fisheye for the Mamiya 6x7. If the latter, then how about getting the shortest LF lens that you can find; just be prepared to have to fit it to a reverse tophat plate to get it close enough to the film

[Matt_Bigwood]

In Roger Hicks' book 'Medium and Large Format Photography' there's a DIY section at the back, and he suggests a Russian/Soviet Zodiak 30mm lens, designed for 6x6cm, but gives a circular fisheye effect on 5x4.

The biggest issue though is that the metal lens shade lugs have to be ground or sawn off as they intrude into the circular image. Also it would have to be used on a camera with a focal plane shutter, or some kind of shutter rigged up as it doesn't have a built-in shutter.

Matt