{"id":151668,"date":"2021-08-11T16:17:31","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T15:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/?p=151668"},"modified":"2022-05-18T10:24:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-18T09:24:51","slug":"what-are-the-most-unusual-and-interesting-lenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/round-ups\/lens_round-ups\/what-are-the-most-unusual-and-interesting-lenses\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the most unusual and interesting lenses?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking for a lens that will deliver images that are out of the ordinary? Andy Westlake is your guide to some of the more unusual and specialised lenses on the market.<\/h2>\n
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L<\/span>ook in most photographers\u2019 kit bags, and chances are you\u2019ll find a similar set of lenses. The majority will likely spend much of their time shooting with a standard zoom: either the kit lens that came with their camera, or for more advanced users, a higher-end optic along the lines of a 24-70mm f\/2.8 or a 24-105mm f\/4 (or their equivalents). <\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, photographers will probably add telephoto and wideangle zooms alongside, for getting closer in to subjects or taking a broader view of the world. Next come fast primes for shooting in low light or for shallow depth of field, with 50mm and 85mm being the most popular options. Then for close-ups there\u2019s the macro lens, most likely in the 90mm to 105mm range. Together, such a lens set should cover most types of photography.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t

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Choosing an unusual lens such as a fisheye can add impact to familiar scenes. Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, Samyang 7.5mm f\/3.5 UMC Fisheye MFT, 1\/800sec at f\/5.6, ISO 200<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

However if you want to try something different and make your photos stand out from the crowd, it might be time to seek out something more exotic. In this article I\u2019ll look at some of the most unusual and interesting lenses on the market and explain what they can be used for. And while you might think that such optics will inevitably be ruinously expensive, that\u2019s not necessarily true. What\u2019s more, even the pricier ones can be hired for a one-off occasion without breaking the bank.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fisheyes<\/h2>\n

With their vast angle of view and extreme curvature of lines that conventional lenses would draw as straight, fisheye lenses are not for the faint-heated. But this is exactly the kind of challenge that might get your creative juices flowing and inspire you to look at the world in different ways. If you\u2019d like to experiment with this look, Samyang offers a broad range of affordable fisheyes for all types of camera, ranging from a 7.5mm f\/3.5 for Micro Four Thirds for \u00a3249, to a full-frame 12mm f\/2.8 for \u00a3399.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Micro Four Thirds users can also experiment with the Olympus 9mm f\/8 Body Cap Lens (\u00a389), while Pentax DSLR users can play with the 10-17mm f\/3.5-4.5 zoom (\u00a3449 below). At the other end of the scale, Canon and Nikon both offer full-frame 8-15mm fisheye zooms for around \u00a31,250.<\/p>\n\"\"\n\n

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Ultra-fast lenses<\/h2>\n

One of the biggest differentiators between smartphone photos and those taken with \u2018proper\u2019 cameras lies with the ability to focus selectively on your subject and blur away the background using a large-aperture lens. In a bid to imitate this, \u2018fake bokeh\u2019 modes are now commonplace on smartphones, but even the best are unconvincing and don\u2019t provide such attractive results. If you want to take this look to an extreme, you\u2019ll need the largest-aperture lens you can get your hands on, and it also makes most sense to work with a full-frame system.<\/p>\n\t\t

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Ultra-large-aperture lenses can deliver strikingly shallow slices of sharp focus
Fujifilm X-T4, Fujifilm XF 50mm F1.0 R WR, 1\/950sec at f\/1, ISO 160<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

It\u2019s not so long ago that anything faster than f\/1.4 was considered extremely rare and expensive (not to mention barely possible to focus), but that\u2019s all changed with the emergence of mirrorless cameras. One of the big advantages of these systems lies with lens design; freed from the constraints of leaving space for a mirror box, designers have more freedom to optimise the optics.<\/p>\n

This allows ultra-fast lenses to be designed much more readily, while accurate focusing is also much easier as it directly employs the image sensor. As a result, you\u2019ll find plenty of large-aperture manual-focus lenses from emerging Chinese makers for surprisingly low prices. But in general, you get what you pay for, with more expensive optics from longer-established names likely to yield technically better results.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sony FE 50mm F1.2 GM l \u00a32,100 l www.sony.co.uk<\/strong>
\nThis isn\u2019t the world\u2019s fastest lens for full-frame mirrorless; that\u2019s the Nikon Nikkor Z 58mm f\/0.95 S Noct. But weighing in at fully 2kg and costing \u00a38,300 for a manual-focus design, it has limited real-world appeal. Instead, the most practical ultra-large-aperture full-frame lenses are f\/1.2, with Canon, Nikon and Sony all making autofocus 50mm designs, and Canon adding a pair of 85mm portrait lenses. The Sony 50mm f\/1.2<\/a> manages to be the smallest, lightest and least expensive, while still being optically fabulous.<\/p>\n

It delivers a giddying combination of impressive sharpness and lovely bokeh, backed up by rapid, reliable, and silent autofocus.<\/p>\n