Skateboarding........fish eye or wide angle?

[goo23]

Hi,

I'm extremely new to photography/filming, I have a nikon d5000 and shoot/film skateboarding and need advise on

whether to buy a wide angle of a fish eye what, if any are the differences/ advantages or disadvantages?

thanks for your time.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

What should I have for supper....chicken or beef? Just like your question...the answer is to use/have what you/I prefer.

A fish-angle lens give you a wide angle of view and does not try to correct for lens distortion...thus you get an image with lots of distortion. Most 'wide angle' lenses are rectilinear, meaning that they are designed to try to correct for that distortion (although they seldom eliminate it).

Google is your friend, here is one article I found...
Fisheye Lens vs. Wide-Angle Lens | Underwater Photography Guide

 

[12sndsgood]

if your just starting out id say a wide angle would be better then a fish eye lense. fish eyes lens can take some cool pictures. but you are not going to want everything that way. so get a main piece of good glass first, then when funds allow pick up a fish eye lens down the line.

 

[goo23]

Well I mostly film and need to get in real close, I've got a cheap fish eye but a cant zoom out very far with out the border appearing.......
and my mates have no heads when they skate
:er:

 

[McNugget801]

A wide angle seems to make whatever is in the center of the frame further away where a fisheye makes it feel closer. Up close the wide really doesn't work that well for skate stuff. If your going to be up close then its fisheye all the way.

When Im shooting BMX/Skate stuff my lens usage breakdown goes like this...

10mm fisheye 40%
17-40 40%
11-16 wide 10% (because Im a sucker for tokina sun bursts)

 

[MrSleepin]

get a fisheye.

i highly recommend the Roknion 8mm 3.5f lens! i have one and love it! also, very affordable! i got mine on ebay brand new for $265

here's one of Clyde Singleton that i took... sun disappeared into the trees, but it still turned out pretty bright!

1/400 3.5f iso 100 range of about 4 feet

and here is one of me
1/320 3.5f 100iso range of about 2.5-3 feet

both pics have not been edited. and i plan on using my new sb600 from now on when i do shots like these to help light faces.

 

[djacobox372]

Its easy to turn a wide angle into a fisheye in post, the reverse isnt true.

 

[480sparky]

Its easy to turn a wide angle into a fisheye in post, the reverse isnt true.

Wanna bet?

 

[Futurelight]

Fish eye for the funk and wide angle for the over-all.

 

[mnhoj]

I like the Rokinon 8mm also. Besides the great price the lens is very, very sharp.

F8 and focused to 2 ft. should cover all the depth you need for skating - providing there's enough light.

Video is awesome with a fish.

 

[fjrabon]

like others have said, just depends if you want straight edges or not. I occasionally shoot skate parks, but I'm not a skating photographer by any means. Im drawn to the geometry of the park as much as the skaters, so I prefer wide angle. fisheyes are better for catching the tricks, but are bad for showing off the park.

 

[McNugget801]

Alley-oop downside double whip taken with a Sigma 10mm f2.8 fisheye
Cropped with a small amount of distortion correction


Bryant Shepherd by Summit42, on Flickr

 

[goo23]

FFREAKIN' SHWEET! Thanks for the heads up nugget, hope to smash some photos out soon.

Oh and did you use a tripod for the shot of clyde doing a nosegrind?

 

[MrSleepin]

FFREAKIN' SHWEET! Thanks for the heads up nugget, hope to smash some photos out soon.

Oh and did you use a tripod for the shot of clyde doing a nosegrind?

no i did not... no need for tripod for a shot like that...well i guess it would be personal preference.