Minolta AF 16mm F2.8 FishEye A-mount lens reviews
reviews found: 26
 JakobProgsch#11230 date: Jul-1-2013 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 4.9 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 16/2.8 MC Fisheye (supposedly identical optics) |
| price paid: | 600 CHF (used) |
| positive: | lots of fun fun sized image quality |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | Well, it's a fisheye... so you know what you are getting yourself into. Sharpness seems generally good. The corners are sometimes hard to get into focus but it's hard to tell if that is a optical deficiency or just the result of whatever the field curvature of the lens looks like. Nothing a bit of stopping down wouldn't fix anyway. Background Bokeh is actually fairly nice which may sound irrelevant for such a wide lens. But given that you often want to get REALLY close with this type of lens you can actually get quite some blur into the background when using it wide open. The lens is really small (slightly longer than a 50/1.7 or 24/2.8) so it usually finds a place in the camera bag. |
; 10MP| gooseb#11181 date: Jun-9-2013 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 3 overall: 4.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Lensbaby Composer Pro |
| price paid: | 500ish |
| positive: | Distortion Very sharp for non G lens Built in filters |
| negative: | flare Built in filters |
| comment: | Built like a tank! Great sharpness for non G lenses. Also great fun for your creative side. Way more fun and way sharper than a Lensbaby Composer Pro. You can get some of the distortion on the smaller APS-C sensors. |
| terenz#7070 date: Mar-13-2010 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | my first fisheye so nothing |
| price paid: | 600 USD (used) |
| positive: | Sharp, good colours |
| negative: | not too much |
| comment: | Bought this for my 100 then bought the 850 to take full advantage of it. Fisheye effects are severely limited, to say the least, with an APS-C size body. Much better with FF as you're getting more 2x more area from the same viewpoint as well as all the (intentional) distortion at the margin. |
| ffrolvaag#6573 date: Dec-13-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.2 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | KM 17-35mm 2.8-4 Sony 11-18 DT |
| price paid: | N/A |
| positive: | - Widest Minolta made Prime - Sharp - Disortion (fisheye) - Build Quality - Weight - AF speed |
| negative: | - Filter usage - Protruding Front Element - Protective Cap - Cost - Small focus ring |
| comment: | Overall, this is exactly what you expect from a good fisheye lens. It is sharp, lightweight, and built very well. It is the widest prime lens made by either sony or minolta in that alpha/maxxum mount. However, it isn't inexpensive, and I like most people don't really have a lot of use for a wide fisheye in most scenarios. As with all lenses that are wide angle, the lens will suffer from flare, protruding front elements, and difficulty in adding filters to the front element. That being said, this is a really great little lens. The color rendition is really nice for this lens. If you are looking for a wideangle fisheye lens, you would do well with this lens. |
| Dynaton-DK#6049 date: Sep-14-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 4.1 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Tokina ATX 17 Pro |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Great fun Excellent saturated colours Sharp For artistic/creative shooting |
| negative: | Build-in shade and hood design Not an allround lens |
| comment: | As already mentioned in other reviews this lens is for artictic/creative photography - and as such very fun to play around with. In particulary I like to place an object very close in the frame in front of the rest of the image to create a feeling of large depth. Due to the focal lenght all comes out pretty sharp and with very saturated appealing colours. Distortion is obviously an issue for this lens, as it is a fish-eye lens so it can not be used as a "very wide" APS-C lens in general. The application of this lens is limited. I do not agree with people whom do not believe the lens serves it purpose on APS-C. Of cause it's not as "wildly distorted" as FF, but I think the fish-eye effect distortion is still okay for artistic/creative shooting. If you're looking for a very wide lens for "normal" usage go for e.g. the Tokina ATX 17 PRO instead as this is excellent for general purpose. The lens is not well protected to flare (well, not a surprise) - flare's seem to tend to "haze" the image by generally lowering the colour saturation and contrast. Note that this is no worse than any other wide angle lens. I rate build quality fairly low considering that the lens has a metal body. What degrade my score in regard to build quality is the build-in shade and the construction of the hood. Furthermore the large front element is not well protected (but this goes with the terratory of a fish-eye lens I suppose). |
| Romeo333#5971 date: Sep-3-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 4 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | In terms of distortion to the KM17-35. |
| price paid: | 500 USD |
| positive: | -DISTORTION -SHARPNESS -COLOURS -FILTERS |
| negative: | -Lens hood -focusing ring Nothing to do with how the lens at all, just two things that bug me. |
| comment: | Lets just put it this way I REALLY ENJOY THE DISTORTION THIS GLASS PRODUCES!! I like distortions in general! I use this lens mainly for Portraits and does it work?? YUP!! My customers love the beautiful pictures this glass helps me capture. This is a FULL FRAME lens and as such it wont work as well on a aps-c camera. Get in touch with your creative side and buy this glass. You will never regret it!! |
| terrylloydsmith#5675 date: Jul-9-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | 17-50/2.8 Tamron 11-18 Tamron |
| price paid: | $550 USD LN |
| positive: | Well Built Quality Optics |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | The perspective this lens produces is interesting and artistic. Very sharp and the build quality is just wonderful. I'll never regret buying this lens. Another Minolta Classic. |
| lifeodyssey#5009 date: Mar-12-2009 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony 16-80 F3.5\4.5 zoom, this Minolta 16mm can capture more angle of view than the Sony Zeiss @16mm on my Sony A350 camera. It looks like more or less a 14 mm len on APS- C sensor. At aperture f4 in think it is a little bit sharper than the Zess 16-80mm @f4 @16mm. Color contraast is not as high as the Zeiss but maintain Minolta tradtion color of its 1st generation len. |
| price paid: | 430 USD Used |
| positive: | Very well built and reaonable compact. Sharp is ok at f2.8 , stop down to f4 is very sharp in the centre and sharp in the corners, onwards stop down not much difference,probably f4 - f5.6 is the best setting. Distortion is ok in Aps c sensor, and have put it on full frame film camera , the view is amazing. |
| negative: | Little bit CA occurs at the corner, but not much and is accectable. |
| comment: | On Sony A350 the result is very good can be used as a super wide angle len. Really hope in future can have a full frame Sony to try it.. Got it rather cheap from a very good ebay UK seller and after using it for a month I decide to keep this len forever.. |
| wahgongzai#4952 date: Mar-3-2009 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 18-70 Minolta 24-50 F4 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Build Color |
| negative: | The leather lens front cover... |
| comment: | I got this piece of Minolta legend from a old timer, quite impress with the color and sharpness. Will try on my film SLR soon to see the real fish eye effects |
| Winwalloe#4511 date: Dec-9-2008 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 3 overall: 4.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 20/2.8 Sony 18-70/3.5-5.6 |
| price paid: | Borrowed lens |
| positive: | Compact and sturdy lens Built-in filters (if shooting film) Quite sharp |
| negative: | Flare, flare, flare |
| comment: | This fish-eye is a useful wide angle lens, with good sharpness. Of course such lens is more useful on full-frame. My biggest problem has been flare control: a lot of flare and ghosting are present when shooting with hard lights around (ie street light at night), and it can be necessary to clone out the unwanted resultant reflections. |
| NetQwik#4426 date: Nov-23-2008 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | KM DT 11-18mm |
| price paid: | 449 USD |
| positive: | Bokeh Sharpness Solid Build |
| negative: | The fisheye effect is lost on APS-C and the results are more like a bendy 24mm but this lens is not designed for APS-C so I'm not really sure if you can count that as negative. |
| comment: | The only reason I owned the KM DT 11-18mm was due to the APS-C sensor size of my a100 and a700. I didn't like it but I needed it for my ccd cameras. Now I have an a900 and the a100, a700 and the 11-18 are all a distant memory! I can't say enough about the old Minolta AF Fisheye. I've had it for a couple of years now. On a full-frame a900 the distortion is crazy as it should be so I gave it a 5. I picked up my minty excellent copy for a great price although I didn't think so at the time. In fact, this lens was my primary reason for getting the a900. Now it once again does what it's supposed to do. I don't know why they didn't put a gold band on it and call it a G. This lens is fast & close focusing, razor sharp and built like a tank. Prior to the release of the a900 they were commonly available on eBay for around $500 USD. These are far superior to the Sony version and originally sold for roughly the same as the current Sony version. Since the a900 release, the going price has shot up considerably and they are now much harder to come by. If you're comparing a used MN16 in fair to good condition against the Sony16, it's a no-brainer. The Minolta blows the Sony away! |
| Edinator#4023 date: Aug-30-2008 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 2 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | $540 CDN Used |
| positive: | I like the effect, Nice and Compact, Works great on Film, sharp, great build quality like the whole Maxxum series. |
| negative: | Not so good on a cropped sensor, soft front cap (not big of an issue), flaring is terrible |
| comment: | I love this lense on film but on a cropped sensor like my A100 it loses some of the fisheye effect. Focusing is great and the close focusing ability is great. I'm thinking of getting an 8mm fisheye as well. |
| ckone#3664 date: Jun-3-2008 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 20mm f/2,8 Leica 21mm f/2.8 Voigtlander 15mm |
| price paid: | 600 USD (like new) |
| positive: | Sharpness, Build quality, FIlter included, Picture quality |
| negative: | Front soft cap |
| comment: | With film it's definitively my most favourite landscape panorama lens; nice and much wider alternatice to the Minolta 20mm; cannot touch Leicas distorsion quality, but definitely beats the Voigtlander 15mm lens; I like it not to be a circular Fisheye giving you the most out of a 1.5 cropped DSLR. Was a stunning lens in a caving tour! |
| voets#3600 date: May-15-2008 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sigma 15mm fisheye Sigma 15-30mm EX |
| price paid: | 420 euro (used) |
| positive: | Sharp, even wide open, fast autofocus, focuses really close. Is the widest line I have |
| negative: | Not wide enough on APS-C sensor, but that is not the lens' fault |
| comment: | This is my underwater workhorse for wide angle shots. It gives excellent results. It's small, fast and accurate. On land it is very nice to play around with, giving images with strange perspectives or nice landscapes with amazing skies. Only minor point is that it gives around 110 degrees field of vision on APS-C sensor (it's 180 on a full frame). |
| eccl#2736 date: Sep-16-2007 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 10-20 14/2.8 17-35G |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Only OEM AF fisheye lens Built-in filters Very sharp and 180 degree on film |
| negative: | Fisheye effect disappear on cropped DSLR and angle of coverage is less Some CA at F2.8-F4 |
| comment: | This is a very interesting lens on film but has less fisheye effect on APS-c DSLR. I like the fisheye effect for creative photography but I have to use my film camera to achieve the results. There is no true 180 degree fisheye lens for KM/Sony APS-c DSLR and the only 3rd party option Tokina 10-17 is not available in KM/Sony mount :( Will have to wait for the flagship full frame model from Sony. |
| W&7D#2726 date: Sep-14-2007 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 5 overall: 5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta 20mm, 35mmG, 85mmG, 135mmSTF, 17-35mmG, 28-105mm, 28-70mmG, 70-200mmG, macro1-3x, 200mmAPO-G |
| price paid: | 300 Euros |
| positive: | Ultra wide angle on film camera. Original perspective. Very close focussing possible. Build in filters. Very neutral (Minolta) colours. |
| negative: | Effect far less on 7D because of crop factor. No front cap. |
| comment: | For the sake of this lens alone it would be very nice if the next Alpha would be full frame. It just gives you very good quality, from corner to corner, weird perspective photos. Just be careful not to include your own feet. ;-) |
| brettania#2367 date: May-27-2007 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Sigma 10-20 Sigma 20 Minolta 20-35 |
| price paid: | AU$900 |
| positive: | Unique in the Minolta line-up Sharp from f4 Great build quality Excellent with film but also v.good with digital |
| negative: | Nothing that comes to mind |
| comment: | It is a lens that I have not used often enough to justify keeping, but its very suitable for someone who likes the occasional "bendy" shot. Distortions with digital can be corrected with some processing programs or plug-ins. |
| never satisfied#2329 date: May-20-2007 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 3 flare control: 4 overall: 4.3 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 17-35mm f2.8-4 |
| price paid: | $350AU (used) |
| positive: | Sharp, contrasty and great effects. |
| negative: | Exposed front element |
| comment: | I purchased this lens about 5 years back and used it extensively on my film bodies and it is brilliant. The 'bendy' effects that are created are fantastic. Keeping the horrizon arcoss the centre of the frame minimizes the distortion, but tilt the lens up or down and the 'bananna' world of the fish eye emerges. I've used this lens on my 7D, but looses its special appeal when the outside of the frame is cropped off. The built in correction filters work well and the lens is very sharp, even in the corners, which is unusual for this type of lens. If you already have this lens then you know all of this, but don't rush out and buy one to use on a APS-C sized sensor because it's designed for full frame and will only dissapoint. |
| Maffe#1760 date: Feb-7-2007 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 2 flare control: 4 overall: 4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Minolta20/2.8 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Make you look at things in a different way, sharp great colors, bendy and fast AF |
| negative: | Bendy, no filter thread, risk to damage front glass |
| comment: | Sharp, fast and fun to use. Needs some thought when using it. This is a lens that can be used in very creativ ways. |
| ISO3200#987 date: Jul-6-2006 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 3 overall: 4.4 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | 17-35/2.8-4 KM |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | A fun, well-made lens. Close-focus of 0.2m. |
| negative: | Specialised usage. Vulnerable, bulging front element. |
| comment: | If you're adventurous, like wide-angle shots and have a few quid to spare then this is a super lens to invest in. At first you may find yourself merely having a right old laugh making candid photos of people's noses and other nameless body parts, each shot more grotesquely distorted than the last. But pretty soon the hilarity of that wears off. Once you compose yourself and get down to what this lens is about - making unique photos - you'll not be disappointed. One of the best assets of the 16/2.8 in my opinion is its ability to focus very close, enabling you to place a macro subject within its environment; a leaf in a woodland, a candle in a church. The effect is unique. I see the distortion as an asset, not a failing. If you don't want a bendy look, get a normal wide-angle. ISO |
| Mark_k#675 date: Apr-9-2006 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | 17-35D |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Super sharp lens with a lot of colour on it |
| negative: | Unable to get satisfactory on 7D or 5D |
| comment: | Never been thought a fisheye lens can be so sharp and so contrasty |
| dCap#364 date: Dec-29-2005 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 3 flare control: 5 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I used to own this lens |
| compared to: | Voigtländer 21/4, Minolta AF 20/2.8, Minolta 17-35/2.8-4 (D), Sigma 17-35/2.8-4 EX (CAF), Sigma 20-40/2.8 EX (CAF), Canon AF 20/2.8 |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | cool, odd, brilliant as a close-up lens that shows lots of the setting that you are in, very environmental |
| negative: | you can't photograph anything with straight lines. (No filter thread) |
| comment: | Solid build, really clever front lens cap. Its very sharp. And as long as your subject is odd or certainly curved and close to you then its a really good fun lens. Takes some thought not to just produce gimicky images. But not really that hard to get keepers from it. DO NOT BUY THIS LENS EXPECTING TO GET A 24mm ON YOUR DIGITAL BODY. It is NOT a 16>24mm convert. Its a fish-eye. Its all bendy. Oh, it has built in filters: orange (for b&w film), FL (for shooting colour film in florescent light), blue (for shooting colour film in tungsten light) - they are no use at all for digital, I tried the orange - has no effect when converting to b&w in PhotoShop edit - 06-Apr-07: I've upgraded my flare control rating from 4 to 5 ... cosidering the hood design and the view, the flare control is exceptional. I've also upped the distoration from 2 to 3 - yeah its distorting, but I think that is the whole idea? I'm soooooo totally impressed with this lens, I find it very difficult to want to shoot with anything else. I've just yesterday (05-Apr-07) gone and eBayed a Sony version to replace the Minolta one. I want the bigger focus grip and I seem to just totally get on with this lens, I simply had to go Sony with it. I'll report bak on the Sony one in a few weeks when it arrives. |
| Andrew#346 date: Dec-25-2005 | |
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sharpness: 4.5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 3 flare control: 5 overall: 4.5 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | I have a 28/2.8 and a zoom that goes to 24mm but they can't really be compared. |
| price paid: | 180 pounds sterling (as new) |
| positive: | Amazing field of view on 35mm still about 90degrees on the 7D. Sharp. Has built in filters. Fast focusing and bright. Nice protective material "lens cap". |
| negative: | Can't use protective or creative filters, there is no filter thread. The built in filters are designed with film in mind. Not a big loss as often a PL filter is not suitable with such a wide FOV. The distortion is not always a bad thing and is sometime not that noticable on the 7D. Distortion should get 5/5 for a fisheye, but 0/5 comparing it with a rectilinear lens. |
| comment: | So wide on film you could do with a tripod with a overhang, its very easy to get the tripod legs (or your feet) in the shot! On the 7D it might even have a more useful if less impressive FOV. The sharpness is probably partly due to the large depth of field. It gets a lot more use than I thought it would. Flare control is amazing which is good as the sun is often going to be in the shot with such a wide FOV. Andrew |
| Kasper#315 date: Dec-21-2005 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Good for taking fotos in small spaces, architecture and for fun. |
| negative: | Rarely used....Is not recomended for D7/D5 |
| comment: | Bought it just for fun. |
| former member#75 date: May-16-2005 | |
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sharpness: 4 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 5 overall: 4.6 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | missing |
| negative: | missing |
| comment: | I have been using a Minolta AF fish-eye for about 4 years ; I found it in a second hand trade at low cost. The angle was 180° in diagonal on my Dynax 7. Now, I use it as a wide angle on my Dynax 7D, but as no specific super wide angle lens is on the market at the moment for the 7D, I have no choice ! Even a 17mm is equivalent to a 25.5 for 35mm films, so with a narrower angle than a 24 ! My estimations are that the angle of the 16mm mounted on a Dynax 7D is equivalent to a 20mm in 35mm film, so a 13mm in digital. The big point is the residual distorsion, about 10% (compared to 17% in 35mm), but there are a lot of photo retouching softwares including distorsion correction, so I can obtain very nice pictures without any distorsion. The one I use is Photofiltre, a very good freeware available in dozens of different languages. I send you 2 pictures taken with the 16mm Minolta AF FishEye on the Dynax7D, before and after correction. |
| Nick Clayton#68 date: Apr-3-2005 | |
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sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 5 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.8 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I have experience with this lens |
| compared to: | missing |
| price paid: | missing |
| positive: | Great for distorted views . |
| negative: | With digital the crop factor on the asp-c sensor looses the lens' effect. Can only use built in filters . |
| comment: | This lens is a delight to use . It is sharp crystal clear with a nice color set to it. If you want a different perspective or to emphasize some thing this is the lens to use. Hard to rate the distortion considering it is a fish eye lens. |
reviews found: 26
rating summary
- total reviews: 26
- sharpness: 4.62
- color: 4.92
- build: 4.92
- distortion: 4.27
- flare control: 3.96
- overall: 4.54
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