Samyang 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II

The Samyang 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II is a praised little gem of a lens, allowing you to see the world through the eyes of a fish - or at least how we apparently suppose it would look like, if we could see the world through the eyes of a fish. The 8mm on this lens gives you an equivilant of 12mm on a full frame camera, or 180 degrees angle of view. 

This lens is not for everyone. First, it is a fish-eye lens, which means that everything will appear distorted, and the further it gets from the center of the lens, the more distorted it will be. Second, the width of the lens is very wide, which means that creating a composition which will emphasize the subject, will be a challenge. This is a creative lens, which needs to be used for creative purposes by creative shooters. You will need to think outside the box, whenever you put this lens in front of the camera. But when you do, and you learn to use it properly, you will have a lens which is fun to use, and which gives you results you otherwise wouldn't be able to get.

This lens is a manual focus lens, but with a lens this wide it doesn't really matter. Anything will more or less be in focus no matter what. Since background blur - the bokeh - won't be a factor with this lens, you might as well just stop it down to f/5.6 or f/8, put the focus on infinity and shoot away.

If you're looking for an affordable, fun, and challenging lens, which will give you results which differ from the compitition - or just the other copycat photos on Instagram, then this is the lens for you.

Purchase the Samyang 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II here:

Amazon

Specs:

Focal Length	8mm (35mm Equivalent Focal Length: 12mm)
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8
Minimum Aperture	f/22
Angle of View	180°
Minimum Focus Distance	11.81' / 30 cm
Maximum Magnification	0.03x
Optical Design	11 Elements in 8 Groups (2 Aspherical)
Diaphragm Blades	6
Image Stabilization	None
Filter Size	N/A
Dimensions (ø x L)	2.36 x 2.55" / 59.94 x 64.77 mm
Weight	9.7 oz / 275 g

Please see Samyang's official page for the 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS prime lens here:
Samyang 85mm F1.8 ED UMC CS


Flickr Gallery


Online Review Articles:

Fujilove Magazine review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Fisheye for Fuji X mount – Samyang 8mm f/2.8 UMC Fisheye II

EPhotoZine review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Samyang 8mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC Fisheye Lens Review

Lonely Speck review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 UMC Fisheye II Review

Admiring Light review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Review: Rokinon (Samyang) 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye II (Fujifilm X-Mount)

The Phoblographer review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Review: Rokinon 8mm f2.8 Fisheye II (Fujifilm X)

Finding Range review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Rokinon 8mm F2.8 UMC Fisheye II For Fuji X Review

Practical Photography review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Samyang 8mm F/2.8 UMC Fisheye II

Photography Life review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Samyang 8mm f/2.8 UMC Fisheye II


YouTube Reviews:

Christopher Frost Photography review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:

Samyang 8mm f/2.8 UMC ii lens review with samples

Damian Brown review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Samyang 8mm F2.8 UMC Fisheye II - Fuji X Series!

Andrew & Denae review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
FISHEYE FUJI!! Rokinon 8mm 2.8 Fisheye II, real-world review

Jose Betancourt review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
My Review Of The Rokinon 8mm f2.8 Fish Eye Lens

Scott Graham review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Rokinon 8mm f2.8 Fisheye for Fuji X - A dramatically lit review

learningsurfphotography.com review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye Rokinon 8mm f2.8 Fisheye Review

Mark Viernes review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Samyang 8mm f2.8 Fisheye II

Bram Verhofstad review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
THIS LENS IS AMAZING [SAMYANG 8MM F2.8]

Marc Alhadeff Photography review of the 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II prime lens:
Samyang 8mm F2.8 UMC Fisheye II



Lens Tests: