Large format fisheye - does such a beast exist?

[Peter K]

Armin,
you will only see the whole image circle. I've tested my short lenses in this way.

The name "fish-eye lens" was coined by R. W. Wood in 1911 and the first fish-eye lens was the "Hill sky lens", made 1924.

Peter K

[Toyon]

The inventor, Jim Hemenway, has come up with a brilliant adaptation of the Arsat fisheye to a 4x5 body. The image circle is smaller than the frame, but effective nonetheless. I suspect other usable lenses might be obtained from optical salvage firms like surplusshed - e.g.: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3698.html.

[xkaes]

I once modified a Mamiya 37mm fisheye from a RB67 to work as a 4x5 fisheye. I had to mill off the lens hood and build a mount (I was using a Linhof with a nice big lens board). The image circle just fits the live area of a 4x5 neg. The sharpness is good enough to make a 40" diameter display print. The best part is that it indeed covers a 180 degree field of view.

Yes, I too have modified a Mamiya 37mm f4.5 for 4x5 use with my TOKO NIKKI II and FL-452. Works great although it is large and heavy. I even devised a way to add 77mm filters to the rear of the lens for IR filters, and more. Details are at:

http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/mygear.htm

The price on this lens is now $400-500. The hardest part is making the modifications needed.

[windij]

Goerz Hypergon. Somewhat of a rare lens because the outer element was very fragile. Had a cool little "star fan" thingy that you spun with an air bulb to even out exposure across the negative.

[Dan Fromm]

Hypergon? Ultra wide angle, but rectilinear. Fisheye lenses have heavy distortion. Fisheye is not a synonym for ultra wide angle lens.