A fantastic lens! I was hesitant to move into the digital realm, because any lens wide enough to still be wide on the DX sensor can be priced in the area of thousands of dollars. As an advanced amatuer, willing to spend money, but not in a position to have an economic return on the investment, anything more expensive then a single paycheck is beyond my means.

But I bit the bullet, and bought the amazing Nikon D70. Lo, and behold, Nikon actually DIDN'T disappoint its customers (like so many other companies which make promises that never come to fruition). The new line-up of DX lenses are amazing.

In my opinion the sexiest of all the new DX Nikkor lenses is the 10.5mm Fisheye (not the most usefull, nor the strongest lens in the series, yet certainly the most interesting, and definitely the least expected). With its 180% field of view, and dramaticly cartoonish effect, I'm sure that many Nikon shooters, myself included will be having alot of fun, and getting alot of laughs at some of the great pictures we'll be taking with this affordable piece of glass.

Highly recommended.

I do feel the need to add a closing remark to this review. At the time of this writing, two other reviews preceeded my own. Both require a differing amount of disagreement. For the first gentleman who was disappointed by the large amount of pincushining, the question must be asked to him what he thought a fisheye lens was. This is NOT simply a 10.5mm lens. This is a FISHeye lens. Its SUPPOSED to have that effect. His review was negative quite obviously because he didn't know what he was buying, and giving a piece of equipment a 2/5 rating because you don't know what your buying is the height of ignorance. I would request that his review would be removed, although I'm sure it wont be, since it wasn't vulger, or offensive to anyone (its only offensive to people who are offended by ignorance, which apperently I am).

And to the second gentleman, I appriciate your review, it was well thought out, and I'm in no way saying you are ignorant, although I still think your slightly missing the point of the lens. Sure, you can use Nikon Capture to reduce the fisheye effect, but I feel I must as why you would do such a thing. Granted, at that point you could use it as a standard 16mm lens (on a D series camera), but in my opinion this would be a tragedy.

This is THE fisheye lens for all us DX shooters. Don't regret the fisheye, don't deny the fisheye, don't pretend it isn't a fisheye, EMBRACE the fisheye.

Go out and take pictures which EMPHASIZE the fisheye. Learn how the lens works, how the distortion "feels". Take ADVANTAGE of the fisheye. If all you use this lens for is a 16mm (35mm equivalent), then your missing the most wonderfull thing about this lens.

Anyone who doesn't understand the charm of the fisheye, heres a photography tip which wont cost you a cent: find a perch ten, or fifteen feet in the air, have a friend (kids are the best choice), and take a shot STRAIGHT down at them. They'll be dead center in the picture, they'll be low on distortion, and you'll have your ENTIRE backyard in the periphery of the shot.

Sure, you could do that shot with a regular 16mm lens... but... what fun would that be?

Just another shot of your kid.

As soon as I got the lens I went out to test it.
The scene was down the middle of my street. Shot it as a NEF Raw file with a Basic JPG with a auto setting and ISO 200 on a D70.

I opened the file in Nikon Capture and was disappointed in the sharpness and distortions. Contrasty objects at the edges showed aberrations (red and blue ghosting)and a over all softness

The Capture software allowed me to remove the pincushioning but soften the image more.

There is a small gel holder in the rear of the lens and you will need to trim a filter to fit.

This is my first fisheye and I don't have others to compare. I need to try other apertures and see if it improves.

I bought this for my Nikon D70 and it is an excellent partner to the supplied 28-70mm. I know it is a special application lens but its really versitile. Can be converted to standard wide angle with Nikon Capture software, this works well , but obviously you lose some of the image, not least the funky effect. I feel like i am zooming out a mile with this lens and ca really capture the scene nicely. Expensive, but a lot of very nicely made glass and you will use it for years.

Check out the Sigma 8mm fisheye too though as it is a tad wider and the standard for a lot of qtvr work.

I bought this for my Nikon d70 and I barely take it off the body. I nkow it is a special application lens but it really versitile. Can be converted to standard wide angle with Nikon Capture software, this works well , but obviously you lose some of the image, not least the funky effect. I feel like i am zooming out a mile with this lens. Very very pleased. Expensive, but a lot of very nicely made glass and you will use it for years.

This really is a fabulous lens - I am relatively new to digital SLR photography, and have been slowly acquiring lenses over the past six months. Just added this to my camera bag, and I am impressed.

First, the build quality is first-rate. The lens feels solid in the hand. This is a DX lens, so there is no aperture ring, and the result is a lens with very few moving parts and a clean, well put-together appearance. Second, the optics are very good - I don't know much about pincushioning, but I do know that the quality of the image I get is #1. I have been experimenting by taking close-ups of my dogs, and I can't get enough of the fisheye treatment.

If you are looking for a second wide-angle lens, and have an eye for images that are beyond the ordinary, this lens will not disappoint.

Changed from Canon system to Nikon because of Nikon's better equipment variaty.
Besides Nikon's flash system which is second to none I also like great sellection of optics where the 10.5 2.8 fisheye comes to be evaluated as an outstanding product.
Built quality is great and solid feeling instrument. Very sharp and great natural color makes this lens good match with rest of my Nikon lenses. Majority of my images are
landscape oriented and with careful framing distortion of this lens is hardly noticeable.

I doubt it if anyone would want to use this lens for family photos (unless you want to get a good laugh out of grandma's smile!) or weddings (pros know better) or even your average wide angle landscape. This lens is for those who see the world in a different way and would like to run with their creative shoes. Those who complain about the huge distortion from this lens should realize the sole purpose of this lens is to give you distorted images! If you want to get super wide angle, go for Nikon's 12-24 (if you have a grand to part with and a very happy marriage to ruin!) or the equally impressive and half the price 12-24 Tokina. You can even get the sigma 10-20 and be very happy. All these great lenses will give you minimum distortion and ultra-wide images. But if you invest some $600 in a fisheye like this superb Nikon glass, you should be prepared to see the world differently. Once you teach yourself how to bring the best out of this lens, there will be a whole new world for you to explore.

I have been waiting a long time to get my own Fisheye lens, having borrowed one several times over the years. The DX lens produces beautiful images in conjunction with my D80, wowing me with how close I can get to the subject and with the incredible angle of the Fisheye. I have also been trying out Nikon's Capture NX software to "unbend" the image with some amazing results, though I find the software to run more slowly than PhotoShop. In any case, I have no complaints about the lens, and can only recommend it.

no, im kidding. this lens is great. i use this for skateboarding photography with my nikon D50. i went the cheap way out with my digital slr but bought this lens still and my pictures look clearer and overall better quality with this lens. and if i want to upgrade my camera sometime, it will be compatible with any of the new nikon digital slr's so im set. my next camera will prob be a d200 when it goes on clearance... could be a while.

Seriously good yet about as much fun as you can have with a camera. This is a truly amazing lens that will challenge the way you see and take photos. Despite its 180 degree corner to corner field of view its nearly faultless across the frame by f5.6 or so. Flare is amazingly well controlled - far superior to the 14mm rectilinear Sigma that I own. Chromatic aberration while a problem wide open virtually disappears except at the very edge of the frame when stopped down a little. Its also tack sharp and contrasty with an amazing depth of field.
And in a pinch you can defish the lens and get something with a little less funhouse effect. The hemi plugin for photoshop gives amazing results that uses the entire frame and renders a very natural perspective. PTlens is another useful tool to defish. Its not as natural looking but you have control over other aspects of perspective that you may need as well. With those tools in hand this can be the one ultrawide that gives you everything you might want on a wide scale with a narrow budget

I recently purchased this glass from Amazon for my Nikon D80 and D200, but unfortunately, it did not fit on the D200 as it should have. It was tight going on and caused the focus ring to jam. It made no sense!! Because I purchased it to use on both bodies, I was forced to return it. Maybe Nikon can explain why it didn't fit the D200

I have used this lens several times. It takes getting used to. I think it has a lot of potential. A funny thing is that the person taking the picture is often in the picture. That is challenging--once I figure out how to take advantage of this oddity, I'm sure I'll be onto something. It is not a lens for those unwilling to take risks to do something different. That's what art is all about, isn't it?

This is one heck of a lens..a different perspective from 99% of all lenses available in the market. This is purely a lens for fun. I would highly recommend it! I enjoyed using this!

Super build & quality lens. Too much fun. Amazed over the quality of this little lens.

This is a fish eye lens. You have to be careful to keep your own toes out of the picture. It focuses close enough that even spots on the lens stand out, so it must be kept spotless. Like other fish eyes, this lens will not accept a filter.

I use this lens for landscapes, portraits, even close-ups. I use it inside airplanes when instructing student pilots. Things to try with this lens:

Close-up of a bouquet or group of flowers.
Landscape framed by palm trees.
Interiors and farmer's markets.
Fields of flowers.
Virtual reality panoramas.

The Capture and Capture NX software will correct the distortions of this lens. However, if I need something like that I prefer to shoot with a regular wide angle. I use the fish eye because I WANT a fish eye perspective.

Fun for parties, great for city shots downtown to get the buildings in. Sharp and enjoyable.

This has all of the pluses and minuses of a fisheye, with Nikon quality. It takes some planning to get good images but one can get images impossible with a longer lens [and you can get your feet in your photos too!] I /strongly/ recommend looking at the Image Trends website for their inexpensive fisheye correction filter for PS.
It's better than I expected. It _is_ supported by DxO.

I bought this lens to use on my D80 and new D300. I shoot mostly outdoor landscapes, nature and events. The 10.5 Fisheye lens is fantastic, sharp, and gives you a perspective unlike any lens you have. I shoot with my 12-24 and 18-200 but now put on the 10.5 if I really want to see a great perspective. Get in close. It focuses to about 6 inches so move in close and change your angle for best composition.

It is really well suited for a beautiful sunset with far reaching clouds. The secret is to use Nikon Capture NX as post processing to automatically correct the fisheye to make it look like a super-duper wide angle. Then load the file into Photoshop or whatever you use. Depending upon the subject, and your position you don't always have to correct the fisheye because it makes very interesting shots. For example, I won't correct the perspective in Capture NX when I shoot a close up of a flower because it looks great without it.

If you like to spend time composing a shot and try to get it right in the camera, then you will REALLY like this lens. If you usually just walk around with a "normal" lens on your camera and take snap shots, this isn't your lens.

The lens comes with a deep lens cap. There are no threads for filters or a screw-on cap. The lens cap just slides on and stays on.

The size of the lens is very similar to the 50mm f1.8 lens, so it is small enough to put in your pocket and keep it with you when you need it. You will find yourself looking at things differently when you have this lens. For example, I take my camera on my hikes (which I logged over 1000 GPS miles in 2007) and now find many more things to shoot that needs a perspective wider than my beloved 12-24 zoom provides.

The lens works very well - it does not make the pictures extremely round, but enough for special effects

I've had this lens for 3 months now and love every second of it. Its sharp fast and makes almost anything look cool. the auto-focus is good, at night it does go all the way through sometimes, but most lens's do that. How close u can get to object is unreal, just make sure u take ur eye off now and then to make sure u dont hit the front of ur lens with what ever ur shooting. u could be 1 foot away from someones face and still get most of their body. highly recommended if u got the money

This is an excellent lense! My first use for this lense was in Prague...what amazing shots!

Ok, you cannot use this lens all the time. But under certain circumstances, it is a really great lens. Good quality, very light, it is well made. And the pictures are just perfect. The wide angle is amazing and the fisheye give a great effect. If you wanna use some of your pictures without it, you can "defish" the pix with capture NX. So you have also a standard wide angle with this lens.

I bought this lens in April 2008 to use on my D1X. I wanted a lens wider than I've ever used before and faster than the slow, variable-aperture zooms that are a fact of life with digital cameras. I've primarily used it for interior shots where the f/2.8 speed really helps. But my compact SB-30 flash has wide enough coverage to use with this lens for added versatility. I've taken a lot of photos wide open and am amazed at how sharp the lens is, even at the corners. But then I only make 8.5x11 prints which isn't a strain on any lens. I've also found that the fisheye distortion can be minimized on some subjects, such as interior shots, by careful composition. Most of the shots I've printed have been corrected using the Fisheye Hemi plug-in as a filter in Photoshop CS3. I like having the option of two perspectives; it makes this a much more versatile lens.

This is a great lens to get the whole picture. It is fast for indoor use and allows you to have a very shallow DOF for really blurring the backgrounds. Only downside is that it can have a bit of chromatic aberration, but can easily be fixed in post processing. The fisheye effect can also be fixed, but not as easily sometimes. This lens is a lot of fun to use and to get great special effect pictures. I highly recommend it.

A great, sharp, fun lens that I waited a long time researching before my final decision to buy it and I am so glad I finally made my move.

It is a productive tool in the field and not just a pricey special effects toy. I am very pleased with my decision!

This lens is the perfect addition to my relatively small collection of lenses. I just got it yesterday after work, and have not been able to stop playing with it. After a while of fiddling around to figure out how to actually squeeze some cool shots out of this bad boy, the instant classics started flowing like water. However, it is pretty difficult to get a decent composition sometimes due to of the insanely large FOV. But I would recommend this lens to anyone. Compared to most other lenses, the price is right for this fisheye, and it produces great photos (once you develop a good technique). I can't wait to use it on my Trip to Europe at the end of this month!