"The Bridge", Munich, Germany, 2005
Minolta SRT100x at 1/60
Minolta UW Rokkor 18mm f9.5 at f16
Fuji Superior Reala 100 color negative film
Copyright @ 2005 by Tom Haukap
MINOLTA 16mm & 18mm FISHEYE LENSES
"The Bridge", Munich, Germany, 2005
Minolta SRT100x at 1/60
Minolta UW Rokkor 18mm f9.5 at f16
Fuji Superior Reala 100 color negative film
Copyright @ 2005 by Tom Haukap
All lenses create a circular image in the camera, but only the rectangular, central portion is captured by the film. The same is true for fisheye lenses. The 16mm & 18mm optics creates a large circle and the 35mm film format just captures the central portion, running from edge to edge. In order to see 180°, the front element of the lens actually protrudes slightly. This means that you can't use regular filters on these lenses but the 16mm has several built-in filters. This may not be all you would like to use, but they cover most situations. The 18mm accepts rear-mounted filters. In addition, the lenses comes with a special metal front lens cap which must be used assiduously.
Like many of Minolta's lenses, the 16mm fisheye changed over time. The early models were larger and heavier, but the results are comparable. In any case, it's a good idea to stop down with this lens. There's plenty of distortion at the edges of the image, and stopping down improves this noticeably. The lens built-in filters that are changed by rotating a collar around the lens body. If you haven't fully clicked-in the filter, a red line appears to warn you.
The 16mm and 18mm lenses aren't for everyone. Many people don't like the photographic effect, and some people are even disturbed by its distortion. Add to this the high price tag, and it's no wonder they are not best sellers. But with attention to detail, striking images can be obtained. No matter which version you purchase, you'll achieve outstanding results.
The competition
There are a couple of alternative 16mm fisheye lenses, such as the Sigma 2.8. They tend to be quality shooters, but hard to find and nearly as expensive as the Minoltas.
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LENS FEATURES |
IMAGE |
COMMENTS |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm |
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The 18mm was Minolta's first fisheye and is more often sought after by by collectors than users. Minolta originally called it an "Ultra-wide, panoramic" lens, since the term "fish-eye" was not commonly used. It is a fixed-focus, full-frame fisheye using rear-mounted filters. It was supplied with special lens caps, yellow (Y48) and UV filters (that screw onto the back of the lens with a special spanner wrench), and a special, removable, bayonet-style, lens shade. There are blue dots on the lens barrel and on the hood and lens cap for correct alignment. There was an optional red filter, but any 37.5mm filter can be used. The image in the viewfinder is pretty dark due to the small aperture, but this isn't a big deal since you can't focus the lens. Just compose the picture and shoot away. The depth-of-field is so great, even at f9.5, that everything will be in focus. But for the sharpest results, stop down the lens as much as possible -- which, with this lens, isn't much! Despite the short focal length, this lens is a retro-focus design and does not need the mirror lock-up feature used by the 21mm f4 and 4.5 lenses. Minolta made the maximum aperture small so that the lens would be reasonably affordable, but it was still relatively expensive when it was made. As a result, so few were made that the lens is very hard to find and pricey. Most people who are into fisheye optics decide on the 16mm option which typically sells for less anyway. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 16mm |
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This lens is often assumed to be Minolta's first fisheye lens, but it was not. That honor goes to the earlier Rokkor 18mm (see above). This was Minolta's second fisheye lens and had many improvement over the original. First, it was a focusing lens, unlike it's predecessor. In addition, it has built-in filters instead of the rear screw-on type. These are: 1A, Y48 (yellow), O56 (orange) and 80B filters. Also, this lens (at f2.8) is more than three f-stops faster than the 18mm (at f9.5). To top it off, it now had an automatic diaphragm. With all of these improvements, no wonder it was nearly twice as heavy as the original fisheye. Still, it often sells for less than the 18mm which is mainly sought after by collectors. Many people think that the "OK" on the side of the lens means that it "passed inspection", but it's just Minolta's way of indicating the lens formula. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 16mm |
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An updated version of the MC Rokkor
16mm fisheye with the improved cosmetics and lens coating of the MC Rokkor-X series. It had the same optical design
as the original 16mm but made a slight change to the yellow filter: 1A, Y52 (yellow), O56 (orange), and 80B. Leica
liked this lens so much that they used it for their Elmarit-R 16mm: |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 16mm |
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An updated version of the MC Rokkor-X 16mm fisheye with the typical changes of the MD Rokkor-X series. It had the same optical design as the original and kept the same built-in filters: 1A, yellow, orange, and 80B. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 16mm |
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A later version of the MD Rokkor-X 16mm fisheye with a few important changes. First, are the filter, and name changes. The orange filter is dropped and a red filter is substituted. So now the filters are: NORMAL (1A), yellow, red, and 80B. Second, the optical formula is changed from 11/8 to 10/7. Third, the close-focusing is now two inches closer. More importantly, this model was substantially shorter and lighter than its predecessor with a better lens coating and more plastic parts. Lastly, the inscription is moved from the side of the lens to the front, and the lens shade is made a little shorter. |
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FOCAL LENGTH: 16mm |
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This is the same optical formula as the late version MD Rokkor-X 16mm, but has the improved lens coatings of the MD Minolta series, such as the lock tab at f22. |
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