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When I first saw photos taken with the Sigma 4.5mm fisheye over at Whateverland, one of my favorite photoblogs, I was instantly intrigued. I enjoy using wide-angle lenses and this one looked like a lot of fun. So a few weeks ago I rented the Sigma 4.5mm and headed out to Discovery Green in Houston and the local TAMU campus to see what it could do.

The Sigma 4.5mm f2.8 EX DC Circular Fisheye HSM lens offers a full 180 degree field of view (and an insanely long name) on digital cameras with APS-C (crop-factor) sensors. Having never used a fisheye lens before, I didn’t really know what to expect. It is a little disorienting to look though the viewfinder and see most of it black, with just a circle providing a view of what lays before you.

With everything in front of you in the frame, exposure and composition are tricky. The 180 degree view can confuse the camera’s meter if the frame has dramatic shift in light to dark. I had to constantly underexpose by almost a full stop to avoid blowing out the highlights when shooting outside. And with a lens this wide, you really have to get close to your subject to make it stand out. The lens does have a very close focusing distance (5.3 inches), allowing you to exaggerate the fisheye effect for items closest to the lens.

Exposure isn’t all that the lens’s ultra-wide POV affects. Sometimes focusing is a little difficult as well. When taking a photo with nothing prominent in the foreground, my camera had a tough time locking focus. This isn’t anything wrong with the lens’s focusing capability, just that the lens is so wide the camera has a tough time finding enough detail and contrast to lock focus. I’ve had the issue when using other ultra-wide lenses, like Canon’s 10-22mm. On my 20D, selecting the center focus point tends to increase my chances in these situations.

When there was enough contrast for the camera to auto focus, the HSM focus system performed admirably. This was the first time I’ve used a Sigma lens with HSM and it is a dramatic improvement over the non-HSM equipped Sigma lenses I’ve used in the past. My Sigma 70-300 APO sounds like it could wake the neighbors when it focuses (or tries to at least). Focusing with the 4.5mm fisheye is a much quieter affair. With HSM, I only had to worry about the 20D’s embarrassingly loud mirror slap drawing attention to my camera.

As you would expect, build quality is better than Sigma’s less expensive line of lenses. The 4.5mm is heavier than I expected it to be, and it feels solid with everything fitting together well. The focusing ring doesn’t wobble like some lenses (Canon EFS line, I’m talking to you). The matte finish is attractive and adds a little comfort to holding the lens.

On the negative side, fringing is common around the frame when in bright conditions and flare is something to be careful of. Illuminating the inside of the lens is all too easy. Most lenses take care of these issues with a lens hood, but since anything in front of the lens shows up in the frame, a hood isn’t a possibility.

I’m not someone who shoots focus charts or views my photos at 400%, but the images appear sharp with good color. I’ve linked to full-sized images converted to jpeg with no post processing so you can judge for yourself. Overall, I was impressed with the level of detail this lens could capture given how wide it is and how little of the frame it uses.

The Sigma 4.5mm fisheye is a lot of fun, but I can’t see myself wanting to have one all the time. I consider a lens this wide a novelty, even more so than a typical fisheye. Its interestingness comes from its unique perspective and isn’t something I would want to use on a regular basis. But if you’re looking to get the ‘peephole effect’ from a lens it is definitely worth checking out.

View the full-sized images taken with the Sigma 4.5mm lens over at Flickr, or download all of them at once in a zip file here (6.62MB).

I’m having trouble making a decision about what kind of screen I want on a laptop. As this will be my first notebook, I don’t have much experience with either display type. I like the color and contrast provided by the glossy displays but I haven’t used them in well lit areas or outdoors where the issue of glare comes into play. Luckily I don’t think this will be a big deal for me as the notebook will probably see more use indoors than out. Hopefully the benefits will outweigh the occasional annoyance.

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Ever since coming across this Strobist tutorial, I’ve wanted to make my own flash snoot. I had some free time this weekend and an empty cereal box, so I decided to give it a try. After tracking down a pair of scissors and some duct tape I was ready to go. Ten minutes later I had a functional cereal box snoot.

Here’s the finished product. Some people go all out and setup Velcro connections for a more secure attachment to the flash head, but I didn’t want to go into that much detail. I didn’t have any trouble with it sliding around when shooting.

In the picture below, you can see how it allows you to aim the light. I was about 4 feet from the wall.

Not a bad deal for using things you probably have lying around the house. Next I’m going to put together a homemade grid spot to attach to the snoot.

Backpacks are great and all, but what do you do when you don’t want to take a time out and lay everything down to grab another piece of camera equipment? Most often you use a shoulder bag. I wanted something to give me quicker access to my camera and lenses. After a lot of research I decided on the Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Home.

This bag has plenty of room for gear while still managing to be comfortable. It also looks great and won’t get picked out of a lineup for being a camera bag. Always a good thing when trying to thwart camera thieves.

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Who says you have to spend a lot of cash for good photo gear? Here are two must-have items for less than $100.

The Card reader: There is no other accessory I recommend more than a good memory card reader. Plugging in your camera to transfer files can be a pain, especially if you need to install drivers. It is also typically slower, eats up valuable battery life and keeps you from using the camera. For less than $50, and usually closer to $20, a good USB2 card reader is a solid investment. I’ve had good luck with the various Sandisk models.

The Strap Upgrade: If you’ve walked around with your camera for any significant amount of time, you know the straps that come with most cameras are uncomfortable at best. One of the best purchases since my camera has been a quality strap. I went with an OpTech Pro Loop camera strap. It is wider to distribute the weight across my neck and is made of comfortable and flexible neoprene for comfort. The difference was amazing after taking the big lens on a several hour zoo excursion. It also has quick releases so you can take the strap off if your bag is too small to accommodate a strap attached. Even better is that the two connectors left on the camera connect to each other for a makeshift hand strap. The Pro Loop can be found online at B&H for about $20.

Video of the new Canon EOS-1D Mark III. Discovered via Strobist. Read more at Gizmodo.

My search for the perfect pocket camera may end this April. The newly announced Canon Powershot TX1 is a pocket sized 7.1MP camera capable of HD video in 720p (1280×720) resolution at 30fps. It sports a Digic III image processor and Canon’s Optical Image Stabilization which will complement the whopping 10x optical zoom nicely. The zoom can be utilized during movie mode, a feature that is annoyingly absent from most pocket cameras. Other features include Face Detection, ISO speeds up to 1600 with the ability for ISO to change on-the-fly to match shooting conditions. At an estimated price of $500, I have a feeling this camera is going to be a popular item for those looking for an all-in-one media solution.