I quite fancy getting one for a play around with and also a little project.

Any recommendations, make, focal length etc for Sony Alpha APS-C?

I’ve been looking at the 8mm f3.5 Samyang/Rokinon for around £200, which seems ok after very brief research

The Samyang seems to be the standard choice. If you have the Sony 16mm pancake their is a dedicated fisheye converter.

Ah hang on. I assumed e-mount which are weirdly branded alpha as well as a-mount. If you mean a-mount then there’s the 16mm Minolta fisheye. AF but more expensive than the Samyang and probably not wide enough on apsc.

Ah, so are you saying the Samyang doesn’t actually come in A mount?

They do both A and and E mounts.

I just don’t know if you have A or E mount thanks to Sony’s stupid marketing policy. I assume it must be a-mount?

If it was e-mount the 16mm plus fisheye converter is a good alternative. If not then Samyang seems the best bet.

Yeah, – the one that also fits Konica/Minolta. I’ve seen them stating Alpha mount, but don’t want to get caught out, of they are also calling E mount Alpha

They call both e-mount and a-mount bodies alpha.

The lenses use the terms e-mount for mirrorless and alpha or a mount for dslr/dslt (Minolta mount), so you shouldn’t get any confusion for lenses.

I thought of getting one, in the end I used the cost to justify getting a GoPro, as it gives me the fisheye lens, and better resolution and equivalent low light pertto my current body.

I keep toying with the idea of trying one too, just justifying the expense! The Lensbaby ones look a fun way to experiment without complete bank destruction, or my alternative is one of the Olympus lenscap fisheyes which are dirt cheap, very basic… but actually look a lot of fun! Alas that option is only available on MFT.

I bought a Rokinon fish eye (nikon mount) but to honest after playing a bit, it’s just sat in a cupboard.

You can have it for postage, but you’d need to find a converter…

I’ve got one of the Olympus 9mm bodycap lenses. I think its good fun, can be interesting for low down views, or close ups. Its not great image quality, basically fixed focus, but good enough for most things. Also very slim, makes the camera pocket sized.

You can have it for postage, but you’d need to find a converter…

Unfortunatly you can’t convert between Nikon and Sony-a.

I bought a Rokinon fish eye (nikon mount) but to honest after playing a bit, it’s just sat in a cupboard.

This is why I’ve never bought a fisheye, I don’t think I’d have got my money back on it.

I was fisheye curious about this time last year. The Samyang / Rokinon ones appeared to have the best balance of cost and image quality out of the choice available for my Pentax body.

I went in to the store to buy one but then pulled the plug last minute as I really wasn’t sure how much use I’d get out of it. In the end went for a Sigma 8mm – 16mm lens. Its got a super wide angle field of view but is flat field corrected, kinda best of both worlds. I really love it its one of my favourite lenses, still has a bit of distortion at the edges but it’s pretty good.

footflaps – if that offer is open to anyone I wouldn’t mind taking you up on it. Other camera is a Nikon and I am kinda curious about playing with one!

YGM

I love fisheyes. Provided they’re not full circle fisheyes I find them very usable. My 15mm on full frame has the distortion I like and is probably one of the two lenses i could get by with.
I use mine for about 40% of my personal shots.

From the last few days:

Thanks for the offer footflaps ^^

I’m interested in doing this type of thing for the Mrs to then digitally paint (amongst other subjects), as we have some merchandise contacts to print/sell

At first, it’s fun, then you get tired of silly face shots. But once you figure out how to frame shots that work, it’s fantastic. The rules of composition are not the same.