Eye On: Zenitar 16/2.8

One of the first lenses I purchased for my K100D was the Russian made Zenitar 16/2.8 fish eye lense. On a Pentax DSLR camera this equates to approx 24mm in full frame terms. The lense was purchased on ebay from a trusted seller of these lense called Victor.

The lense is well constructed, metal, metal mount and fully manual. My copy has a tendancy to overexpose in bright conditions on a digital camera but nothing that can't be compensated for. However on a film camera it meters and exposes perfectly. The following images are a mixture of film and digital.

This was taken with a Pentax ME film camera.

This was taken with a Pentax ME film camera.
Note the curvature of the roof.

This uncorrected image was taken with a Pentax K100D.

Another uncorrected image with the K100D.
Note the lean of the buildigs on the right.

Same image as above but with about 30 seconds worth of processing.
I think I pulled the buildings a little far to the right.

One Last uncorrected image with the K100D.

Final film image.

This lense, I believe represents excellent value for money. It may require a little bit of effort to get the best out of it but at a third to a quarter of the price of many modern lenses of this focal length it should not be overlooked. Oh, and don't forget it has a real magic if you put it on a film camera also.