|
Meike 7.5mm f/2.8 Fish-eye - Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict |
|
Lens Reviews -
Sony Alpha/NEX (APS-C)
|
|
Page 3 of 3
Sample Images
Click on an image for downloading the full-size variant.
Note: The night shots were taken during windy & drizzly conditions so some softer blobs in these images may relate to raindrops.
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 1/800s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 1/640s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 30.0s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 13.0s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 15.0s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 640 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 1/50s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 640 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 1/60s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 200 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 1/80s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 100 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 1/200s |
 |
| Make | SONY |
| Model | ILCE-6300 |
| ISO Speed | 100 |
| Focal Length | |
| Aperture: | f/ |
| Exposure | 1/125s |
Competition
Whilst Sony doesn't offer a native fish-eye lens, the Meike lens isn't without competition. Most third-party Chinese manufacturers offer these lenses. Additionally, there's the new Tokina SZ 8mm f/2.8 E Fish-Eye and the more ambitious Samyang 8mm F2.8 UMC Fish-eye II - but these two are substantially more expensive already.
Verdict
Initially, we raised the question of whether the Meike 7.5mm f/2.8 Fish-eye is "good enough" given its very low price point. And to answer this - yes, it is. In fact, we were very surprised by the very high degree of sharpness. This is already impressive at f/2.8 and great at medium aperture settings across most of the frame. Lateral CAs are reasonably well controlled as well. Vignetting and distortions aren't relevant criteria for a fish-eye lens. If we had to mention a weakness, it would be its limited flare resistance against very strong light sources that can produce light halos and ghostings.
It's an all-manual lens which may be a showstopper for some users. However, we wouldn't call this a serious limitation because the depth-of-field of such a lens is so big that you can easily set some default settings, and you'd be good to go in most photographic situations. Both the focus and aperture rings are a joy to use. The focus ring is nicely dampened, whereas the aperture ring offers soft clicks. Combine this with the metal construction, and it's an excellent package.
So overall, you'd get lots of bangs for your bucks here. Thus if you are in the market for a decent and affordable fish-eye lens, this may be the one!
Mechanical Quality:
★★★★★
Click here for an explanation of our star ratings
|
