Overview of the MS Zenitar 16 / 2.8 Fisheye Lens

Lens MS Zenitar 16 / 2.8 "Fisheye" also has a name MC Zenitar 2.8 / 16 Fish-Eye. My instance is modified for Nikon mount and is called Zenitar-n... Most likely this name is due to the fact that the "H" mount is the same as the "F" mount (Nikon). The "H" type bayonet was used by cameras Kiev-17, 18, 19, etc. The lens is currently produced for Canon (with an adapter ring), Nikon (with a native mount), Sony (with an adapter ring) and Pentax (with native bayonet). Be careful that when choosing on your system you take exactly the right lens or lens + adapter.

View Zenitar-N 16 / 2.8

View Zenitar-N 16 / 2.8

As the name implies, this is a lens of class "Fish eye". In everyday life, just fishy (from the English fish - fish, eye - eye), or more seriously: a short-focus ultra-wide-angle lens. Zenitar-N refers to diagonal fisheye lenses, which means that it will give a large 180-degree angle of view only along the diagonal of the frame and only on the full frame.

Sample photo on Zenitar-N 16 / 2.8

Sample photo on Zenitar-N 16 / 2.8

First impression: The lens is quite small, very well assembled. The caption draws attention Made in Russia, since the lens is still produced in Russia at the Krasnogorsk plant (Zenith). There is a characteristic emblem of this plant on the lens. Further, an unusual front cap and an amazing curved front lens attracts you.

Sample photo on Zenitar-N 16 / 2.8

Sample photo on Zenitar-N 16 / 2.8

Important points in MC Zenitar 16 / 2.8:
1. 16mm wide angle. On film cameras under 35mm film, the lens will give a viewing angle of 180 degrees diagonally. But on the cropped matrix, for example on my Nikon D200and D40, the viewing angle will be equivalent to 24mm in full frame. And 24mm is already an ordinary wide-angle lens. For example, if you have a lens of type 18-55 or any other, starting with 18mm, then in comparison with the Zenitar-N it will give a slightly narrower angle (the field of view is slightly wider). The only major difference is the characteristic distortion of perspective that Zenitar gives.
2. Perspective Distortion. The lens has a strong barrel distortion, which in this case is not a problem, but a chip. The picture takes an unusual look, the lines around the edge of the frame bend very much, opening up a flight for the photographer for compositions and interesting ideas. I know for myself that I really wanted to play with such a lens before, but when it falls into your hands, coming up with a good composition with barrel-shaped distortion is not so simple.
3. Big aperture. F / 2.8 already decent aperture. Moreover, the lens is quite sharp already with a fully open aperture.
4. The lens is very compact, lightweight and durable. In the best traditions of Soviet optics - glass and iron.
5. The lens is manual, which means that no matter what cool Nikon camera you would hook Zenitar-N, it will not have auto focus. You have to focus manually, it’s not at all difficult using a wide-angle lens. On Nikon cameras, a green dot in the lower left corner of the viewfinder will serve as confirmation of a successful focus.

Photo by Zenitar-N 16 2.8

Photo by Zenitar-N 16 2.8

6. The lens does not have communication chips with the camera, and therefore exposure metering will only work on older Nikon cameras, such as Nikon D200, D300(s) D7000, D2 (x, h, s) and all full-frames. And this means that on cameras by type Nikon D40, D90 etc. You can only take pictures in M ​​mode (manual camera control mode). This is not always convenient. In more detail about any measurements and compatibility read in my article Soviet optics.
7. The lens is present jumping diaphragm. This means that you can focus on focus with the aperture fully open, and take a picture at the value that is set on the aperture control ring. It is very convenient and allows you to control the diaphragm. If it’s not clear about the jumping aperture, then I’ll briefly say that everything will work just like with the Nikon’s native lens.
8. The lens does not support the use of protective and gradient filters. There is simply nowhere to screw protective filter, and even the front lens has a bulge.

Photo on Zenitar-N fish eye 16mm F2.8

Photo on Zenitar-N fish eye 16mm F2.8

9. The lens has a tricky mechanism for using photo filters, they cannot be mounted in front of the front lens, but they are attached to the rear of the lens. 3 light filters included. The only thing is that you have to remove the lens from the camera before installing or replacing the filter. This is a rather rare phenomenon, although this has its advantages, the size of the filters is very small, and accordingly it makes their manufacture cheaper. When no color light filters are on the lens, a compensating transparent filter should be on the lens. True, getting additional filters for the Zenithar-N thread will be quite problematic.
10. The lens has a wonderful depth of field and aperture control scale. Moreover, the depth of field of the lens is simply gorgeous, already with a completely open aperture, the depth of field is very large.
11. The lens Suitable for Nikon full-frame cameras. True, people who have Nikon D700 or D3(x, s), most likely they can afford to use their native autofocus lenses.
12. When focusing, the front lens unit extends slightly forward, about half a centimeter.

Photo by Zenitar-N 16 2.8

Photo by Zenitar-N 16 2.8

Personal impressions: focusing on the lens is pretty simple, basically my lens is in focus position at infinity. You need to twist the focuser only if the focusing object is closer than 1.5 meters. And the depth of field of the lens is simply gorgeous. The only thing I expected from him was to see a wider angle on the crop, but 16mm is 16mm. I shot them chess tournament indoors, at hand was the universal Tamron 17-50 2.8, both lenses gave almost the same wide viewing angle at the short end, the only thing was that the fisheye sometimes got an interesting picture.

Photo by Zenitar N 16 2.8

Photo by Zenitar N 16 2.8

Attention: This is not an old lens, it is still available today and is popular with photographers and videographers. I have often seen Zenitar 2,8 / 16 on modern cameras, and my colleague shoots video on them Canon 60D. If you need more information on various kinds of compatibility and subtle issues, there is a site on which many issues related to Zenitar-N http://www.mc-zenitar.ru. Please note that on a cropped camera, the lens will not give super wide angle and super distortion, for this you need to use special fisheye for cropped cameras, or fisheye with an even smaller focal length.

Photo by Zenitar N 16 2.8

Photo by Zenitar N 16 2.8

About the picture: everything is simple - the picture is interesting, there is sharpness even at 2.8, if you close it to 5.6, then the sharpness becomes just fabulous. HA persist at almost all diaphragms. The distortion is the strongest - that's why he is a fish. The contrast is excellent. The lens tolerates back and side light well and catches hares a little. Corner sharpness practically does not fall on my cropped matrix. Vignetting is also not noticeable. But in order to fully reveal the potential of Zenitar-N, it must be used on a full frame, for the Nikon system these are film cameras or full-frame Nikon D700, D3(x, s).

Photo on Zenitar N 16 2.8 and a cropped camera

Photo on Zenitar N 16 2.8 and a cropped camera

Sample photos on Zenitar-N: (RAW -> JPEG, 1600 * 1200 + watermark without processing)

UPDATED

Examples of photos on MC ZENITAR-N 2,8 / 16 FISH-EYE and camera Nikon D600 a photographer shared with readers of Radozhiva Alexander Plekhanov.

Catalog modern brand lenses 'Zenitar' и 'Helios' can look at this link.


Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.


Conclusions: A very interesting Soviet manual lens. Perfect for people who need a wide angle, as well as for photo experiments with an interesting "curved" picture, which gives a fisheye. Personally, I will add that you really have to learn how to use the lens before making masterpieces.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 223, on the topic: Review of the lens MS Zenitar 16 / 2.8 "Fisheye"

  • Arthur

    please tell me when choosing a Zenith on canon 6d, between MS Zenitar 2,8 / 16 + programmable adapter M42-Canon EOS with a focus confirmation chip, or
    with a Canon EOS mount, are there any pros and cons to these mounts?

  • Dmitriy

    On the Nikon D610 there will be no problems with touching the mirror? Scared comments on the D750

    • anonym

      no problem. everything is working.

  • Vladimir

    Everything works fine on the D750, the mirror does not catch. If there is no infinity, the information from the Internet, I checked it myself, it works:
    1. We pull the rubber ring carefully to the side, for which we twist the sharpness and under them we find 3 screws.
    2. unscrew the lens to infinity, loosen 3 screws, scroll the ring in the direction of decreasing the distance, for example by 1 meter, gently fix 3 screws
    3. We put the camera with the “screwed” lens on a tripod, turn on LiveView, visually catch infinity with a tenfold increase in LV, loosen 3 screws, and return the ring to the full position, to infinity. We finally fix 3 screws and put the rubber ring back on.
    Voila.
    We carry out all this action on the maximum open aperture.

  • QUESTIONS & INQUIRIES

    I am an amateur photographer. And on nikon d90 this fishey is suitable ,?

    • anonym

      Yes labeled H or N

  • Oleg

    "On my Nikon D200, and D40, the angle of view will be equivalent to 24mm full frame."

    Will not. Forget about recounting in case of fish. Fishina Tokina 10-17 has an angle of 100 - 180. And the usual shirik Tokina 12-24 has an angle of 61 - 99. Direct conversion to the crop coefficient does not work here.

  • anonym

    The lens also has a coma ...

  • Oksana

    friends, but I have such a problem: I bought such a zenith for my canon EOS650D, and it does not get even (the mark on the lens does not coincide with the vertical axis of the camera), anyway. what am I doing wrong??

    • Maxwellion

      That's right :) This is a problem of white adapters (lenses do not always spin), I also had it. I got out of the situation by putting the hood in, there are 3 screws on the hood, loosened them and turned the hood in the right position. But you should not bother, because I have FF, then the photo was darkened by a hood, you have a crop, so you will not have blackouts either. So use it as it is, but nothing interferes.

      • Oksana

        thank you for the answer) I would say that it twists ... but the truth is, on the crop it does not darken at all and does not interfere. only an internal perfectionist interferes)) so, perhaps, I'll get to those cogs ...

    • Land

      I bought such an adapter on alik, from the bayonet side we loosen the screw and rotate the brass ring, thereby adjusting the position of the lens

  • Maksim

    I will sell a fish-eye MS Zenitar-M 16 mm f / 2.8 lens with a Canon, Nikon mount and M42 thread: http://fotoselling.ru/products/category/683806

    Novosibirsk + by mail in Russia and abroad
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    Our website: http://fotoselling.ru

    Group in contact (more than 20000 participants): http://vk.com/fotoselling
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    Cash on delivery, reviews, warranties, experience.
    Have questions? Ask! http://vk.com/id13311029

  • Anatoly

    I would take myself such a cheap, interesting photos from him are obtained.

    • anonym

      What prevents to order it from the manufacturer? http://www.mc-zenitar.ru/

    • Jury

      Better rent for a couple of days, play with it and give it back.

  • Radik

    A couple of days may not be enough to check, yet with the weather you need to guess, gray photos in cloudy weather will not let him open.

    • Polar 7

      cloudy photos from him are also good!

  • Alexander

    Good day. Are there people who disassembled this lens? I am interested in the position of the spacer rings between the rear lenses (thin ring and thicker), how they are correctly located between the lenses, in what sequence.

    • Dmitry

      Each instruction should begin with the words:
      "Well, have you already broken it?" :)

  • Sergey

    Full-frame example: MS Zenitar 16 / 2.8 + Canon 1Ds

  • Alexander

    New Year's story (MS Zenitar 2.8 / 16 photo lens and Nikon D3300 camera):

  • Vovik

    Tell me, friends, did anyone disassemble this lens? There is oil on the diaphragm, it should be cleaned ...

    • Land

      I disassembled it a little, there is nothing complicated, you can feel the clumsy assembly in the form of slotted screws and in general)

  • Alice

    I understand correctly, on the crop it will be like a whale 18-55mm approximately? And this interesting distortion will not, well, at least noticeably? And then what kind of fish can you buy so that it has the same characteristics, but gives an interesting distortion?

    • Michael

      On crop, such a review gives the FR about 10 mm, respectively.

  • Igor

    Tell me - if anyone knows - can this lens with a Nikon mount - can be installed through a Nikon-Kenon adapter - on a Dm2 canon? Will there be problems with focus and infinity? The problem is that I want to buy - and at the moment I come across copies only with a Nikon bayonet.

    • Rodion

      all the rules will be.

      • Igor

        Thank you, I also read that the mirror clings to the 5D M2 - or is it only in the version with the M42-EOS adapter such a problem?

        • Pastor

          I on 5d did not seem to hook either with the m42-nikon adapter + the nikon-canon adapter, or with the m42-canon. I’m not sure that all dimensions of 5dm2 are the same, but in theory the working distance is the same, respectively, the mirror and the bayonet mount and everything else should be the same size.

  • Alexander Petrov

    I note who the Kiev-18 camera was never released. Cameras Kiev-17, Kiev-19, Kiev-19m and Kiev-20 were produced.

  • Alex_LinkOff

    Tell me, on crop 2 (this lens will how to distort the perspective, or will it just become a wide-angle lens, such as a whale lens at 14?

  • Alexey

    Thanks for the detailed article! Now I’ll definitely buy it for video recording on my Nikon D610. Moreover, in Minsk we now have a price tag of $ 180 (380 denominated Belarusian rubles) in the store that’s not so high. There are online stores that are prepaid at 20% and with delivery in a couple of days push it for $ 157 (315 p.)

    • Pastor

      It is dangerous to contact prepayment, the best option is to give the money and receive the goods. By the way, in the Russian Federation you can take a second-hand in excellent condition for less than $ 100, if there is an opportunity to buy by shipping with cash on delivery or friends in the Russian Federation, you can save money. True, a new product is always better.

      • Alexey

        Bought on Saturday! Blindly immediately vidos whipped up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciBMc4V7ZkQ

        • zengarden

          Still, the fish eye is too specific, especially for video shooting ... I do not understand this choice.

          • Alexey

            If I had free money, I would buy a less specific ...

            • ivan

              Have you tried it on the crop? Honestly, I think to use it for video only for static frames - when panning, it makes me sick

  • ly

    Sharp in the center only at F16-22, soap around the edges. On a full frame, Canon needs to work with a file so that the mirror does not touch the mount - Made in Russia !. A toy for skilled hands :)

  • Basil

    Dear, but can you see from this glass an example of the milky way filmed by the contemporary fullframe Sonya 7k would be nice to consider?

  • anonym

    hooked on nikon 3300 all that close the focus is, but there is no infinity
    as if undercuts a little
    straight upset disorder, although in all reviews it is written that they expose infinity and forget about the focuser

    • Land

      The compensating glass on the rear lens must be installed, but in general you can kind of adjust infinity, under the rubber band with three screws ..

  • anonym

    Good evening. There is such a lens with a Nikon mount and an M42-Canon adapter. Is it possible to somehow put it on a canon with such a set?

    • Dmitriy

      No. You need a Nikon F / Canon EF adapter

      • anonym

        Thank you

  • igor

    I would buy one under Nikon

  • Marat

    What is interesting for a full frame on Nikon that this Zenith or samyang 16mm 2.8 is better?

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