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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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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
Arkady, thanks for the review. I am always happy to read your articles.
Thanks for the quality reviews, including this one.
It is very helpful when considering this or that carcass or glass. Good luck to you, Arkady!
Thanks for the great review! The lens is certainly interesting, but the price is a little scaring))
Look at the prices of your native Fish and you will be pleasantly surprised at the price of the Zenithar
Very good glass, but narrow focus. It makes sense to take when there is already a pair of glasses
Zenithar's successful distortion example https://ibb.co/hSUbNz
copy - you need a copy
Good Don. I have a zenith with scuffs of the front lens. In life mode and on the clamped aperture, turbidity is directly visible in the center of the frame. Can I polish the lens?
No
You can wash off the enlightenment, IMHO this is a disease for these lenses, but you need to be prepared for the fact that it will be stronger to catch the backlight, etc., as well as the price will drop when selling ... fear and risk ...
no link to the archive with photos
I wonder if the distortion is corrected in it in Photoshop or not?
yes, pretty easy
The standard method results in a pretty bad result - a large area of the frame is lost and the corners are ugly, the resolution drops wildly. There are several videos on defining using special software (well, or more advanced editing in Photoshop), when the barrel is corrected only on one of the axes and the result is much better.
But to be honest, there is some beauty in this distortion. I use a Canon 8-15 fisheye, there is a 10 mm limiter for the crop - this is exactly the 16 mm Zenitar equivalent. And even architectural photography in such a distorted form looks quite interesting, the photo has some zest, dynamics, if the distortion is deliberately increased. And if you keep the horizon line in the center of the frame, then in many cases the distortion will not be particularly noticeable. But the unusual perspective will give the frame more interest.
Well, 16 mm on the crop just looks like an over-width with a larger barrel than usual.
I put my Zenitar fish on the crop. Measured the angle along the boundaries and marks in the room. Compared with Tamron 10-24. Tamron's angle is 10mm wider. They write about 108 degrees in Tamron in the instructions. One young lady confidently wrote - Zenitar on the crop, respectively 120. But, on the crop, its viewing angle is clearly less than 108 degrees. So it's not that simple with the optics of shirikov? Or I don’t understand something. And on Nikon F 65 on the film in the viewfinder, Zenitar really has a record angle.
Zenith will have the same angle on the crop as Tamron has 16 mm. The focal length is independent of the crop factor. But at full frame on F65 he will show the same angle as 10 mm Tamron.
Not quite like that - it's a fishy, so it will be a little more than a tamron by 16. With fishies, everything is a little more complicated
nice and interesting article, short and clear, thank you.
Amazingly stupid text (
“You only need to rotate the focuser if the focusing object is closer than 1.5 meters. And the depth of field of the lens is simply gorgeous. "
What is it?
In order not to go awry from the unforeseen focal length on the crop, there are a bunch of free applications, not in 2001. To wipe with an article, verbiage is some kind, there’s zero benefit
Ummm ... why not all the comments are published?
Comments in which more than 2 links are moderated. Very rarely, comments fall into spam.
Good afternoon! I read in the reviews that due to the design features of the Nikon D750 camera, its mirror very often clings to the lens and you have to modify this problem with a file ... How are things going today? Is the problem still there or has the lens been modified?
Thanks for the review, after reading it I decided to take this fish, at first I was on the crop then I used it on 6D, now it happens I put it on Sony a7 "when the whale 24-70 is too narrow
For my money, a decent option, I ordered through friends from St. Petersburg to Ukraine, m42
Will the Zenitar-C 16mm vs Zenitar-42 16mm with a Chinese adapter for the camera be something different?
No. Now rarely are the M42-canon shitty adapters found.
But are there lenses close to 16mm, m42 are there any decent features?
Good afternoon .. And how is it in use in shooting night no, starry sky, milky way ??
A very nice lens, I do a lot of landscape photography for them. I shoot them on a Nikon D750 and then process the FS in the Camera RAV program.
Here is a shooting option for this fishy
Still such a Crimean landscape on fishe from Zenithar
A week ago, I became the proud owner of this lens. Largely thanks to this particular article on Radozhiv. Somehow earlier I was not very interested in a wide angle and I reasoned like this - if I need to accommodate more space, then I can always panorize the surrounding reality. And so I matured ...
A week ago I put on a used Zenitarchik bought through the Internet and don't take it off, I click and deliberately and like a "fascist from a machine gun from the belly"
Arkady! Thank you for your reviews !!!
It’s a pity that you can’t attach more than one photo!
But the most amazing thing is that he practically does not catch "birds with one stone" even when the Sun is hanging in the frame
Does it fit full frame or does it vignette a lot?
Suitable for full frame. This is a full frame fish
The fact that I need to buy this lens, I already understood. Is it possible somewhere to buy such an ability to shoot like Alexander Plekhanov’s?
Hello!
Will the image quality be better than the stock Nikon D3500 Kit AF-P DX 18-55mm f / 3.5-5.6G VR lens?
Or is it about the same? And do you need to look at more expensive chiragons?
Best regards