Tinkering with the RB67 37mm Fisheye

PtJudeRI · Oct 14, 2014

I just picked this lens up recently, and I must say, I'm quite fond of it so far. More rectilinear than its name leads you to believe, the 37mm is wide, yes, but not distortingly so. Sure, you can make straight lines bend when you want to, but you can also create some very nice wide angle shots. I'm not a great wide angle shooter, so forgive these, off my first roll, but if anyone is thinking about grabbing one of these lenses, I would certainly recommend it!

The downside? Man is that sucker a heavy piece of glass. The RB has to be close to 10 lbs.!

Jeff Kubach · Oct 14, 2014

I have a 37 fisheye for my RB67 also and i love mine. I always like wide angle lenses.

Jeff

analoguey · Oct 14, 2014

Not a fan of fisheyes, but I like both images.
They are both quite nice!

Trail Images · Oct 14, 2014

I have used my 37mm a lot over the last three months since I first obtained it. Although I want to try some fishy looks, I'm using it so far as a straight on wide angle with excellent results. In fact, I'd all but given up on trying to work out a shot with my 4x5 awhile back not having enough short lens, but was able to eek it out with the super wide angle and it looks very straight too.
I think I had a couple shots with it in my gallery, not sure.
Anyway, enjoy the usage......

Alan Klein · Oct 14, 2014

Nice shots. My 50mm is as wide as I got. I have to admit I use my others more often but it did work in some really nice occasions.

PtJudeRI · Oct 15, 2014

Alan, I have the 50 as well, but sadly, I was duped a bit on the big auction site and got one with some decent fungus in it My problem with wide angles is I never seem to get close enough to my subjects to get some drama in the frame. I've been trying to get away from the wide, all encompassing landscapes, and get some images with some foreground to them. Been a challenge. I am thinking that I will run the next 5 rolls through the RB only with the 37, and really work on making some images that have some drama to them.

Stephen Prunier · Oct 15, 2014

Nice shots

Hatchetman · Oct 15, 2014

Beware: there are a lot of fisheye haters around here. I have a Pentax 6x7 35mm, which I enjoy using.

mark · Oct 15, 2014

Really like the flower. Can't really tell it is a fish eye if you don't know what to look for.

EdSawyer · Oct 15, 2014

The 37 is great, and I agree, less "fishy" than most 35mm-format fisheye lenses for some reason. May be due to the projection or format or something. Great lens, hard to beat. I enjoy mine a lot on the RZ.

dorigatti · Oct 15, 2014

nice pictures. I especially liked the second one. Dreamy and suggestive, really very nice!

Alan Klein · Oct 15, 2014

PtJudeRI said:
Alan, I have the 50 as well, but sadly, I was duped a bit on the big auction site and got one with some decent fungus in it My problem with wide angles is I never seem to get close enough to my subjects to get some drama in the frame. I've been trying to get away from the wide, all encompassing landscapes, and get some images with some foreground to them. Been a challenge. I am thinking that I will run the next 5 rolls through the RB only with the 37, and really work on making some images that have some drama to them.

That's probably why I don't use the 50mm so often. I'm sure the 37mm is also a pretty special lens. Be patient and work with it. I think you find applications. Here are mine with the 50mm. Some have nearby objects, others were used just for getting wider perspectives. https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/tags/50mm/

Trail Images · Oct 16, 2014

Here was a shot I'd taken sometime ago with a 37mm shooting straight on.

PtJudeRI · Oct 16, 2014

Alan Klein said:
That's probably why I don't use the 50mm so often. I'm sure the 37mm is also a pretty special lens. Be patient and work with it. I think you find applications. Here are mine with the 50mm. Some have nearby objects, others were used just for getting wider perspectives. https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanklein2000/tags/50mm/

Thanks for the link! Yep, seems like we have the same feeling on the wider perspectives. Don't get me wrong, some compositions lend themselves to this, as yours do, but others that I have shot certainly didn't capture my interest much.

Trail Images, thats a wonderful shot. I love the softness that the rock has to it. Great light.

Alan Klein · Oct 16, 2014

Trail Images That's a really nice shot. Love the warm colors. I don't think most people would realize that was taken with such a wide angle lens, much less a fisheye.

Trail Images · Oct 16, 2014

Thanks for comment on that image. I made sure the levels were all aligned flat so the distortion would not show.

TheToadMen · Oct 18, 2014

Trail Images said:
Here was a shot I'd taken sometime ago with a 37mm shooting straight on.

View attachment 96220

Looking at this image and the others from OP, I wouldn't have thought of the term: "fish eye" for this lens ...

Great lens, on my wish list now.

Bert from Holland
http://thetoadmen.blogspot.nl

royengineer · Mar 17, 2015

I love my 37mm for my RZ system. As it has been pointed out here it's not at all the typical "fisheye" lens. It has a good eye without being to "fishy" to my taste. I love wide angles, but hate the usual fisheye shots you get from most of the cheapo fisheyes for any 35mm systems. You all know what I'm talking about.
This is something else, and it is quite possible to get a decent photo with this lens, avoiding some of the typical trouble you get into with the other stuff around. Some great examples here anyway, and I can recomend the 37mm any day for the RZ. It's a beast, but then again anything connected to the RZ gives a beast... and we have to live with that fact. Mind you, I also got the 500mm APO! That's a beast in the true meaning of the word, and make the 37mm into a tiny featherweight thingy...

Tinkering with the RB67 37mm Fisheye

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