My colleagues and I are looking to buy new digital cameras and fisheye lenses to take hemispherical photos as part of a long-term project on seedling dynamics in tropical forests. We have previously used Nikon Coolpix cameras, however the new cameras in the Coolpix line do not fit with the coolpix fisheye converter. ( We need equipment that will last or could be replace over the next 5-10 years, so buying the older, discontinued coolpix models off ebay is not a good option.)
Newer digital SLR cameras are now more reasonably priced, but when fit with fisheye lenses (eg. 8mm Simga circular fisheye) the top and bottom of the circle is cut off because of the 1.6x focal length adjustment with most models. (This is not a problem with full frame digital cameras, but there are only a few such models and all are way out of our price range.) Raynox makes a 185 degree fisheye converter that fits over a regular lens (similar to the coolpix fisheye converter), but I have not been able to find much information about the quality of this lens and whether it can be used with autofocus. Does anyone have experience taking hemispherical photos using newer digital SLR cameras? If so, what lenses would you recommend? How do you correct for the cropping problem? I have heard that decreasing the circumference of the circle to be analyzed is one option, how much information would be lost in doing that? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you, Liza Comita Postdoctoral Research Associate Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior University of Minnesota email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
