AstrHori’s New 8mm f/2.4 Fisheye Lens
AstrHori has announced a new 8mm f/2.4 circular fisheye lens for medium-format cameras, available for both Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad XCD mounts. What makes this lens ‘special’ is its 220-degree field of view, which means it can actually capture more than what is directly in front of the camera, including parts of the scene slightly behind it. The result is a circular photo with extremely exaggerated perspective and distortion.
Optically, the AstrHori MF 8mm f/2.4 Fisheye uses 10 elements in eight groups, including two low-dispersion elements and two high-refractive-index elements. There is also a 10-blade aperture, which should help produce relatively defined sunstars when shooting toward bright light sources. Focusing is completely manual, with a minimum focusing distance of 10cm. Despite being designed for medium-format sensors, the lens is fairly compact, measuring 62mm long and weighing 517g. It also has an all-metal construction.
There are already a few fisheye lenses available for medium-format cameras, although the selection is still pretty small. One alternative is the Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, which has a narrower 180-degree field of view but offers a bit more flexibility because you can change between circular and diagonal fisheye perspectives by changing the focal length. TTArtisan also used to make an 11mm f/2.8 fisheye for Fujifilm GFX, but it does not appear to be listed anymore. The new AstrHori MF 8mm f/2.4 Fisheye is available for Fujifilm GFX and Hasselblad XCD, with a price of $359.
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