There's still no native Nikon Z-mount fisheye, but an old discontinued F-mount lens paired with the FTZ adapter turns out to be a genuinely strong option on the Z8. Here's what you gain, what you lose, and how it stacks up against the newer third-party Z-mount fisheyes.
Fisheye lenses are powerful creative tools, but not all of them work the same way. Some create a floating circle, while others fill the frame with curved drama. Nikon currently offers three very different options — from the vintage 16mm prime to the modern 8-15mm zoom. Here is my breakdown of how they compare.
The Nikon NIKKOR-Fisheye 16mm f/2.8D lens is designed for Nikon's F-mount full-frame FX DSLRs. It provides a dramatic wide-angle fisheye look that can be very effective. Here's a selection of photos I've used it on to give a sense of how it performs under real-world shooting conditions.
A hands-on look at Nikon's tiny, discontinued AF Fisheye-Nikkor 16mm f/2.8D — how it handles sharpness, low light, filters, and spherical panoramas, plus how it compares to the 10.5mm and 14-24mm.
My name is David Coleman, and this is my site. I take photos for a living. Seven continents. Dozens of countries. Up mountains. Underwater. And a bunch of places in between. I'm based in Washington, D.C.
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