Canon 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye Zoom Lens

This is the first of what I hope will be many lens reviews.  My approach is to give a brief and practical summary of the lens and my opinions of it.  If you google searched reviews for this lens you will find numerous reviews with varying degrees of information and technical jargon.  I know this because I read several of them before renting this lens.  My goal is to provide a more concise and practical review for those who are not professional photographers or just don't like to read a lot of technical jargon.  I hope you will find the following informative in some way, but keep in mind, these are the opinions of a still learning and aspiring photographer.

I recently rented the Canon 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye Zoom Lens from Borrowlenses.com.  This lens currently retails for around $1500 and is classified as a professional lens.  There are probably other lenses that I would have rented before this, but Borrowlenses sent me a coupon for 25% off and I am not one to pass up a good deal.

This Canon 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye Zoom Lens was introduced in 2011 and is primarily marketed to professional photographers and videographers who are are most likely using a full frame camera.  It offers 180 degree circular fisheye images on full-frame EOS models.  On a APS-C crop sensor camera such as the 60D that I use, you can not achieve the circular view.  However, the range of zoom seems more practical in my opinion and there is a zoom-lock feature on the lens that ensures the best possible full frame view without vignetting.  The lens build is sturdy and somewhat heavy.  It comes with a lens hood and leather carrying case.  One physical aspect of the lens that one should be aware of is the protuding front element.  With the glass sticking out and the lens hood being very small, one could easily damage the glass.  Especially when trying to get as close as possible to the subject for a macro shot.

Canon 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye Zoom Lens

My overall opinion is that this is a great lens.  It is a well made piece of equipment and the images it produces are fantastic.  The details are sharp and the fisheye effect adds a unique and interesting point of view.  However, for a relatively new photographer such as myself this would not be a lens I would soon purchase.  At $1500 it carries a hefty price tag for a piece of equipment that serves such a unique and niche function.  For me, my money would be better spent on one of the many lenses I do not own with more practical applications.  For a professional photographer, who is already making a living off the images they produce I would think purchasing this lens is a no-brainer.  When you already have your practical lenses covered why not add the Canon 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye Zoom Lens to provide a completely different point of view?

The short amount of time that I used this lens was very enjoyable.  I loved the effects it provided and ended up with a few images that I really like.  However, like most things I have learned in photography there are lessons learned from making mistakes.  The first thing I learned is that at f/4 this is not a great lens for night time photography.  Also, certain subject matter such as city views can really bring out the best in this lens.  That being said, I should have spent more time in the city.  Lastly,  I completely neglected using this lens for video.  I do not take a lot of video but the fisheye effect would have made the effort worth the time.

I did use the lens in several different lighting situations with different subject matter.  It works best for macro, city views, and certain portraits.  I did not find it ideal in low light situations and it can create some unflattering portraits when focused closely on the subject.  In conclusion, this is a great piece of glass but probably not for everyone.  While I do not plan on buying it in the near future I would definitely rent it again...especially if Borrowlenses feels generous with the coupons!

Below are images that I created using the Canon 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye Zoom Lens.  Some of these images have been featured in previous posts, but I tried to choose a selection of that showed the range and creativity of this lens.  Thank you for checking out Dirty Thirty Photography and take care.

List of movies to watch instantly on Netflix

I would guess the majority of people that I know have a Netflix subscription.  I would also surmise that these people use the Watch Instantly feature far more often than the actual DVD service.  The selection of movies on the Netflix instant queue is large and varied.  There are many classic movies as well as recently released films.  However, even with all these options it seems that sometimes it is hard to find a movie that one really wants to watch.  I am sure that some people do not have this dilemma and do not watch enough movies or stay awake long enough to really care.  However, surely there are also people like me.  Those that have seen a lot of movies and are always interested in a film that is under the radar.  This is a search that I did myself some time back when I was up late one night and wanted to watch a good movie.  I don't watch movies more than once and had already seen everything that looked interesting.  A google search did return a few lists of suggestions.  I can't remember what I found, but I venture to say some of these were included.

Below is my list of 20 movies that you can watch right now on the Netflix instant queue.  You might have already seen or heard of some of these, but hopefully there are a few that you can check out the next time you are up late and don't want to rewatch episodes of Family Guy.  I have included a very brief description of each. Thank you as always for stopping by and please share any suggestions that you have!

1. Winter's Bone- Suspenseful story of Appalachian family troubles.
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop- Documentary about artist, Banksy.
3. The Wild and Wonderful Whites- Documentary about crazy family in WV.
4. Sin Nombre- Foreign film about escaping hard life in Latin America.
5. The Boondock Saints- Irish Brothers kill mobsters.
6. Wet Hot American Summer- Comedy with most of the cast from the State.
7. The Good, the Bad, the Weird- Asian spaghetti Western.
8. Brick- Unique film that shows Highschool with a noir gangster twist.
9. Cocaine Cowboys- Documentary about drug trade.
10. Four Lions- Comedy about suicide bombers...much funnier than it sounds.
11. Let the Right One In- Foreign vampire movie, recently remade but this one is better.
12. District B13- Parkour!!!
13. Mystery Team- Comedy starring Troy from Community.
14. Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas- Documentary about nature in Africa.
15. Red Hill- Australian revenge Western.
16. Hobo with a Shotgun- I am not even sure that I liked this movie, but definitely original.
17. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil- Comedy/ horror movie about mistaken identity.
18. Trollhunter- Foreign film that is a cross between Blair Witch and Jurassic Park... with Trolls.
19. The Way Back- a lot of walking... more interesting than it sounds.
20. Cave of Forgotten Dreams- Werner Herzog documentary about cave paintings in France.
21. Pulling-  this is an extra suggestion because it is actually a British TV show.  I thought it was great, slightly similar humor to original Office.

Finally, since this is a website mostly dedicated to photography, I wanted to share a picture that I made recently and really like.  I feel it is a good example of how one can find inspiration and beauty in unlikely places.

Laundry's Point of View...

Laundry sees the world in Black and White...

Pez Museum

On Wednesday, I finally visited the Original Pez Museum located right here in Burlingame, CA!  It has been open for 15 years and contains one of every Pez dispenser released over the last 50 years.  The facility consists of two rooms; a retail store and the museum.  Both rooms are only about the size of a large living room, but there is a lot of Pez memorabilia packed in the space.  The museum section also contains various classic toys and other nostalgia.

I am not a Pez collector and have no intention of becoming one, but had a good time checking out the Pez Museum.  It doesn't take long to see everything which is okay seeing that the admission is only $3.  The lady who works there gladly imparted some Pez knowledge on me.  Such as Pez is an Austrian company and the name is an abbreviation using the first, middle, and last letter in the German word for peppermint PfeffErminZ.

Overall, I would recommend checking out the museum if you are in the area.  If you happen to be in the area because you are visiting the Dirty Thirty Photography headquarters then I will personally take you (but you will be required to be in a picture with the world's largest Pez dispenser as seen later in this post).

Below are pictures of the Pez Museum.  Thank you for stopping by and take care.... 

The Original Pez Museum in Burlingame, CA.

Retail area and museum curator.

Guest book...it made me wonder which of these people traveled the furthest with the singular purpose of visiting the Pez Museum in Burlingame, CA.

This Snowman is the Guinness World Record holder for the world's largest Pez dispensing machine.  It stands over 7 feet tall and actually works.

The entrance to the museum section did remind me of the entrance to the "adult" section at old movie rental stores.

The middle row are unfinished prototype molds.

These Pez dispensing guns can shoot a Pez up to six feet!  Obviously they are no longer sold, but they should be because I would love to shoot people with tiny candy.

Original Mr. Potato Head.  Back when the potato was real.

I had to buy one of these for Rachel since it was Valentine's Day.