What is the Yasuhara Madoka 180E Fisheye? It is a manual focus lens for Sony and Fujifilm cameras with an emphasis on giving images a full circular distortion at the center of the APS-C imaging sensor. It is able to capture images with a good amount of detail, and it is an all-around decent piece of glass. However, there are better lenses with a similar purpose that are out on the market, such as the Lensbaby Circular Fisheye lens. Nevertheless, this particular model from Yasuhara is still a solid choice, especially when you’re in a tight budget.
The Yasuhara Madoka 180E Fisheye Produces Decent Images at an Inexpensive Price
The Yasuhara Madoka 180E Fisheye is a small lens as it only measures in at just 1.7 x 2.4-inches for its height and depth. It does, however, weigh on the heavy side as it has a weight of 7.1-ounces. But its weight is primarily due to its barrel as it is manufactured with a sturdy metal. As mentioned earlier, this is a manual focus lens and the aperture control is manually controlled as well. In other words, there is practically no electronic communication between the camera and this lens. Hence, you might want to set your camera on a flat, sturdy surface or on a tripod if you want to make sure you get sharp images. As for the aperture, it can be set from f/4 all the way to f/22 in full-stop increments.
Turning the manual focus ring and you will be greeted with a smooth delight. There are markings at the minimum 0.1-meter focus distance, as well as the 0.2-meter, 0.5-meter, and so on. When you want to measure focus distance, you can do so from the sensor plane. However, you need to lock the focus on to objects that are just about an inch away from the front element of the Yasuhara Madoka 180E Fisheye Lens otherwise things can get blurry. When comparing it to its rivals, like the aforementioned Lensbaby CIrcular Fisheye, its competitors can take pictures with objects that are practically touching the front element. You might just have to deal with the focusing distance especially when you consider its inexpensive price tag.
The Yasuhara Madoka 180E Fisheye produces extreme fisheye images and details are quite good, even when shooting at f/4. But when you shoot using older models of the Sony or Mirrorless cameras, you might get some muddy pictures, even when you shoot at f/8. However, and once again, this is not a big deal-breaker when you consider the ultra-wide coverage of the lens.