Funleader 18mm f/8 Body Cap (Small Lens, HUGE Fun!) | Round Glass Review
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
- Given that the Funleader is a fixed-focus, fixed-aperture lens, it’s pretty well suited for most uses. Like the lenses on disposable cameras of the 80s and 90s, this lens creates soft images with a vignette and saturated cool-tone colors. Roll with it. Shoot it often. This is especially true if your camera kit includes a ton of high-spec precision lenses. Shooting lo-fi can open all kinds of creative doors. Shooting a lens with significant restrictions, too, can do that. This lens is both. So grab your mirrorless camera, slap the Funleader on the front, and channel that 80s and 90s disposo-cam aesthetic. Shed the need for precision like a lizard sheds skin. Embrace the look like frying batter embraces a chicken wing. All lenses have something to offer and teach you; unlike many lenses, the Funleader makes it obvious what it offers and teaches.
One consideration I have for this lens, it has no filter ring or lens cap. If Funleader were to release an updated version of this lens, a filter ring - even a large-diameter one along the lens’ far edges - milled into the housing would be a significant improvement. I’m worried less about the lens’ front element being scratched than I am about setting the camera down during a break and the sun getting into frame and damaging my camera’s sensor. That could definitely happen with a lens this wide and no lens cap. Also, having a mark on the mount for the mounting dot alignment would really help this lens, too. Those, from a functionality perspective, are two improvements that would truly help this design.
On a final note, as a fun experiment, I decided to see how hard it would be to make something like this for less than $10. So I made what I, as a tribute, call the FunFollower 24mm f/5.6 I spent 89 U.S. cents on a Sony E body cap and $4.50 on a cemented 24mm FL and 8mm diameter triplet from Suplus shed. I made a small aperture for the back by cutting a square out of a pop can and drilling a 4mm hole in it before taping it into the body cap. I used two drops of clear gorilla glue to hold the lens in the cap and some Culture Hustle Black 2.0 to eliminate internal reflections by painting the outside of the triplet. It’s fun. It’s far different from the Funleader. It’s its own thing. And for USD $5.50 and some time, it was a good project. It shows, as these images I think show, that a fun lens that embraces technical imperfection can deliver interesting and captivating images. So do that with the Funleader. Cast technical perfection aside and embrace the challenge of capturing mood and emotion instead of pixel-perfect details.
Video Index:
0:00 - Intro
0:15 - Skip the Intro
1:24 - Funleader 18mm f/8 Body Cap Lens Specs
2:52 - Funleader 18mm f/8 Body Cap Lens Diagram and Type
5:27 - Funleader 18mm f/8 Body Cap Lens Strengths & Weaknesses
8:58 - Funleader 18mm f/8 Body Cap Lens use for Video
10:15 - How to use the Funleader 18mm f/8 Body Cap Lens Well
18:46 - Funleader 18mm f/8 Body Cap Lens Summary
References:
myfunleader.com/products/funl...
www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
www.dpreview.com/news/7746773...
petapixel.com/2020/09/30/funl...
www.digitalcameraworld.com/re...
casualphotophile.com/2020/12/...
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"Suffer City Blues" by Suffer City used under active license from Epidemic Sound at the time of this video's upload. - Jak na to + styl
If you get the chance try the 18mm f/8 Funleader in Leica M mount. It is considerably more useable than the other versions because it can be focused with the small lever attached. The M version allows focusing from 0.45 meter (1.5 feet) to infinity, and it does focus to infinity providing much sharper images when used at infinity.
I didn't know they made one in Leica that focuses. Thank you! I have been looking at the 35mm f/5.6 in Leica M mount that focuses.
@@DavidHancock I also have the 7Artisans 35mm f/5.6 in Leica M mount. I don't suggest using it on a full frame camera as I did on my Leica M digital, I think it is really meant for APS-C cameras. It performs quite well on my APS-C camera, not so much on my full frame camera. Your mileage may vary as I think there is lens to lens variation so maybe you might get a good one, who knows? But if you do get one I'd be interested to see your review.
Best regards,
Don
Thank you for the hint about the burning-in risk. I've never thought about that, and sadly enough it explains exactly why my other APS-C sensor delivers weird results since a day-long hike in bright sunlight. R.I.P. (I had a recessed, pretty wide angle pinhole bodycap mounted.)
Definitely and it is, unfortunately, a big risk. I bought a DSLR that had a melted mirror from the sun and a wide-angle lens. Oops.
It sounds like it comes close to making a digital box camera. It can be fun to just without thinking about technical stuff. Just push the button and see what you get. I have a body cap with a pinhole,but I don't have a body cap lens yet.
I think that's exactly the aesthetic and intent. It is, by any measure, fun to use.
Your phone already has that option covered (thoughtless lo-fi photography), no need to hobble an expensive camera with a crappy lens in order to achieve the same result.
Have you considered trying out the Olympus bodycap lenses sometime? The 15mm is a bit soft, but the 9mm is quite decent actually, lets you focus and has an inbuilt lens cover too. Bodycap lenses are a lot of fun and I have taken some of my favourite images with them, because I allow myself to take more risks and experiment more. Thanks for the video.
Thank you and no, solely because I don't have a camera that can mount them.
Help! I have a Mamiya 645 that has an issue with the connection pin...when I try to put on a different lens on the camera, the pin will not mate with the slot on the lens... do you have a recommendation for someone that can check it/fix it? Thanks for all the excellent videos you put up here!!
That's a question is send to the Fix Old Cameras channel. He knows more about Mamiya than anyone on CZcams.
I am all for LoFi, but the body cap lenses are too expensive to justify (Olympus $100, Pergear $80, Funleader $120). A set of 3 Lomography plastic LoFi experimental micro 4/3 lenses (incl. a fisheye) can be had for $50 new. A used Vivitar Series 1 19-35 can be had for $45. Smear some gel (e.g. Associated Paint removable masking liquid ) on the lens to get the same effects as this lens.
LOL, good point. These are a bit spendy compared to similar wide used lenses. The real advantage here is size.