Yasuhara Madoka 180 7.3mm f/4 Sony NEX Fisheye Lens Review

Yasuhara Madoka 180 7.3mm f/4 Fisheye Lens Performance

As is often the case with fisheye lenses, sharpness in the centre is outstanding wide open, but as you get closer to the edge of the image circle, clarity falls away to fair levels. Stopping down improves sharpness across the image circle with peak sharpness in the centre being achieved at f/8 and between f/11 and f/16 for maximum sharpness across the image circle.

Resolution at 7.3mm

How to read our charts The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. Averaging them out gives the red weighted column. The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony NEX-3 using Imatest.

For a circular fisheye, chromatic aberrations are very well controlled. Although fringing covering 0.758 pixel width may begin to be visible along high contrast edges towards the edges of the image circle, this level isn't all that severe and is much lower than many other fisheye lenses we have tested so far.

Chromatic aberrations at 7.3mm

How to read our charts Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony NEX-3 using Imatest.

Distortion is as you might expect for a fisheye, with straight lines towards the edges of the image circle curving wildly. Projection is quite close to orthographic, with objects towards the edges of the frame appearing squished into a tiny space.

It is not possible to formally test light falloff with a circular fisheye. Visually, illumination is even across the image circle with the lens stopped down to f/5.6 or beyond.

Some flare, loss of contrast and internal reflections can be seen in images with a strong source of light in the frame. This only really causes issues in extreme circumstances though and contrast remains good.

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