Meike 6.5mm f/2.0 Fisheye Lens Review

Meike 6.5mm f/2.0 Fisheye Performance

Fisheye lenses are not designed for being assessed with flat test targets, so it's interesting to see how well the lens actually performed under test conditions. At the centre, sharpness is excellent even at f/2 and f/2.8, rising to being outstanding between f/4 and f/8. It is still excellent at f/16, only falling away at f/22, although even here a good standard is achieved.

The edges start off soft, with only fair sharpness at f/2, but this becomes very good from f/2.8 to f/16, again dropping away as expected at f/22 but still giving a good result. This is all a very satisfactory performance, and it translates at more normal distances into a very crisp and pleasing lens.

MTF Chart

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Panasonic Lumix G6 using Imatest.

CA (chromatic Aberration) is highly controlled by this lens, so much so that it is hardly in existence at all at the centre of the field. The edges do show a small amount of fringing, but very little and it is again well controlled. I would not bother correcting further in software as the lens already does such an excellent job.

CA Chart

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) 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 minimise the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Panasonic Lumix G6 using Imatest.

No lens hood is possible, so it is good to report that the resistance to flare is excellent. Even shooting directly into the sun it is very difficult (although not impossible) to create any flare patches. There is also very little sign of any loss of contrast. An excellent result.

Distortion is of course quite extreme, and quite rightly so for a fisheye lens. It is part of the delight of using this type of optic.

Bokeh is the quality of the out of focus areas in an image, and, of course, here we immediately have a problem in that there are few out of focus areas and those that there are are so small in terms of detail as to merely look “busy”. This is not a lens that will be bought for stunning bokeh effects, it is of a totally different character that has little common ground with the concept.  

Value For Money

The Meike 6.5mm f/2 lens is available from Amazon for £128, an attractive low price. In contrast, the previously reviewed Meike 8mm f/3.5 is priced at £169 and the Kelda 8mm f/3.5 at £180. The Samyang 8mm f/3.5 UMC CS II fisheye lens costs £239.

When we cast the net wider, there is a dazzling array of fisheye lenses, both frame filling designs and circular image designs.

Those throwing a full circular image include the Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM (£599) and the Lensbaby 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye (£259).

Frame filling lenses, almost all designed for smaller formats such as APS-C or MFT, include the Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Diagonal (£479), Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG (£499), Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 G IF-ED AF (£585), Sony 16mm f/2.8 (£799) and Olympus M. Zuiko 8mm f/1.8 PRO (£799).

There are also numerous fisheye zooms, body cap fisheye lenses and front lens converters, plus, for the diminutive Pentax Q system, the SMC Pentax 3.2mm f/5.6 at £79.

The Meike 6.5mm f/2 has to be seen as very good value indeed, especially considering the bright f/2 aperture and the high level of sharpness.

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