A strange lens...

[simpo two]

I bought this fisheye lens about 10 years ago; the only thing I wanted from a collection of old cameras and bits that was offered to me. It says 'Hanimex Fish-Eye Lens 1:5.6 f=7mm' which is self-explantory, but I haven't worked out why it has two aperture rings.



I used an adaptor ring to work it successfully on my old Ricoh SLR, but even with a Nikon adapter the D70 is unlikely to be very impressed with this stone-age upstart.

For mounting, the lens has a 40mm CS mount which can be unscrewed to reveal another thread of about 46mm beneath.



The lens gives very nearly 180 degrees field of view and gives a round image on a 35mm camera.

Anyway, it's no use to me now so it's headed for eBay I think. I just wondered if anyone can tell me what 46mm thread is called (T-Mount perhaps?) and why there are two aperture rings. Has anyone else met a lens like this, and what woudl be its value?

>>> Edited by simpo two on Monday 7th March 16:01

[beano500]

Do both rings actually work?

I think you may be right about it being a "T-mount" Pretty popular thread alongside such wonders as the old Pentax 42mm screw

[simpo two]

beano500 said:

Do both rings actually work?

The upper ring rotates independently but doesn't move the iris; the lower ring is partly is dependent upon the position of the first ring, in that it can't be set to a smaller aperture, but it does move the iris.

Seems that you could leave the top ring on f45 and just use the lower one. There's no linkage for DOF preview etc - this lens is 100% manual!

[beano500]

Well there would have been a reason it was designed like that....

....but it sure beats me!