AstrHori 10mm F8 II: Review

   The AstrHori 10mm F8 II APS-C fisheye lens is a lens i bought last year back in 2024.  The manufacturer for this lens had a macrophotography competition on instagram and I lucked out winning the first iteration of this lens, the 10mm F8 I.  When they sent the lens over i wanted to do a comparison video and blog but unfortunately they sent  me the wrong lens in X-mount.  Eventually I will buy the first iteration to compare them so keep an eye out on this blog.  This lens is made in 5 mounts currently (E,X,L,M43 and Z).  All of the shots in this article and the videos were taken with my Sony A7CII.  Even though this lens is APS-C, you can shoot this with Sony’s APS-C S35 crop mode.

Technical Specifications:

• Focal Length: 10mm 
• Aperture: Fixed at F/8
• Lens Construction: 5 elements in 4 groups, including 3 ED elements.
• Weight: 84 grams. 
• Filter Thread Size: 55mm
• Year Introduced:  May 2022.

Build Quality:

•  The outer casing is made of metal.  It is a very small lens, you can pack this thing anywhere.  AstrHori also includes a uv lens filter so thats a nice touch if you get a sunny day.

Price for the Money:

• I paid $75 USD for this lens from Ebay.  The price does fluctuate between chinese resellers and the AstrHori’s website.  Keep and eye on my partner deals page (or below) for a discount if you want to get it from the manufacturer.

User Experience:

• I took this lens out a couple of times out here in San Diego. I really enjoyed shooting the beach with it and liked how sharp the images (in center) came out of some of the buildings i took.  The lens is designed to minimize chromatic aberrations and distortion.  One thing though, specially if you have long fingers, you need to make sure you completely pull your hand back or else you will get them in the image.  The lens covers an expansive 180 degrees field of view so it definitely well suited for landscape photography, for that specific creative panoramic perspective and even for vlogging.  It is very small and can fit anywhere.  The AstrHori 10mm f/8 II fisheye lens is a compelling option for photographers looking for an ultra-wide-angle lens with a distinctive field of view.  Introduced in May 2022, this second iteration builds upon the foundation of its predecessor with key enhancements in optical performance and design.  This lens sports a construction of 5 elements in 4 groups, including 3 extra low dispersion (ED) elements.  This little fish-eye lens fits pretty much in any pocket you may have and comes with a UV filter.

• When testing this lens with the Sony A7CII with APS-C S35 mode there was a noticeable vignette circle.  This is likely due to the extreme field of view and optical design of the lens.  If you are using this lens with a full frame camera like I am you can either use Clear image zoom or slightly crop the edges.