Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens - first field test

I bought an Opteka 6.5mm circular fisheye lens from Amazon recently. Given the similarities in its physical appearance and specifications, it's possible/probable the Opteka lens is a rebranded version of the Meike 6.5mm circular fisheye lens. Question is does the Opteka lens perform as well as the Meike? This post is the beginning of my answer to that question.

I decided to share three "as is" all sky time lapse videos, meaning unedited, so you can see exactly what the camera/lens combo "saw" and judge for yourself how well the Opteka lens works.

Scene 1

6.5mm APS-C | f/8?+ | 1/3,200 s | ISO 200 | 7728 x 5152 pixels

The aperture was "f/8?+" meaning it's unclear whether the f/8 mark on the focus ring is actually f/8, plus the ring was set slightly beyond the f/8 mark.

"No click stops on the aperture ring, so you have to keep checking to see if you've moved it. Also, marked apertures are not accurate. You need to turn beyond the marking to get the marked aperture." Source Credit: "Amazing Bargain, but Not Easy to Use," by Killersax (product review on Amazon Web page).

The next photo shows (better than words can describe) how the lens was actually set for all three scenes.

The following ProRes video was created using Apple "QuickTime Player."

25 August 2026 | 1:29 PM - 1:39 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

298 photos at 2 s interval

Scene 2

6.5mm APS-C | f/8?+ | 1/3,200 s | ISO 200 | 7728 x 5152 pixels

The following ProRes video was created using Apple "QuickTime Player."

25 August 2026 | 1:40 PM - 1:51 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

313 photos at 2 s interval

Scene 3

6.5mm APS-C | f/8?+ | 1/3,200 s | ISO 200 | 7728 x 5152 pixels

The following ProRes video was created using Apple "QuickTime Player."

25 August 2026 | 1:52 PM - 2:02 PM EDT | Fairfax County, Virginia USA

313 photos at 2 s interval

Tech Tips

The dimensions of the JPG photos used to create all three time lapse videos are 7728 x 5152 pixels. That's way more than the resolution of Ultra High Definition, a.k.a., UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels)!

"YouTube officially supports maximum playback and upload resolutions up to 8K (4320p or 7680 × 4320 pixels)." Source Credit: Google AI Overview.

Click on the "Settings" button (gear icon) in the YouTube player and select the highest "Quality" available on your device.

Related Resources

• What's wrong with this picture? - a blog post by Walter Sanford
• Posts on Walter Sanford's Blog with the label "all sky."

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.