Let's take a look at the Canon EOS M6 Mark II camera paired with a very unique lens: the Rockstar 10mm F/8 fisheye. This thing is super compact, often called a pancake lens, but the catch is it's manual focus and fixed aperture. I actually recorded this footage way back in 2022, and I just got around to creating a video from it. Looking back at the photos, I have to say I'm actually very impressed with what this lens can do.
Watch the photowalk on YouTube:
Look for the Rockstar 10mm f/8 lens through my links:
- ebay: https://ebay.us/9E81nC
- B&H: https://bhpho.to/4iicONi
- Amazon: https://amzn.to/42h65OZ
As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases! What I link isn't important but rather time from click, which is usually 24 hours.
The Lens: Tiny but pretty decent!
It's definitely challenging to use, especially with that ultra-wide field of view combined with the manual focus. But when you manage to make it work, the results can be good.
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| The Canon M6 Mark II with the Rockstar 10mm F/8 lens. |
It features a focus ring, turning it clockwise focuses closer, and counter-clockwise moves towards infinity. There are two dots on the lens; one indicates when you've reached each end point. Rotating it fully the other way gets you to the minimum focus distance of 0.3 meters, which is roughly around 1 foot. It takes quite a bit of rotation to go from one end to the other, which is good for critical focus.
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| Detailing the focus ring and infinity marker. |
Setting Up the M6 Mark II for Manual Focus
To make the manual focus experience smoother, I customized the M6 Mark II controls as much as possible. I set one button (usually for focus) to let me select the focus area position. Then, I mapped another button up top to activate the digital zoom for focus checking.
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| Setting up the camera controls for manual focus. |
You can use the various dials of the camera to zoom and position the focal area from left to right and top to bottom.
It would be nice if Canon's system let me press the zoom button repeatedly to cycle through zoom levels like Nikon cameras do, but unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. You have to use the button and then a dial.
I also disabled button type functions of the back directional ring because I tend to hit those by accident. And in photo mode, I changed the video record button to switch between photography shooting modes, giving me direct access to that function which is normally on the main mode dial.
Shooting Aids: Peaking and Related Settings
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| Navigating the camera's peaking settings for manual focus assistance. |
For exposure, I mostly used automatic ISO, setting the minimum shutter speed to 1/60th of a second for this photowalk. The camera does exposure simulation, which I recommend keeping on. For focusing assistance, I enabled peaking, setting it to 'low' intensity and using the red color option (blue and yellow are also available).
A key challenge, however, is that while you can zoom in digitally to check focus, the peaking highlights disappear when you're zoomed in. Even with its F/8 aperture providing a relatively deep depth of field, it's genuinely hard to tell sometimes, and I do think precise focus makes a difference.
The Shooting Experience and Image Quality
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| A landscape style photo taken with this lens camera combination. |
Using manual lenses like this can be fun. It gives you something extra to do, forcing you to slow down and be more deliberate. Adjusting focus, moving myself back and forth to find the sweet spot, it adds another layer to the process.
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| Testing the close-focus capabilities. Not great... |
The images, especially the mid-range and longer-focus shots, can be very dynamic and pretty vibrant.
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| Demonstrating the sunstar effect produced by the lens. |
One really cool thing I noticed is that as you rotate the focus ring, the sunbeams or sunstars actually rotate in the image! If you like that sunburst effect, this lens definitely delivers. There is an example of that in the related YouTube video.
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| Lens flare can be prominent when shooting towards the sun. |
However, flare can be a significant issue. You have to be careful with the sun's position in the frame, as it can sometimes wash out or even destroy parts of the image. In some situations, you might get a weird, cutoff flare near the edges.
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| Using foreground objects with the Sun. |
You can try using objects in the frame, like trees, to partially block the sun for a more unique look, so it can be used creatively.
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| Capturing a good amount in the frame. |
The lens is great for capturing huge portions of the sky and getting a lot into the frame due to its 10mm focal length. Despite the focusing challenges, I found a fair amount of detail in many photos where I managed to get the focus correct, even if I wasn't entirely sure at the time of capture. So, I wouldn't say the lens lacks the ability to resolve detail, even on this relatively high-megapixel M6 Mark II sensor.
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| The lens can capture good detail when focus is achieved. |
It will likely be difficult to get exactly what you want consistently, especially with close subjects. But for landscape photos shot at a distance, setting it near infinity should work reasonably well.
Because it's so wide at 10mm, I also considered its potential as a vlogging option, using the camera's digital image stabilization. I did some test recordings. Again, there is a short clip in the related video.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I am pleasantly surprised with the photos from this Rockstar 10mm F/8 lens on the Canon M6 Mark II. It's a challenging to use, but ultimately fun and rewarding combination that produces dynamic, vibrant, and detailed images when you nail the focus under the right conditions.
That was a quick look at this unique setup. If you want to see more of the photo walk and the images in motion, check out the full video! If you have any comments about the lens or the camera, feel free to make a comment in the video. I do often look through comments.