Dedicated 3rd Party Lens Discussion (Examples Updated)

[Witterings]

aliexpress or 1/2.3" 3.8mm 16Megapixel S Mount Low-Distortion Board Lens for Drone Gopro 4

I found that lens and the link above the other day but their minimum order is 100 pieces, I couldn't find anywhere that sold them as a 1 off ?????

I also came across another thread that implied you had to file it down quite a bit to get it to fit or did yours just screw straight in with no other work??

They're quoted as low distortion as well rather than no distortion ... is there a difference, I think most of the well known ones are meant to be no distortion but could be wrong on that???

 

[Soloing]

aliexpress or 1/2.3" 3.8mm 16Megapixel S Mount Low-Distortion Board Lens for Drone Gopro 4

Minimum order: 100

For real?

 

[Witterings]

What's the difference between using one with f2.0 against an f2.8, there are quite a few 4.35mm ones available that are supposedly 12 MP which seems quite appealing should it give better DOF or is it going to speed up the shutter speed even more and show up more vibrations.

 

[pyrate]

aliexpress or 1/2.3" 3.8mm 16Megapixel S Mount Low-Distortion Board Lens for Drone Gopro 4

So is this the one you have to modify the outer ring on?

 

[Ian [P13]]

aliexpress or 1/2.3" 3.8mm 16Megapixel S Mount Low-Distortion Board Lens for Drone Gopro 4

Oh no, you're tempting me with more lenses, I've ordered the 3.8mm as the 4.2mm was softer than the 4.4mm.

 

[pyrate]

So far I fought the urge to buy more, but that 3.8 is tempting

 

[erikgraham]

Oh no, you're tempting me with more lenses, I've ordered the 3.8mm as the 4.2mm was softer than the 4.4mm.

Been testing for a few weeks now. I'm really liking the sharpness on the Peau 3.97

 

[pyrate]

have to wonder if that is due to the 16MP rating, and would that be obtainable with any 16MP
I do believe that is why the 4.4 is better than a lot of the others is that 12MP rating

 

[Soul Patch Films]

I love the Peau 3.97. Purchased a couple of weeks ago after they lowered the price to $140. I don't want to do any cutting, grinding or other modifications to my camera. The install was very easy, did not take the camera apart. It took all of 15 minutes including focusing, was able to remove the stock lens without so much as a scratch. Used one wrap of white plumbers tape and the lens feels very solid. It also fills the outer ring nicely with out the need for a filler ring.

 

[PdxSteve]

What's the difference between using one with f2.0 against an f2.8, there are quite a few 4.35mm ones available that are supposedly 12 MP which seems quite appealing should it give better DOF or is it going to speed up the shutter speed even more and show up more vibrations.

The lower the f-stop, the more clear the glass is. Basically it means the lower the fstop the better it will do in lower-light situations because the lens is optically more "clear". Lower fstop = better lens.

 

[J R]

Used one wrap of white plumbers tape and the lens feels very solid.

Soul,

Thanks for the plumbers tape tip! I should have thought of that!

Jerry

 

[Witterings]

The lower the f-stop, the more clear the glass is. Basically it means the lower the fstop the better it will do in lower-light situations because the lens is optically more "clear". Lower fstop = better lens.

So theoretically this lens should be better than a lot of the ones that are f2.8 ?????
cn aico hot sale non distortion camera hd ir cut filter 12mp 1/2.3 F2.0 4.3mm m12 lens, View 4.3mm m12 lens, cnAICO Product Details from Taizhou Jiaojiang Aico Electronics Limited on Alibaba.com

 

[PdxSteve]

If everything else is equal, which they most likely aren't. It also has to do with the coatings applied to the lens which helps prevent surface reflection and boost light transmission. This will be most noticeable when looking into light (sun) and getting aberrations (sun flares). Some are a lot more pronounced and colored than others.

Most 3rd party lenses that can fit a gopro were not made for beautiful photography. They were made for security cams. Most of what you will get out of China is low grade crap. Honestly. You don't always get what you pay for, but in this case you will.

Here's a good read on lens coatings and what they actually do. Canon : Canon Technology | Canon Science Lab | Lens Coatings

 

[Soul Patch Films]

Soul,

Thanks for the plumbers tape tip! I should have thought of that!

Jerry

I installed the lens without tape initially, but found it was quite loose. Two wraps were too tight, one seemed just right.

 

[Witterings]

Most 3rd party lenses that can fit a gopro were not made for beautiful photography. They were made for security cams. Most of what you will get out of China is low grade crap. Honestly. You don't always get what you pay for, but in this case you will.

So the people that are selling them for huge premiums like peauproductions and ragecams where are they sourcing / buying their products from if not China?????

 

[PdxSteve]

I guess "most" means different things to different people. Most people don't know crap about the differences in lenses and figure if the mm is the same, they are the same lens. I'm not saying you can't find a good deal if you are educated and know what you are looking for. I also prefer proven lenses over just something random found on Alibaba.

I have seen 2 different 5.4mm lenses that were purchased from Alibaba that had a lot of (bright) blue artifacts, yet the 5.4mm from Peau didn't. The exact same shot taken at the same time with both on a single mount, so they were facing exactly the same position.

 

[Witterings]

But there are only 2 major suppliers out there, one that I know peau has the exclusivity for the 3.97 lens but they offer a few alternatives which I would have thought were similar quality and the other company that were in essence the 1st ones that really came to market with the original 5.4mm lens .... if you looked into it further you'd probably find they're either the same company or at least have them manufactured out of the same factory.

Granted if you go and buy from an unknown that are probably picking up the 2nds and selling them for $10 including shipping but if you buy from one of the "known" companies where you'll pay c $18 / 30 plus shipping ..... I'll bet you're getting the exact same product but just at a much lower price.

It's well known throughout the industry with RC planes there's one MAJOR manufacturer in China that produce the majority of not just the well know / publicised names but also the lesser hyped more budget ones as well at a fraction of the cost.

There was also the scaremongering years ago that you had to buy the £40 batteries because the Chinese ones were dangerous, I've been using the Turnigy equivalents for £9 for years and they're just as good, the Chinese motors that were destined to destroy your plane in seconds ..... they cost 1/5th, performed better and are still going strong many years later.

People will discover in a short period of time how much of it's hype and buy direct .... just my opinion.

 

[Ian [P13]]

The lower the f-stop, the more clear the glass is. Basically it means the lower the fstop the better it will do in lower-light situations because the lens is optically more "clear". Lower fstop = better lens.

This isn't true of GoPro lenses, a lower f stop means the glass is faster it most definitely does not mean its sharper, in fact the opposite is true

F2.8 seems to be the sweet spot for the GoPro.

 

[David Weston]

Now wanting to get a Peau lens, probably the 3.97 as mentioned above but having not done this before, just watched the Peau video on swapping lenses, not sure I want to venture into this territory or not. I have done a number of SOLO mods, ribbon cable, etc but GP experience. Appreciate some opinions and guidance. Thanks.

 

[Jubalr]

Now wanting to get a Peau lens, probably the 3.97 as mentioned above but having not done this before, just watched the Peau video on swapping lenses, not sure I want to venture into this territory or not. I have done a number of SOLO mods, ribbon cable, etc but GP experience. Appreciate some opinions and guidance. Thanks.

Hey David, When I first saw Peau's video I was not wanting to do it either. But there is a much faster and easier way. No need to open the GP. Check this out..

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies