Fortune focus: The uber wide $156,000 camera lens

A CAMERA lens so wide it can allegedly "see behind you" has gone on sale in the UK for $156,000.

NIKKOR 6MM LENS

The Greys of Westminister newsletter proclaiming the sale of the ultra rare Nikkor 6mm f2.8 lens. Picture: Courtesy of Greys of Westminister

Source: Supplied

The vintage fisheye Nikkor 6mm f/2.8 lens was built in the 1970s and was once credited as the world’s most extreme wide angle lens.

Designed for scientific and industrial use, the lens offers a 220 degree field of view.

Offering 220 degrees of view and weighing in at a stunning 5.2kg, the 6mm f2.8 Nikkor lens was first unveiled in 1970. Picture: Tony Hurst / Greys Of Westminster

But if the cost wasn’t restrictive enough, the lens’ weighs 5.2kg, is 171mm long and has a diameter of 236mm  - dwarfing any camera that attaches to it.

Its enormous girth and weight requires it to be mounted on a cast metal base plate.

"Our vintage camera buyer Toni Kowal spent six months tracking it down from overseas," says Gray Levett of Grays of Westminster, which is selling the lens.

When your paying $156,000 you get a whole lot more than just a lens cap to protect your glass. Picture: Tony Hurst / Greys Of Westminster

"We were fortunate to be able to find this example in such pristine condition."

The lens comes with four colour filters but a camera body is not included, so you’ll have to cough up for more than just a lens.