Exploring Fisheye Lenses: Types, Examples & Things to Know

A fisheye lens is a specialized kind of lens that provides an ultra-wide view. And it has a distinctive, distorted look to it, with a bulging appearance and curved lines.

It’s a niche look that doesn’t work for everything. It’s an unflattering look for most portrait photography, and it’s not a good fit for something that requires a “normal” perspective. But it can also add a sense of drama, a unique perspective, and an immersive feel to landscapes, interiors, and action shots. And it packs a lot of visual information into the frame. And it’s a type of lens I find a lot of fun to shoot with.

The name comes from its shape–they typically have a curved, bulging front element that looks like, well, a fish’s eye. But there’s also another thing in common: they can work very well underwater.

The fisheye lens look has become more common these days as we’ve become more used to footage from action cameras. The fisheye look is the standard field of view on GoPro cameras, for example. I have included a couple of travel photos taken with a GoPro below.

But a fisheye lens looks different to a standard rectilinear wide-angle lens, even when they cover the same field of view. That heavy distortion is a defining feature.

Good Uses for Fisheye Lenses

The distinctive distortion of a fisheye lens can be a strength or weakness, depending on what you’re aiming for. But it’s rarely neutral.

Fisheye Lenses Are Good For . . .

• Dramatic architectural interiors. They can pack an enormous amount of visual detail in the frame. I really like using them in highly decorative interiors such as churches, mosques, or wats.
• Immersive action shots. The natural drama of the fisheye perspective can work well in situations where you want the viewer to feel part of the action. But for that, it’s a requirement that you’re able to get the camera in very close to the subject.
• Wide-angle landscapes. If you’re surrounded by a scene, fisheye lenses can really bring the viewer to that spot with you.
• When space is very tight. They excel in very tight shooting spaces.
• Underwater photography. They work well with the different magnification underwater as well as for over-under split-level photos (part of the frame below water and part above).
• Unconventional fashion shoots. If you want to amp up the drama and display something a bit differently, there are all sorts of creative possibilities. Think swirling dresses, for instance.
• Unconventional portraits. Fisheye lenses aren’t good for a “normal” portrait shot, but you can have fun with something more out of the box. I really like using a fisheye for taking photos of my kids.
• Spherical panoramas. They are extremely helpful for shooting spherical panoramas in fewer frames and less risk of alignment problems or subject movement.

Fisheye Lenses Aren’t Good For . . .

• Traditional portraits. If you’re after a traditional or flattering look, fisheye lenses aren’t a great choice. They throw proportions wildly off, which becomes extremely noticeable in photos of people.
• Traditional architecture shots. Fisheye lenses can be used with great and fun effect for dramatic interiors where you’re emphasizing drama or volume of detail and it doesn’t matter that none of the lines are straight. But if you’re going for traditional architecture shots such as for realtor listings or submitting to Architecture Digest, fisheye lenses aren’t a good choice.
• Far-away subjects. The extremely wide perspective will make things far away look tiny in the frame. If you can get very close to your subject, though, you can make use of that exaggerated emphasis on things close to make them look enormous compared to subjects further from the frame.
• Bokeh or blurring the background. In most cases, it’s pretty much impossible to get any meaningful bokeh with a fisheye lens. The other side of the token, though, is that the focus is extremely forgiving.
• Using lens filters. Most fisheye lenses don’t play nicely with lens filters, in part because of the bulbous front glass element and in part because of the extremely high risk of lens vignetting from the ultra-wide-angle perspective. On some, they might take a rear filter, but those are quite limited and limiting in what they can do.

Examples of Photos Taken with a Fisheye Lens

To give a visual sense of the look that fisheye lenses product, here are some photos I’ve taken with various fisheye lenses.

Types of Fisheye Lenses

When it comes to camera lenses, there are two main types of fisheye lenses: spherical fisheye and full-frame fisheye. They create quite different results.

If you’re after something that’s essentially an ultra-wide-angle perspective, you’re most likely after a full-frame fisheye lens. This will use the entire rectangular space of the frame.

Here’s are a couple of examples:

A spherical fisheye, by contrast, will only use a round section in the middle of the frame and be surrounded by black, unexposed areas.

Here are some examples of spherical fisheye taken from the same vantage points and lens (Nikon 8-15mm fisheye) as above:

Where things can get a bit complicated is when it comes to the camera’s sensor size. For instance, using a full-frame spherical fisheye lens on a cropped APS-C sensor camera can fill the frame. So it’s important to match the lens to the camera to get the result you’re going for.

Things Worth Knowing About Fisheye Lenses

• Fisheye lenses are known for curving straight lines, but there are situations where you can get straight lines out of it. It’s when the line runs through the middle of the frame. The further you get from the middle of the frame, the stronger the distortion is. So if you want to keep a horizon straight in a landscape shot, for example, you’ll want to keep it directly in the middle of the frame. The further you move it away from the center of the frame, the more curved the horizon will become.
• One of the advantages of that ultra-wide perspective of fisheye lenses is that they have an exceptionally deep depth of field. That means that focus is extremely forgiving, and it’s relatively hard to get the shot out of focus. That’s one reason they’re a great choice for action cameras (but not the only reason). It also means that a manual-focus fisheye lens is still an attractive option.
• You’ll often see fisheye lens specs that refer to field of view such as 180° or even more. But lens fields of view aren’t measured horizontally across the frame, as you might expect, but rather diagonally from corner to corner.
• The types of fisheye lenses you can buy for DSLRs or mirrorless cameras often have a focal length somewhere around 8mm to 16mm. But just because a lens has a small focal length like that doesn’t mean it’s a fisheye. For example, it’s quite possible to have a 14mm aspherical lens that isn’t a fisheye lens. If you want a wide field of view without the distortion, you want a rectilinear lens rather than a fisheye lens.
• Most fisheye lenses have a bulging front glass element. Combined with their ultra wide-angle view, it means they’re usually not compatible with regular screw-on filters. It might be possible to use an exterior filter holder on some, but the wide-angle view is going to complicate matters.
• Fisheye lenses can work very well for shooting spherical panoramas because of their incredible wide coverage, but they work best when using a specialized panorama head that keeps a consistent nodal point.
• Because of that curved front element, it can be easy to scratch the front glass. So extra care is called for when putting the lens down.
• Because of the exaggerated perspective, even the smallest change in vantage point can have a huge impact on the shot. So it’s worth having some fun with experimenting.
  

Fisheye Lenses Worth a Look

If you’re looking to try out a fisheye lens on your DSLR or mirrorless camera, here are some worth a look.

Again, it’s important to match the lens type with the camera and its sensor size. But it’s also worth knowing that this is a niche lens, and not every manufacturer makes one, and when manufacturers are fleshing out their lens range, fisheyes are rarely a top priority. That’s why there are fewer fisheye lenses in the newer mirrorless mount ranges (eg. Z and RF) so far.

It’s worth noting that optical quality can vary greatly between these lenses–it’s not an easy type of lens to make sharp, and some of the very cheap models work well as a creative gimmick but are lacking in optical quality.

And some of these are automatic focus, but cheaper models tend to be manual focus.

Nikon F Mount Fisheye Lenses (DSLR / SLR)

I have a separate post with more information about Nikon fisheye lenses.

• Nikon AF-S Fisheye NIKKOR 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED Lens
• Nikon AF Fisheye-NIKKOR 16mm f/2.8D Lens
• Nikon AF DX Fisheye-NIKKOR 10.5mm f/2.8G ED Lens
• Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens
• Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 AT-X 107 DX AF Fisheye Lens
• Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
• Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 ED AS IF NCS UMC Fisheye Lens

Nikon Z Mount Fisheye Lenses (Mirrorless)

• Venus Optics Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
• 7artisans Photoelectric 7.5mm f/2.8 II Fisheye Lens

Canon EF Mount Fisheye Lenses (DSLR / SLR)

• Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM Lens
• Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 AT-X 107 AF DX Fisheye Lens
• Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye Lens
• Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
• Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 ED AS IF NCS UMC Fisheye Lens
• Venus Optics Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens

Canon RF Mount Fisheye Lenses (Mirrorless)

• Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye 3D VR Lens (Not that this is a different type of fisheye lens; it’s a stereoscopic lens for shooting VR footage)
• Venus Optics Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
• 7artisans Photoelectric 7.5mm f/2.8 II Fisheye Lens

Micro Four Thirds Fisheye Lenses (Mirrorless)

• Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f/1.8 Fisheye PRO Lens
• Panasonic Lumix G Fisheye 8mm f/3.5 Lens
• Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Ultra Wide-Angle Fisheye Lens
• Samyang 7.5mm f/3.5 UMC Fisheye MFT Lens
• Venus Optics Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
• 7artisans Photoelectric 7.5mm f/2.8 II Fisheye Lens

For Sony E-Mount Fisheye Lenses (Mirrorless)

• Tokina SZ 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
• Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 UMC Fisheye II Lens
• Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 ED AS IF NCS UMC Fisheye Lens
• Venus Optics Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
• 7artisans Photoelectric 7.5mm f/2.8 II Fisheye Lens
  

Sony E-Mount Fisheye Conversion Lenses

These attach on the front of other specific lenses to convert them to fisheye.

• Sony 16mm Fisheye Conversion Lens for FE 28mm f/2 Lens
• Sony VCL-ECF2 Fisheye Converter For SEL16F28 and SEL20F28

Jargon Busting

Photography comes loaded with technical jargon. Here are some plain-English explanations for some of the terms I’ve used in this post.

1. Fisheye lens – a specialized lens that provides an ultra-wide view with a distinctive, distorted look, characterized by a bulging appearance and curved lines. It’s ideal for dramatic architectural interiors, immersive action shots, wide-angle landscapes, and tight shooting spaces.
2. Spherical fisheye lens – a type of fisheye lens that creates a circular image, filling the entire frame with a 180-degree field of view.
3. Full-frame fisheye lens – a type of fisheye lens that uses the entire rectangular space of the frame, creating an ultra-wide-angle perspective.
4. Depth of field – the range of distance in a photo that appears acceptably sharp. Fisheye lenses have an exceptionally deep depth of field, which means they have a forgiving focus and are relatively hard to get out of focus.
5. Rectilinear lens – a lens that creates straight lines and minimal distortion. It’s ideal for wide-angle shots without the exaggerated perspective of a fisheye lens.
6. Vantage point – the position from which a photo is taken. Because of the exaggerated perspective of fisheye lenses, even the smallest change in vantage point can have a huge impact on the shot.
7. Panorama head – a specialized tool that keeps the nodal point consistent while shooting spherical panoramas with a fisheye lens.
8. Nodal point – the point in a lens where light rays converge and pass through without causing any shift or parallax error in a panoramic image.
9. Bokeh – the aesthetic quality of the blur in the out-of-focus areas of an image. It’s almost impossible to achieve bokeh with a fisheye lens.
10. Alignment problems – a common issue when shooting spherical panoramas due to the distortion and curvature of fisheye lenses. Unless you’re using a specialized 360-degree camera, spherical panoramas are shot with a series of overlapping images. Software then stitches the image together, merging them at the overlaps. If there are alignment problems, this creates difficulty for the software and may result in strange artefacts or glitches in the image. A panorama head can help to minimize these problems.
11. Front element – camera lenses are made up of several pieces of glass. The front element is the glass on the front of the lens (i.e., facing away from the camera).

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