fisheye lenses

hey there
i know that this is a specialized niche type of lens
but I was really kind of interested in playing with this look
I was wondering if I could ask if the 8-15 L FE is THE lens to get and play with - allowing both distortion onthe edges (mild) as well as causing a full circle like distortion? is this a product of how close - or far away - you stand to the subject?
any practical advice is welcome.
thanks

The 8-15mm Canon Fisheye is a zoom fisheye lens. To my knowledge it is the only zoom fisheye lens available. The "mild" and "circle" distortion you are referring to depends on the focal length you have selected and the camera you are using with the lens. How close you are to the subject has nothing to do with either of these effects. It will only change the relative size of the person or thing in the image just like using any other lens.

On a full frame camera at 8mm, the image circle will be entirely within the image sensor with black filling the remaining frame. This is the circle you are talking about. If you zoom in to 15mm, the image will cover the sensor but only just. You may still have darkening in the corners.

Used on a crop sensor, you are effectively zooming even further into the image circle. You will still get 180 degree coverage on the diagonal however you will never get the full circle effect. At 8mm, the corners of the circle are starting to appear but will be more annoying than anything.

For a 7D which you have listed, I'd probably avoid this lens. The lens is not cheap and you can't take advantage of the full circle effect. There are much cheaper fisheye lenses that have excellent performance that I would experiment with first if I were you. I have the Samyang 8mm fisheye and I love it. It is cheap and easy to use and better yet, you can determine how much you like fisheye lenses before dropping over $1000 on a lens.

Canon 8-15mm images: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=922575

Samyang 8mm images: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=835464

Peleng 8mm images: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=588817

Canon 15mm fish images: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=263989

Sigma 15mm fish images: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=453848

Goodluck

tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens does both FF and cropped and is a lot cheaper

Warren

industryimage wrote in post #16728329
tokina 10-17mm fisheye lens does both FF and cropped and is a lot cheaper

Warren

I thought it was designed for a crop sensor?

thanks for all the information. It is all new to me.
but basically you are saying that the use of a crop sensor DSLR will not be able to get the "globe" type look - just some sort of start of the full distortion. even at 8mm. I may have to rethink this until I get a FF... thanks for the practical advice!

ceriltheblade wrote in post #16728395
thanks for all the information. It is all new to me.
but basically you are saying that the use of a crop sensor DSLR will not be able to get the "globe" type look - just some sort of start of the full distortion. even at 8mm. I may have to rethink this until I get a FF... thanks for the practical advice!

Here is a link that may help with the visual information you seek.

@ceriltheblade: Yes this is correct. On your 7D, the 8-15mm will not be a circular fisheye. If you do some searching, you may find a circular fisheye for and APS-C sensor but I'm sure the circular fisheye look will get tiring shortly. Try looking at the links to see some of the other fisheyes out there and go from there. Again, I recommend the Samyang 8mm because it is cheap and easy to use and produces fantastic (for the price) images. The others are very good too though.


You can add the Tokina to the list as well. I'm not entirely convinced of the benefits or cost of a zoom fisheye designed for a crop sensor but that's for you to decide.

thanks Jimewall for the link - VERY VERY helpful.
Thanks Youngback for the clarification. I thought also that the "globe" look would also get tired...especially if it was the only look the lens could produce - that is why the zoom lens seemed pretty attractive - both round and rectangular in the same "cylinder". but I *DID* also want to have the option of the circular as well, if possible. I will have to do some thinking on the subject.... After all - it is 98% for fun....

I avoided the classic fisheye lens as too extreme for my needs.As an alternative I acquired a Lensbaby to produce "unusual" images

for a crop i think the sigma 4.5mm fisheye gives you a circular look...it doesn't look to be cheap though...i bought a broken 8mm fisheye, fixed it...then used it for about a week...i'm sure i'll use it again, but for me it's not something i'd use a majority of time...which is why i wanted to spend less

I have the Canon 8-15mm and it is one of my favorite lenses. The lens is extremely sharp and has wonderful contrast. Flare is exceptionally well-controlled as well. It really is an outstanding lens. That being said, I don't use it much. I've considered selling it several times, but decided to keep it because it's one of those lenses that you pull out to take that one shot that would look perfect with a fisheye - a stadium, a large fountain, extreme sports, etc. I am travelling to Italy later this year and have an idea of what I want to photograph with this lens - the coliseum, the plaza at St. Peter's, the Roman forum, Trevi fountain and a few others.

I took it on a sailboat tour of the Greek islands last year and some of my most memorable shots were with the 8-15mm. Again, out of 1,000 shots taken on vacation, I may have only used the fisheye for 30-40 shots, but they were among the most memorable in the bunch.

I highly recommend a fisheye lens as part of any arsenal of lenses. Not for everyday use, but certainly for that one shot that would look absolutely incredible with a fisheye. Good luck.

Any reason you would buy 8-15mmL instead of the others FE recommended?

Is there AF with other FEs?

Job511 wrote in post #16729860
Any reason you would buy 8-15mmL instead of the others FE recommended?

Is there AF with other FEs?

The Canon 8-15L is the only fisheye zoom for a FF camera. I like the ability to go circular to full frame. Besides, it's a fantastic lens.

^^ I'm not doubting that it is a fantastic lens, however the OP has the 7D in his profile which means no circular fisheye.


Job511: With a fisheye, there generally isn't a need for autofocus. The depth of field is pretty extreme. Using the OP's 7D and the Samyang 8mm, for a subject at 4 feet at f/ 3.5, the near limit of focus is 1.75 feet in front of the lens and the far limit is at infinity. For a subject at 20 feet, the near limit is 2.25 feet and the far limit is still infinity. For a distance of 100 feet you get a near limit of 3 feet and again, infinity. The trick with these lenses is to turn the focus to infinity, bring it back a hair and set the aperture to between 5.6 and 8 and forget about it.

Youngback wrote in post #16731588
^^ I'm not doubting that it is a fantastic lens, however the OP has the 7D in his profile which means no circular fisheye.


Job511: With a fisheye, there generally isn't a need for autofocus. The depth of field is pretty extreme. Using the OP's 7D and the Samyang 8mm, for a subject at 4 feet at f/ 3.5, the near limit of focus is 1.75 feet in front of the lens and the far limit is at infinity. For a subject at 20 feet, the near limit is 2.25 feet and the far limit is still infinity. For a distance of 100 feet you get a near limit of 3 feet and again, infinity. The trick with these lenses is to turn the focus to infinity, bring it back a hair and set the aperture to between 5.6 and 8 and forget about it.

Unless you are actually shooting things close up, like a wheel on a car, then you have to fiddle with it, but in general you're fine.

If you go with the 8mm Ronkinon, shoot at least 5.6, it sharpens up quite a bit by doing so.