Fisheye photography

The fisheye lens is a specialty lens and as such it is a lens that some photographers find very useful and some photographers find a total waste of time, effort and hence money.

Many people are under the impression that a fish eye lens is only good for capturing photos full of distortion and converging lines, however this is not the case. The primary purpose of a fish eye lens is to take photos that are seriously distorted, but it can also be used to capture photos with very little distortion as well. If you want to capture super wide photos that aren’t distorted you can do this with a fish eye lens.

A fish eye lens is a very versatile lens, and many photographers don’t seem to appreciate this. You can control the amount of distortion (and converging lines) using a fish eye lens and you can create a strong effect, a medium effect, a slight effect or no effect – it’s entirely up to you. The amount of distortion you get in a photo taken with a fisheye lens depends on the subject, where you place the subject in the frame and the angle of the camera. Altering any one of these variables will have an impact on the amount of distortion.

Below are some photos taken with the same fisheye lens (Canon 8mm – 15mm f4L) at the same focal length (15mm) over the space of fifteen minutes. The photos have been processed using a RAW converter to tweak exposure, sharpness, blacks/whites and shadows. The photos below are to demonstrate how using a fish eye lens doesn’t always end up with a really distorted photo.

To get the most out of a fish eye lens you need to know what you have to do to get the effect, i.e. the amount of distortion, you want. Getting the best from a fish eye lens requires a lot of time, practice, experimenting and patience. There is a learning curve in getting the most from a fisheye lens and you will end up with many unsuccessful shots. If you don’t get too down about this and persevere you will get there and when you do it’ll be worth it. Trust me.

The fish eye lens I use is the Canon 8mm – 15mm f4L (full review here)

Focal Length – Full frame/APS-C:-  8mm - 15mm/ 12.8mm - 24mm/ Aperture:- 4 - 22 /Min focus:- 5.9" /Dimensions:- 3.09" x 3.27" / Weight:- 19.01oz/Image stabilization:- No/Price (approx.) $USD/£ GBP:- $1,250.00/£985.00 

Being an L series lens this fish eye lens is made using the highest quality materials and components, and also the best optics.

On a full frame camera it is possible to capture full circular fisheye photos (i.e. those in a complete circle) as well as linear fisheye photos, which means this lens is effectively two fish eye lenses in one – this is the main reason I bought it.

This lens is not cheap, but then none of the Canon L series lenses are, but it is worth every penny. You should see this lens as an investment that will provide years of fun/enjoyment, quirky photos and trouble free service too. This lens comes highly recommended and I wouldn’t be without mine. 

Below is a short video clip, courtesy of Youtube, "Fun with the fish eye lens" you may find interesting. Please feel free to check it out. 

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