Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM
This versatile lens offers both circular and full-frame fisheye images, making it a favourite among professional photographers for its flexibility and image quality.
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye
A prime lens that delivers sharp images with a wide 180-degree angle of view, perfect for capturing expansive landscapes and architectural feats.
Introduction to Canon Fisheye Lenses
A fisheye lens is a type of ultra-wide-angle lens that produces a distinct visual effect characterized by extreme spherical distortion. Unlike traditional wide-angle lenses that aim to minimize distortion and produce images that closely resemble human sight, fisheye lenses embrace distortion to create a unique and artistic perspective. The term “fisheye” reflects the lens’s capability to capture a hemispherical image, mimicking the wide field of view similar to that of a fish’s eye.
Fisheye lenses can capture a very wide scene in a single frame, with angles of view that can extend up to 180 degrees or more, allowing for panoramic or hemispherical photography. This capability makes them particularly useful for creating exaggerated perspectives, capturing expansive landscapes, or fitting an entire architectural structure within the frame.
There are two main types of fisheye lenses:
- Circular Fisheye Lenses: These lenses capture a 360-degree view in all directions from the lens shooting position, producing a circular image that is surrounded by a black frame when used on a full-frame camera. The result is a distinctive round image that showcases the scene in a bubble-like manner.
- Diagonal or Full-Frame Fisheye Lenses: These lenses cover the entire image sensor of the camera, producing images where the distorted view stretches to all corners of the frame. The angle of view with these lenses is still extremely wide but they produce a more rectangular image that fills the entire frame.
Fisheye lenses are popular in various photographic genres, including landscape, extreme sports, and astrophotography, due to their unique ability to capture an expansive view in a single frame. They are also favoured for creative and experimental photography, where the goal is to achieve unusual, distorted perspectives that give images a dynamic and abstract quality.
Despite the distortion, images captured with fisheye lenses can be highly detailed, offering a unique viewpoint that can transform ordinary scenes into extraordinary visual experiences. The distinctive look and creative potential of fisheye photography continue to make these lenses a valuable tool for photographers looking to push the boundaries of conventional image-making.
Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM Review
The Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM is a unique and versatile lens that stands out in the Canon lens line-up for its ability to provide both circular and full-frame fisheye effects. As part of Canon’s esteemed L series, it is designed to meet the needs of professional photographers by offering exceptional build quality, durability, and optical performance. Here’s an in-depth review of this remarkable lens.
Build Quality and Design
The EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM is robustly constructed to withstand the rigors of professional use. The lens features the distinctive L series build, with a solid, weather-sealed construction that protects against dust and moisture. This makes it suitable for shooting in various challenging environments. Its design is both ergonomic and intuitive, with smooth zoom and focus rings that allow for precise control over the shot.
Optical Performance
Optically, this lens is a powerhouse. It delivers sharp, clear images across the entire zoom range, with minimal chromatic aberration thanks to its UD glass elements. The lens’s unique fisheye design offers a 180-degree diagonal angle of view at the 15mm end, transitioning to a circular fisheye effect at 8mm. This range allows photographers to experiment with a variety of perspectives and effects, from expansive landscapes and panoramic shots to unique circular images.
The f/4 maximum aperture remains constant throughout the zoom range, providing consistent exposure settings during zooming. While it may not be the fastest aperture available, it is sufficient for most lighting conditions, and the lens’s performance in low light is commendably good.
Autofocus Performance
The Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM features Canon’s Ultra Sonic Motor (USM) technology, ensuring fast, accurate, and virtually silent autofocus performance. This is particularly beneficial for video recording or situations where noise must be kept to a minimum. Manual focus override is available, allowing photographers to adjust focus manually even when in AF mode, offering greater control over focusing accuracy.
Image Quality
Image quality produced by the EF 8-15mm f/4L is exceptional, with vibrant colours and excellent contrast. The lens’s fisheye nature means images have pronounced distortion, which is a creative feature rather than a flaw. This distortion allows for creative and expressive photography, with the ability to capture vast scenes in a single frame. Flare and ghosting are well controlled, even when shooting towards bright light sources, thanks to Canon’s Super Spectra Coating.
Versatility and Creative Potential
One of the most compelling aspects of the EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM is its versatility. It caters to a wide range of creative demands, from landscape and architectural photography to action sports and creative portraits. The ability to switch between circular and full-frame fisheye effects by simply zooming offers photographers a tool with unparalleled creative flexibility.
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Review
The Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye is a prime lens that offers photographers a unique perspective by delivering a 180-degree diagonal angle of view on full-frame cameras. This lens, known for its distinctive spherical distortion, allows for creative and expansive photography, making it a favourite among landscape, architecture, and even creative portrait photographers. Here’s a detailed review of its key features, performance, and overall value.
Build Quality and Design
The Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye is built to Canon’s high standards, with a solid construction that feels durable in hand. Its compact size and lightweight design make it an easy lens to carry around, ideal for photographers on the move or those who like to shoot spontaneously. Despite its age, the lens’s build quality has stood the test of time, offering reliability and resilience.
Optical Performance
One of the standout features of this lens is its optical performance. The lens delivers sharp images across the frame, with the centre being particularly impressive. The f/2.8 aperture allows for excellent low-light performance, making it versatile in various shooting conditions, from bright daylight to dimly lit interiors. Chromatic aberration is minimal, and while vignetting is present, it often adds to the artistic effect sought after in fisheye photography.
Distortion and Perspective
The hallmark of the EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye is its spherical distortion, which is both a creative tool and a challenge. The distortion can be used creatively to enhance the sense of space and depth in images or to create dramatic and exaggerated perspectives. Mastering the use of this lens requires an understanding of its effects on lines and shapes within the composition, as straight lines near the edges of the frame will curve dramatically.
Usability and Applications
This lens is straightforward to use, with manual focus and aperture control that encourage a hands-on approach to photography. It’s particularly well-suited for landscapes, cityscapes, and architectural photography, where its wide field of view can capture vast scenes in a single frame. It’s also popular for creating unique and engaging perspectives in action sports, events, and creative portraits.