Canon EF 15mm f/2.8
Approx price: £618.99
Format: Full frame
Type: Diagonal
Closest focusing: 20cm
Filter: Rear gelatin
Weight: 330g
Dimensions: 73×62.2mm
Canon’s only fisheye lens is designed for use on full-frame digital or 35mm film cameras. On an APS-C-format camera the focal length effectively increases to 24.5cm and the angle of view is reduced dramatically.
The lens is constructed from eight elements in seven groups and it has a built-in petal-type hood.
Lensbaby Fisheye Optic
Approx price: £115
Format: Full frame
Type:
Circular
Closest focusing: 1.3cm from
front element
Filter: None
Weight:
206g (with composer)
Dimensions: 5.7×6.35cm
Lensbaby fans can use the Fisheye Optic in either the Muse (£79) via an adapter ring sold separately for around £16.99, or the Composer (£165).
The six-element multi-coated optic has a focal length of 12mm and covers 160°. It produces circular images with the edges just clipped on full-frame cameras. Four Thirds users will find the image fills the entire frame, while images from APS-C-format cameras have black corners. The maximum aperture is f/4 and the optic is supplied with five aperture discs (f/5.6-f/22).
Nikon 16mm f/2.8D AF
Approx price: £596.99
Format: Full-frame
Type:
Diagonal
Closest focusing: 25cm
Filter:
Rear gelatin
Weight: 290g
Dimensions: 63x57mm
Dating from November 1993, this exceptionally small and light (for full-frame) autofocus lens has an aperture ring, making it equally at home on older film cameras as it is on Nikon’s high-end DSLRs.
Four filters are supplied with the lens: ultraviolet, light amber, light blue and orange. As these filters are included in the optical construction of the lens, one should be inserted into the clip behind the rear element at all times. Nikon recommends that the ultraviolet filter (L37C) is employed for general use.
Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED DX
Approx price: £518.99
Format: APS-C (DX)
Type:
Diagonal
Closest focusing: 14cm
Filter: Rear gelatin
Weight: 300g
Dimensions: 63×62.5mm
Although designed for the sub-full-frame DX format, this lens has a 180° diagonal angle of view with an equivalent focal length of 16mm. As usual, the very short focal length means depth of field is extensive and at f/22 everything from 2m to infinity is sharp.
Like Nikon’s 16mm optic (right), the lens has a built-in shallow lens hood and the manufacturer’s Close-Range Correction (CRC) system to improve performance at near-focusing distances.
Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 8mm 1:3.5
Approx price: £699
Format: Four Thirds
Type: Diagonal
Closest focusing: 13.5cm
Filter: None
Weight: 485g
Dimensions: 79x77mm
The Four Thirds advantage for telephoto optics becomes a disadvantage with wideangle lenses and this 8mm lens, which has an effective focal length of 16mm on one of Olympus’s DSLRs, is the largest, heaviest optic here.
Nevertheless, it is impressive that this has been achieved for the Four Thirds system.
Panasonic Lumix G 8mm f/3.5
Approx price: £699
Format: Micro Four Thirds
Type: Diagonal
Closest focusing: 13.5cm
Filter:
Rear gelatin
Weight: 165g
Dimensions: 60.7×51.7mm
This is currently the only fisheye optic with the Micro Four Thirds mount. Although this mount also results in a 2x focal length magnification factor, the shallower flange depth of the cameras allows this lens to be smaller than its Four Thirds equivalent. Although not the shortest lens here, it is one of the narrowest and the lightest.
The smaller scale of the Micro Four Thirds cameras and lenses means that the rear gelatin filters need only be 22x22mm square.
Pentax SMC DA 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ED (IF)
Approx price: £428
Format: APS-C
Type: Diagonal
Closest focusing: 14cm
Filter: None
Weight: 320g
Dimensions: 68×71.5mm
Like the Tokina 10-17mm optic (below), this lens offers a diagonal field of view of 180° at 10mm and 100° at 17mm when it is mounted on a DSLR with an APS-C-format sensor. This makes it a versatile super-wideangle zoom lens, but chromatic aberration is more of an issue than with a fixed focal-length lens.
This is the most affordable autofocus fisheye lens around. It also has Pentax’s Quick Shift manual focus and Super Protection coatings to help keep the elements clean and minimise flare.
Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Circular
Approx price: £567
Format: APS-C
Type:
Circular
Closest focusing: 13.5cm
Filter: Rear gelatin
Weight: 470g
Dimensions: 76×77.8mm
Available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts, this lens projects a circular image onto APS-C-format sensors. It is the shortest focal-length lens available for DSLRs and has an effective focal length of 6.75mm or 7.2mm depending upon the camera it is mounted on. This ensures extensive depth of field even at the closet focus point of 13.5cm.
There’s no real lens hood to speak of, but the edge of the barrel extends beyond the outer edge of the front element by a few millimetres.
Samyang 8mm f/3.5
Approx price: £299.99
Format: APS-C
Closest focusing: 30cm
Type:
Diagonal
Filter: None
Weight: 414-443g
Dimensions:
74.8-77.3x75mm
This comparatively heavy, well-built, manual-focus optic is available with Canon, Nikon, Pentax or Sony mounts and is the most affordable lens here (barring the Lensbaby).
An aperture ring is provided for all mounts, running from f/3.5 to f/22 in 1⁄2 stops. Currently, only the Pentax variant has an ‘A’ setting in which the camera can be used to select aperture, but this is also coming soon to the Nikon version.
As usual, a petal-shaped hood is built in, but there’s no facility to attach a filter at either end of the optic.
Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Circular
Approx price: £617
Format: Full frame
Type: Circular
Closest focusing: 13.5cm
Filter: Rear gelatin
Weight: 400g
Dimensions: 73.5×68.6mm
The DG denotes that this lens has been optimised for use on a digital camera, but it covers the entire 35mm film frame. Multi-layer coatings help minimise flare and ghosting, while Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass reduces chromatic aberration.
Like all the other fisheye optics except the Samyang and Lensbaby, this lens has an autofocus system, which is useful as the extensive depth of field can make precise manual focusing tricky. The lens is available with Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts.
Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Diagonal
Approx price: £497.99
Format: APS-C
Type: Diagonal
Closest focusing: 13.5cm
Filter: Rear gelatin
Weight: 475g
Dimensions: 75.8x83mm
This is Sigma’s widest angled diagonal fisheye lens, but it is designed for use on DSLRs with APS-C-sized sensors, on which it has an effective focal length of 15mm, 16mm and 17mm on Nikon, Canon and Sigma DSLRs respectively.
It is the heaviest of Sigma’s fisheye lenses, seeming closer in feel to the 4.5mm circular fisheye for APS-C format than the 15mm diagonal fisheye lens that is compatible with full-frame cameras.
When not in use, a tube-like adapter that accepts a 67mm lens cap slips over the built-in petal-type lens hood to protect the front element.
Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG DIAGONAL
Approx price: £503.99
Format: Full frame
Type: Diagonal
Closest focusing: 15cm
Filter: Rear gelatin
Weight: 370g
Dimensions: 73.5x65mm
This is arguably Sigma’s most attractive fisheye lens because the image covers the entire 35mm film frame. It is also produced in the widest range of mounts, namely Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma and Sony. Like the other Sigma optics here, it is optimised for use with digital cameras.
The Nikon version of the lens has an aperture ring, so this is a good choice for users of older Nikon cameras.
Sony SAL-16 16mm f/2.8
£599
Format: Full frame
Type: Diagonal
Closest focusing: 20cm
Filter: Integrated
Weight: 400g
Dimensions: 75×66.5mm
This weighty little lens was originally produced by Minolta, but is now manufactured by Sony. It feels well put together and has an unusual quirk, which is typical of Minolta, of four integrated filter settings: normal, blue (B 12), amber (A 12) and orange (O 56).
These are selected by pulling back and rotating a sprung ring just behind the angular lens hood. The blue and amber filters are most useful in film photography for balancing tungsten and daylight film and lighting, while the orange filter is useful for boosting contrast with monochrome photography.
Tokina AT-X 107 DX AF 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5
£499
Format: APS-C
Type:
Diagonal
Closest focusing: 14cm
Filter: None
Weight: 350g
Dimensions: 70×71.1mm
One of only two zoom optics in the group, this APS-C-format autofocus lens is available with the Canon EF or Nikon F mount. Tokina applies its WR (Water Repellent) optical coating to the front element of this lens to make it easier to remove fingerprints and the marks left by raindrops.
Like many of the lenses in this group, the petal-shaped lens hood is built in so it can’t be mislaid when you are out and about.
