The 10 Best Fisheye Lenses

Turn the zoom ring on the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye and it goes from a round picture ringed in black to one that fills the whole frame, two fisheye looks in one lens on a full-frame body. Autofocus is quick and quiet, and the barrel is sealed against dust and drizzle. It fits Canon DSLRs and, with Canon's adapter, mirrorless R bodies. Color fringing shows along bright edges, and Canon has since launched a mirrorless successor.

Low light is where the Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Fisheye PRO stands apart, since it gathers far more light than a typical fisheye, which helps with night skies and dim rooms. It fills the frame on Micro Four Thirds cameras from OM System, Olympus and Panasonic, and OM System rates it splashproof, dustproof and freezeproof. Pictures stay sharp across the frame once it's stopped down a little. Wide open, fine detail softens slightly.

Full-frame mirrorless shooters who want autofocus and a bright lens for the night sky should look at the Sigma 15mm f/1.4 Fisheye Art, which Digital Camera World ranks first among fisheye lenses. It fills the frame edge to edge and comes in Sony E and Leica L versions. It's big and heavy to carry, close-up shots turn soft at its widest setting, and it costs more than many camera bodies.

For Nikon shooters, the Nikon AF-S 8-15mm Fisheye draws a full circle at the wide end and a frame-filling view at the long end on a full-frame body. It focuses on its own on F-mount DSLRs and works on Z mirrorless cameras through Nikon's adapter. Detail is good rather than crisp in both modes, and the current seller asks well above what Nikon charged at launch.

Crop-sensor mirrorless owners get a full 180-degree view that fills the frame from the Samyang 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye II, a small lens with a solid metal and plastic build. Focus is set by hand, but at this width nearly everything from a few feet out stays sharp, and detail turns crisp once stopped down a bit. This one fits Sony E, and a Fuji X version sells too. Sun near the frame's edge can throw busy flare.

Budget full-frame shooters can start with the Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 Fisheye, a manual lens that fills the whole frame with a 180-degree view. This Nikon version has a chip that passes aperture settings to the camera, and the same lens comes in Canon, Sony and Pentax mounts. The center of the picture is sharp, but the corners stay soft and color fringing is strong along high-contrast edges, so it rewards stopping down.

Older but still sold new, the Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX Fisheye gives full-frame Canon DSLRs a compact autofocus fisheye that fills the frame corner to corner. It focuses very close, so a subject can sit just inches from the front glass while the background curves away. On a crop-sensor body it acts more like a gently curved wide angle. Stock is thin, and mirrorless cameras need an adapter.

The Panasonic Lumix 8mm Fisheye is the pocketable choice for Micro Four Thirds, a tiny lens that still covers 180 degrees corner to corner. It autofocuses on Panasonic and OM System bodies, and it's light enough to leave on the camera for a full day of travel. It doesn't gather much light, so night shots call for a tripod, and stock is down to the last few.

Crop-sensor Canon DSLR owners get a wide, curved view for little money with the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 HD Fisheye. Its petal hood comes off, so on a full-frame body it shows a cropped circle with dark corners. Focus and aperture are both set by hand, which takes getting used to, though a lens this wide keeps almost everything in focus anyway. Stock of this Canon version is nearly gone.

Tight budgets and tight spaces both suit the TTArtisan 7.5mm f/2 Fisheye, a small, solidly built manual lens with a bright aperture. It fills a crop-sensor frame with a 180-degree view and comes for Sony E, Fuji X, Canon RF, Nikon Z, Micro Four Thirds and L-mount cameras. One detailed review praised its sharpness and build for the money. It has no electronic contacts, so the camera records no lens data.