My favourite fisheye image to date was taken outdoors in downtown Vancouver. I pointed the camera straight up at the sky and was able to include 11 surrounding buildings in a single image.
A couple of years ago, during a fit of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome!), I purchased a Zenit 8mm f/3.5 fisheye lens that I’ve been using consistently ever since.
Made in Russia and very heavy, it is a unique ultra-wide-angle lens with a 180-degree field of view. In fact, if you are shooting straight ahead, you have to be careful not to include your own feet in the shot!
What I find most interesting about the fisheye, though, is that I’ve learned to walk around “looking up” to find compositions that benefit from its unique perspective.
Photographing High-Ceilinged Interiors
The lens is particularly well suited to architectural interiors with high ceilings.
My favourite fisheye image to date, however, was taken outdoors in downtown Vancouver. I pointed the camera straight up at the sky and was able to include 11 surrounding buildings in a single image.
A Different View of the World
Looking at my images, you will notice most straight lines appear curved, approaching circular. Away from the centre of the frame, straight lines become dramatically curved. Also, objects in the immediate foreground can appear greatly enlarged, compared to the background.
The Zenit is a fully manual lens, but its enormous depth of field makes focusing relatively easy. With the focus set at infinity, almost everything beyond about half a metre is in focus.
Exposure is easy to manage with the fisheye on a mirrorless camera. Since the electronic viewfinder provides a live preview, I can adjust the aperture and exposure compensation and see the result before taking the photograph.
An Affordable Special-Effect Lens
A regular curvilinear fisheye like mine is very much a special-effect lens; however, it can be acquired for about $300.
There is another version (rectilinear) that will partially straighten out the edges, but they run $2,500+.
A multi-shot panorama composition is a lot cheaper.
Would I recommend this lens? – yes, if you want to challenge yourself to think differently and have a little fun. To me it has been worth the $300 (but not much more) to force me to look at the world a little differently.