Fisheye photography may not be a popular go-to photography type for many professional photographers due to the extreme amount of distortion that it produces. Simply put, not everybody is a fan of ultra-wide angle shots, even though finding the best fisheye lens can be quite useful for certain types of photography that require you to capture even more of a scene in a way that normal wide-angle lenses never could. That’s why a fisheye lens for your camera — whether it’s Canon or another brand — is a top pick.
But if you’re a beginner looking to produce one-of-a-kind, unique perspective photography or a seasoned photographer hoping to expand your horizons (pun intended), using a fisheye lens opens up a world of possibilities.
These recommended fisheye lenses will not only help you capture very cool circular and diagonal distortion effects but will also allow you to have even more fun with your high-resolution Canon DSLR camera.
What is the Difference Between Wide Angle and Fisheye?
The ultimate difference between a wide angle and a fisheye is the look of the final photo. For starters, fisheye lenses create a dramatic aesthetic to get as much of the scene into the photo as possible. These images tend to show landscapes with a bit of curvature—almost like the curve of the Earth.
A wide angle does get in a lot of land, but on a tighter scale—and it typically looks less warped. Most photographers use fisheye lenses when they’re going for a certain look and feel. They also use it to capture an exceptionally wide scene. Fisheye lenses are also common for underwater photography, where the lack of straight lines (which can look distorted on land) give photographers full reign to create.
Best Fisheye Lens for Canon
Whether you’re hoping to take extraordinary images for fun or are venturing into architecture or real estate photography, these are some of the best fisheye lenses that will help you achieve the ultra-wide angle results you’re looking for.
Meike 8mm f/3.5
Third-party lenses are a great way for budget-minded photographers to expand their lens collection. After all, the best fisheye lens is the lens you can afford. With their 8mm f/3.5, Meike offers a well-constructed lens featuring a multilayer nano coating to help you avoid flare or fuzzy light, which is a common complaint with many ultra-wide-angle lenses.
Like many other budget lenses from third-party manufacturers, the Meike 8mm doesn’t have autofocus or image stabilization. However, at this price point, that’s a small sacrifice.
Why We Chose This Lens
If you’re new to fisheye photography, you may be hesitant to invest in an expensive lens. The Meiki 8mm f/3.5 is ultra-affordable and delivers high-quality images. When shooting with a full-frame Canon DSLR, you’ll get an attractive and unique circular fisheye lens effect that can bring new interest to your photos.
Key Specifications:
- Fixed Focal Length of 8mm
- Canon EF-M mount
- Aperture Range of f/3.5 – f/22
- Manual Focusing Enabled
- Weighs 569g (1.2lbs)
- Optimized for APS-C Format Cameras
Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 HD
The Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 HD fisheye lens produces circular images when used with full-frame cameras and offers a 167-degree field of view for APS-C cameras. And like the Lensbaby 5.8mm, this 8mm ultra-wide angle fisheye lens focuses manually and offers the same aperture range of f/3.5 to f/22.
Even better, you can remove the camera lens hood so it doesn’t interfere with extreme wide angle shots on your full-frame DSLR.
Why We Chose This Lens
Compact and easy to use, the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 lens provides solid image quality at a budget-friendly price. The 12” minimum focusing distance makes it a snap to capture unique, exaggerated perspectives in close-up images of animals, flowers, and products, in addition to classic architecture or landscape fisheye images.
Key Specifications:
- Optimized for Full Frame Cameras
- Fixed Ultra Wide-Angle Focal Length of 8mm
- 167-Degree Angle Of View
- Aperture Range of f/3.5 – f/22
- Manual Focusing Enabled
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 12″
- 10 Elements in 7 Groups
- Weighs 428.08g (15.1oz)
Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5
Designed for the EF lens mount on Canon EOS cameras, this fisheye zoom lens provides plenty of flexibility on any shoot. The 180-degree field of view at 10mm makes it easy to photograph architecture and interiors in the tightest spaces.
When fully zoomed in to 17mm, you’ll experience a 100-degree field of view that’s still sufficient for smaller environments, yet won’t create an exaggerated curvature effect.
Multi-layer coatings help reduce the fringing and aberration that frequently occurs in fisheye imagery. Plus, the waterproof optical coating on the front lens element helps you avoid water spots and fingerprints.
The autofocus motor is a helpful addition for capturing sharp photos quickly, and the impressively short close focusing distance of 5.5” gives you plenty of creative opportunities.
Why We Chose This Lens
Many fisheye lenses are complicated to transport and shoot with because of their protruding front lens element and boxy lens caps. The diminutive, but fully capable Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 fisheye lens offers a simpler user experience—and you can fit it into any camera bag.
Key Specifications:
- Lens mount: Canon EF Mount
- Zoom focal length: 10-17mm
- Maximum aperture: f/3.5-4.5
- Minimum aperture: f/22
- Field of view: 180-100 degrees
- Multi-coatings
- 1 Super-Low Dispersion glass element
- Auto focusing
- Built-in lens hood
- Close focusing distance: 5.5 inches
- Crop sensor focal length equivalent: 16-27.2mm
Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Aspherical
While the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 aspherical fisheye lens is compatible with both crop-sensor and full-frame Canon DSLRs, the perspective distortion will vary a bit depending on what kind of camera body you use.
With a crop-sensor DSLR, this lens provides a great fisheye effect with curved horizons and plenty of distortion throughout its frame-filling 180° diagonal field of view. When used with a full-frame camera, the lens will produce a black-bordered, round-edged vignette that amplifies the fisheye effect even more.
If you’re looking for a well-built ultra-wide-angle lens capable of producing beautiful, sharp fisheye photos, the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Aspherical lens is a smart choice.
Why We Chose This Lens
Similar to the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 HD Fisheye discussed above, the Rokinon 8mm Aspherical fisheye has nearly identical specifications, with a couple of cost-saving differences. First, the lens hood is permanently attached to avoid lens flare; and second, the optics are a slightly older version. If budget is your biggest priority, this lens is a terrific substitution for the newer HD model.
Key Specifications:
- Compatible with full-frame and crop-sensor cameras
- Fixed Focal Length of 8mm
- 180-Degree Field of View
- Aperture Range of f/3.5 – f/22
- Manual focusing
- 10 Elements in 7 Groups
- Weighs 910g (32oz)
Samyang 12mm f/2.8 ED AS
Samyang is a third-party lens manufacturer that’s growing in popularity thanks to their affordable, yet well constructed, lenses in a variety of focal lengths. Their 12mm f/2.8 is no exception thanks to its extremely wide maximum aperture, excellent build, and impressive optical construction. Three low-dispersion ED glass elements and two aspherical lens elements ensure fantastic image depth and minimal chromatic aberration.
This lens is fully manual, from the manual focusing ring to the manual aperture control ring on the body of the lens. If you’re a photographer who’s used to autofocusing and adjusting aperture through setting controls in your camera bodies, you may experience a bit of a learning curve. But with a lens this impressive and affordable, it’s worth the extra effort. No wonder it’s a top fisheye lens for Canon DSLRs.
Why We Chose This Lens
First of all, Samyang’s 12mm f/2.8 ED AS has the widest maximum aperture of any fisheye lens on this list. So when extreme shallow depth of field and attractive bokeh are important factors in your creative vision, this lens is your best option. Minimal chromatic aberration and anti-reflective coatings add to this model’s appeal.
Key Specifications:
- Optimized for Full Frame Cameras
- Fixed Focal Length of 12mm
- 180-Degree Field of View
- Aperture Range of f/2.8 – f/22
- Manual focusing
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 7.9”
- 12 Elements in 8 Groups
Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM
Last but not least is the very popular first-party lens—the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM lens. This Canon fisheye lens is one of the best fisheye lenses on the market, offering a useful focal range and producing stunning image quality, which Canon’s premium L-series lenses are very well known for.
This Canon fisheye lens produces a diagonal fisheye effect on both APS-C and full-frame cameras, but you can produce a circular fisheye effect at 8mm with the latter. It has autofocus; is weather-sealed; and is capable of producing tack sharp, professional-quality images.
Why We Chose This Lens
If you’re a lens purist, then you may already know that the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM is the obvious choice. As an L series lens, this model offers UD glass with suppressed chromatic aberration, Subwavelength coating for reducing ghosting, and a Fluorine coating to eliminate fingerprints. Weathersealing adds to the durability and dependability of this terrific lens.
Key Specifications:
- Optimized for Full Frame Cameras
- Ultra Wide-Angle Focal Range of 8-15mm
- 180-Degree Field of View
- Aperture Range of f/4 – f/22
- Auto Focusing Enabled
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 6.2”
- 14 Elements in 11 Groups
- Weighs 540g (19.047oz)
When Should a Fisheye Lens Be Used?
The fisheye effect is compelling when used effectively, but fisheye lenses aren’t ideal for every photograph. It’s most common to see fisheye photos in the genres of architecture, landscape, and nature. Fashion and portrait photographers occasionally use them, too.
Architecture Photography
When deciding to use a fisheye lens rather than another type of ultra-wide-angle lens, make sure you have a specific purpose in mind. For example, because fisheye lenses render straight lines as curves, architecture is a compelling subject for fisheye photos. We aren’t used to viewing large, strong buildings with that sort of perspective distortion, so fisheye photos of architecture tend to be engaging.
Underwater Photography
Because of the nature of the fisheye effect, underwater photography can also benefit from these lenses. The subject matter lends itself to the perspective distortion and style in an ideal way. Capturing an entire reef or school of brightly-colored fish is easier with an added fisheye effect.
Know Your Setting
Shooting with a fisheye lens can be fun, but for some photographic subjects, the resulting images may feel somewhat pointless. If you’re photographing a wedding for example, a fisheye lens would be a great option for capturing a large bridal party acting silly or showing off on the dance floor. However, fisheye photos for the first kiss between the bride and groom won’t work as well, as the distortion lends a funhouse effect that shifts the mood.
If you’re looking for a new lens to expand your existing collection or to help you take novel or unusual images, then investing in a lens for a fisheye effect is a great idea. Just don’t look for an ultra-wide-angle lens to replace your 50mm portrait lens, or your 20mm real estate lens.
Are Fisheye Lenses Worth It?
If you’re looking to capture landscapes or underwater scenes in a unique and different way, a fisheye is a great investment. These lenses tend to be on the smaller side, which means you can easily stash it in your travel bag to create unusual and creative images on your adventures. Will you use a fisheye lens as a portrait photographer or wedding photographer? It’s unlikely. In that case, a fisheye lens may not be right for you.
But travel, landscape, architecture, and underwater photographers will have a lot of fun creating unusual scenes with their fisheye lens. Even better? Fisheye lenses can be quite affordable, so if you fit into the fisheye-friendly categories, it’s a good plus-up to add to your kit.
Unlock Your Creativity with Perspective Distortion
One of the fastest ways to pull yourself out of a photographic slump or gain a new perspective is to try working with a new lens.
For many photographers, using the same equipment for years can result in a loss of inspiration or enthusiasm for the art. If you’ve never shot with an ultra-wide-angle lens, taking fisheye photos is guaranteed to push you beyond your comfort zone as you explore unique perspective photography.
Start by investing in the best fisheye lens within your budget. Then experiment with a variety of subjects and perspectives. Fisheye lenses lend an interesting curvature to horizontal lines. That perspective distortion becomes more pronounced at the edges of the frame.
Rather than placing horizons toward the center of the frame, play with moving the horizon to the top or bottom edge. That curvature will unlock a whole new set of possibilities.
Featured Image by Mitsuo Komoriya on Unsplash
