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Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens

by Philip Greenspun; created 1996

I got hold of this lens because I wanted to do some technical photography. We needed to show the view of a radar sensor that "sees" in a hemisphere and hence wanted a lens with a 180 degree angle of view. The Canon EOS 15 fisheye has an advertised 180 degree angle of view but it turns out to be corner-to-corner along the diagonal. It isn't nearly as wide as a true hemispherical view. So I had to get hold of a Nikon 6/2.8 lens, a $14,000 monster that is not exactly pocketable.

So what did I do with the Canon? Had some fun. It is a $700 lens so you don't have to live in constant terror that your dog will smush his wet nose against the front element. It is compact, not much bigger than a 20, and well-constructed. It will inspire you to think about creative ways to use its distortion.

This is not a lens for every day, but in some ways I think I like it better than my 14mm rectilinear wide angle which was vastly more expensive. Oh yes, as you can see from the example photos, this is a "full-frame fisheye" which means that it covers the entire 35mm frame to the corners.

Alex in front of the MIT Media Lab. Alex and Rob Silvers in front of the MIT Media Lab. Alex in front of the Green Building. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Santa Karin at night. Visby, Gotland. Sweden Santa Karin. Visby, Gotland. Sweden
Technical Data
Construction: 8 elements, 7 groups
Angle of view: 180 degrees
Focus motor: AFD
Closest focusing: 0.2m (0.7 ft)
Filter size: Rear drop-in gelatin filter holder
Length and diameter: 62.2 x 73 mm (2-7/16 x 2-7/8 in)
Weight: 330 g (11.6 oz)

Where to Buy the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens

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PhotoCD scans made possible by the generosity of KEH Camera Brokers.
Text and pictures copyright 1996 Philip Greenspun

Readers' Comments


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Regis Lefebure , January 20, 1998; 07:03 P.M.

You must be careful of using autofocus on this and other wideangle lenses. The fuzzy logic "brains" will actually focus somewhere between three to ten feet when you are focusing on something at "infinity", relying on hyperfocus to give apparent sharpness at infinity. Much better to focus manually. Beware!

Max Christian , June 08, 2000; 08:37 A.M.

I'd like to emphasise that the above comment about autofocus is absolutely right, and very easy to forget. Using my Sigma 8mm circular fisheye and Canon EOS, the autofocus is completely useless but merrily beeps away thinking it's working.

Also, when using very wide angle lenses for (semi-)scientific purposes, it can be beneficial to use software to brighten the outside of the image slightly. The brightness drops off imperceptibly away from the centre (with circular fisheyes, at least), and can lead to problems in applications that depend on a consistent rendition of brightness. The image shows an example of this problem.

Image Attachment: xregp1-c.jpg

Chris Laker , February 22, 2001; 08:03 P.M.

Sigma do an 8mm f4 full circular fisheye (180 deg), it's in their EX series and lists for £600 (US$900) ... sigma - http://www.sigma-photo.com ... fish-eye - http://www.sigma-photo.com/html/fixed_ultrawide.htm (confusingly the photo on this page is not a circular one - the page lists their ultra-wide lenses 8-24mm)

Trish Gunther , December 21, 2005; 10:39 A.M.

Obviously not the same quality, but surprisingly good is the Nikon FC-E8 fisheye attachment for the Coolpix series of cameras. It takes in a 183 degree angle of view and sells new for just under $200. Great for playing around with!

Charles Griffin , April 17, 2008; 07:25 P.M.


Fairchild Oak

A large 800-year-old tree near Daytona Beach, Florida is difficult to capture because of the width of the branches, one trailing along the ground. I tried a multi-frame capture and stitching, but didn't like the results. This is the best so far and was taken with the 15mm.


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