Shooting landscapes with fisheye: what you need to know? Which fisheye lens to buy for a DSLR What is a fish-eye lens?

Types of Fisheye Lenses

It is generally accepted that all varieties of fisheyes have a visual angle of 180°, but this is not true. An image of a landscape with an angle of 180° gives a circular picture, but the frame (film or matrix) is a rectangle. There are two ways to eliminate this discrepancy, and three types of fisheyes:

Circular- on the resulting frame, the image does not occupy its entire area, but only an inscribed circle. Such a lens has a viewing angle of 180° in any direction (right-to-left, top-to-bottom, etc.). Using such a lens, you can take a picture that will depict, for example, the entire sky. Examples of circular fisheyes:
- "Sigma AF" 8mm f/3.5 EX DG FISH-EYE
- "MS Peleng" 8 mm f/3.5
- Nikon 8mm f/2.8
- “Sigma” 4.5 mm f/2.8 EX DC Circular Fisheye HSM - for digital cameras with APS-C size sensor
Diagonal(or “full frame”) - the resulting frame is entirely occupied by the image, but the 180° angle of view corresponds only to the diagonals of the frame. In other words, this lens does not depict the full circle that the circular type produces in the frame. In this case, it’s the other way around: the frame fits into a circular image. Examples of lenses of this type:
- "Canon EF" 15 mm F/2.8 Fish-eye
With an image circle greater than 180°- usually also have a round image and the angle of view can be 220°, like the Fisheye-Nikkor 6 mm f/2.8, which weighs 5.2 kg.

Geometric distortion

With a very wide viewing angle, strong perspective distortions inevitably arise: the background seems further away than it actually is, and when moving away from the center of the field of view, the shape of objects is distorted. Usually, when creating wide-angle lenses, they strive to reduce distortion to zero - the curvature of straight lines that do not pass through the center. However, in this case it is fundamentally impossible to obtain a field of view angle of 180°, since then the edge of the field of view will be infinitely distant (the image given by such a lens is equivalent to the gnomonic projection of a sphere onto a plane). Additionally, the magnification at the center is less than at the edge, which can be inconvenient in some shooting situations. Therefore, to achieve a field of view angle of 180 degrees or more, negative distortion (“barrel”) is deliberately introduced into the lens during its development. Then the magnification in the center becomes greater, and in this area the lens acts like a less wide-angle lens. However, such compensation introduces perspective distortions - protrusion of the center, and also leads to distortions in the shape of objects: straight lines (except those passing through the center) are depicted as curves.

Blends

The fisheye blends are small (for diagonal ones) or absent altogether (for circular ones). It is not possible to increase the size of the lens hood, since the lens hood will fit into the frame. As a rule, they are built into the lens.

The exception is zoom lenses. It is understood that when shooting with such a lens at a short focus (that is, in the fisheye position), the hood will be removed, and for shooting at a long focus (when the lens no longer has such a wide angle of view and becomes wide-angle), the hood can be used. An example of such a lens: “Pentax SMC Fish Eye” DA 10-17 mm f/3.5-4.5 ED (IF).

Light filters

For the same reason as with lens hoods, traditional installation of filters is not possible on fisheye lenses. Gelatin filters are installed not in front of the first glass of the lens, but behind the last, which complicates their quick change and makes it impossible to rotate them (which is necessary for gradient and polarizing filters). Many fisheyes have built-in rotating filter systems with the usual array of yellow, orange and red filters.

Focus and depth of field

Photo taken using the MC Zenithar 16mm f/2.8 fisheye

The depth of field of fisheyes is such that even with a relatively small aperture of 5.6, the depth of sharply imaged space will include a space from 40-100 cm to infinity. In other words, for most situations, a lens set to infinity does not need auto or manual focusing.

Other Features

A fisheye shot can easily include the photographer's hand holding, for example, the lens focusing ring, the photographer's feet, or the base of a tripod.
If the center of the frame falls below the horizon line, then the horizon in the picture is a line convex upward. In the opposite case (the center of the frame is above the horizon) - a convex downward line. If the center of the frame exactly coincides with the horizon line, then the horizon in the frame is straight.
When using a circular fisheye on a smaller format device, it turns into a diagonal one (Peleng on 4/3 system cameras, for example), or the circle becomes partially cropped (Peleng on an APS-C matrix).
In 2007, the first circular fisheye for cameras with an APS-C matrix appeared on the market - “Sigma” 4.5 mm EX DC Circular Fisheye HSM. When used on appropriate cameras, the image circle is not cropped.

Story

The use of a fisheye lens is most often reflected in filming street extreme sports (parkour, skateboarding, BMX, etc.). We can say that it is the “main” lens in such shootings, allowing you to capture from a short distance both the “rider” himself and the architecture used when performing tricks. Also, the use of a fisheye lens is very common in shooting spherical panoramas, since it allows you to obtain the full sphere of the panorama with a minimum number of frames.

Famous photographers and their works

Notes

Types of film and photographic lenses
Lenses
Converters

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Maxwell's fisheye
fish fur

See what “Fisheye (lens)” is in other dictionaries:

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In the case of every professional photographer, as well as most amateur photographers, not only the camera itself is stored, but also several lenses. If the presence of a standard kit lens, a telephoto lens and a wide-angle lens in the case does not surprise anyone, then the need to use a “fish eye” remains a controversial point for many.

Fish-eye- This is a wide-angle photographic lens, the image angle of which is close to one hundred and eighty degrees or more.

There are the following types of fish-eye lenses:

Circular - the resulting image does not occupy the entire area of the frame, but only an inscribed circle. Using a circular lens, you can take a photograph depicting, for example, the entire sky.

Diagonal (“full frame”) - this lens does not depict a full circle in the frame, but, on the contrary, in this case the photo frame fits into a circular image.

Lenses with an image circle greater than one hundred and eighty degrees.

Using lenses (fish-eye)

Fisheye lenses can hardly be called new - photographers have been using them for decades. Most often, the fisheye lens is used when photographing extreme street sports, such as BMX, skateboarding, etc. This lens is optimal for such photography, since it allows you to capture both the “rider” himself and the architecture used during his performance from a short distance various tricks. It is also appropriate to use a fisheye when photographing interiors, especially when photographing very narrow rooms (bathrooms, hallways, etc.). Fisheye lenses are also widely used to create virtual 3D panoramas. Such lenses are also in demand for creative architectural photography.

Design features

With a very wide viewing angle, pronounced perspective distortions appear, manifested in the fact that the background seems much further away than it actually is. In addition, there may be a significant drop in illumination around the edge of the image.
To compensate for the above disadvantages, when developing fisheye lenses, negative distortion is deliberately introduced into them. At the same time, the magnification in the center becomes greater, and in this zone the lens works as a less wide-angle device. It is distortion that makes it possible to increase the viewing angle to one hundred and eighty degrees or more. But such compensation introduces perspective distortions into the photograph - the center protrudes, and the shapes of the objects depicted in the photograph are also distorted - their straight lines become curved.

Fisheye hoods are very small (if we are talking about diagonal lenses) or completely absent (in the case of circular photographic lenses). You cannot increase the size of the lens hood, otherwise it will fall into the frame. Typically, hoods are already built into such lenses.

For the same reason, it is impossible to install filters in the traditional form on lenses of this type. Gelatin filters are installed not in front of the first glass of the photographic lens, but behind its last glass, as a result of which the prompt change of filters becomes more difficult and their rotation becomes impossible. Many fisheyes have built-in rotating filter systems equipped with the traditional set of red, orange and yellow filters.

What to look for when shooting a fisheye lens

When photographing with a fisheye lens, there are a few things you should keep in mind to help you get quality photos. First, don't forget that the photographer's hand, feet, or the base of a tripod can easily get into the frame taken with a fisheye. Also pay attention to the horizon line. If the center of the frame is located below the horizon line, then the horizon line in the photograph will be a convex upward curve, and if below the horizon line, then a downward convex curve. To make the horizon line straight, the center of the frame must exactly coincide with the horizon line.
A fish-eye lens is unlikely to become your main photographic lens. But it will be very useful for creating fun optical illusions. In skillful hands, a fisheye can help realize the most daring creative ideas, while expanding some stereotypes. About the fotomtv website.

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What are fish-eye lenses and how to best use them

Scope of application: Creative scenes involving image distortion (landscapes, portraits, etc.). These are lenses with focal lengths from 8 to 15mm. (eng. fisheye), or, in Russian, “fish eye”, is an ultra-wide-angle lens with strong barrel distortion. The fisheye principle is implemented in a well-known household appliance - the peephole. By looking into it, you can get a vivid idea of how a fisheye “sees”. And the “fish eye” is because, as the manual for the domestic fisheye report says, this is how “the fish observes objects located on the shore from the water.” Most often, this is a lens with a field of view angle of up to 180° and a focal length of 14-16 mm (for film) and for APS-C type matrices – 10-12 mm.

Ultra Wide Angle Lenses

Application: Landscape photography. This lens, which has a field of view angle of 83° or more, and a focal length less than the short side of the film frame or m
atrices. The term is also often applied to lenses whose focal lengths are wider than the wide-angle position of a kit lens. Unlike Fisheye lenses (which are also “ultra-wide angles”), they almost do not distort the image and do not “break” the perspective. Thus, for a 35 mm camera, all lenses with a focal length of less than 24 mm will be ultra-wide angle since the frame size is 24x36 mm. For format matrices APS-C lenses with a focal length of 16 mm. and smaller ones are ultra-wide-angle

Wide Angle Lenses

ABOUT
area of application: Shooting landscapes. Many photographers prefer to use this type of lens. If you want to do without a standard lens, then you can argue that a lens with a focal length of 28 mm or 35 mm will be universal. You can shoot almost anything with these lenses. Long focal length lenses are often preferred in portrait photography. Many reporter photographers and journalists use a wide-angle lens as their standard lens, but this is a matter of taste. Additionally, most electronic flashes are not very good at illuminating the same angle of view as wide-angle lenses. These lenses are also good for taking group shots. You don't have to be too far away from the group you're photographing so that individual faces can be clearly distinguished.

Standard Lenses

Application: Portraits. These are lenses with a focal length that is approximately equal to the diagonal of the frame (for 35 mm film this is a lens with a focal length of 50 mm, although in theory it is 43 mm and
for APS-C type matrices – 35 mm). The field of view ranges from 40° to 51° inclusive (often around 45°). It is believed that the perception of perspective of a photograph taken with a normal lens is closest to a person’s perception of the perspective of the surrounding world. But the fact is that the eye practically sees 180 degrees, although only objects located in the area of direct vision are sharp. So, with a standard lens you can photograph exactly those objects that we see clearly when looking straight ahead. Standard lenses are usually less expensive than other types of lenses, but are of good quality. Their aperture ratio is usually 1:1.2, or 1:1.4, or 1:1.8, etc. In natural light, and without using a flash, they show good results.

To create interesting effects in photographs and give them greater expressiveness, various means are used. For example, unusual lenses. Fisheye, or fisheye, is a type of short-focus ultra-wide-angle lens with barrel distortion.

What is distortion?

These are geometric distortions that can occur in a photograph, the curvature of lines and objects. The most common option is barrel-shaped, the lines seem to bend outward, causing objects to become convex. Pincushion distortion is the opposite effect, causing objects to appear concave.

Otherwise, barrel distortion is called positive, and pincushion distortion is called negative. In classical photography, distortion is a defect, so photographers try to prevent its occurrence. Wide-angle lenses have special corrective lenses built into them to avoid this effect.

However, if distortion works for the photographer’s needs, then it can become an interesting artistic technique, a way to get unusual, bright photographs.

Fisheye (lens) characteristics

The main difference between this lens is the viewing angle. It is at least 180 degrees, so it becomes possible to fit half the space into one frame. It is believed that this is how fish see objects, which is why the name “fish-eye effect” has stuck.

The next characteristic is focal length. It is short, 6-15 mm.

Hoods for such lenses are very small or not used at all. This is due to the fact that due to the huge viewing angle of the lens, the hood can get into the frame. Also, the traditional installation of a filter on fisheye is impossible.

Types of Lens

There are two types: circular and diagonal. A circular fisheye lens gives a circular perspective, but the image does not completely fill the frame. At the edges of the frame on a full-frame camera, you can see that part of the image is missing and has been replaced by black corners. This type of lens is used only in applied areas of photography (for example, meteorology).

The diagonal type is otherwise called full-frame. The image from such a lens fills the entire frame; this is achieved by slightly reducing the viewing angle. This type of lens is also the most popular.

History of the lens

The term “fish eye” was coined by the American physicist Robert Wilms Wood, who was the first to think about how a fish could see the world around it. He hypothesized and conducted an experiment involving a sealed box filled with water and containing a small hole. The first photographs taken using such a box were published in 1906.

The fisheye lens has been in use since the 1920s, used in meteorology to photograph clouds. Lenses were also necessary for astronomical surveys.

Today, there are already dozens of similar lenses, the viewing angle of some models reaches 220 degrees, and the scope of their use has expanded significantly. In addition to the lens, there is also a fisheye camera. These are panoramic models with a viewing angle of 360 degrees.

In the USSR, the first photographer who used such a lens for his work was L. A. Borodulin, a master of sports photography.

What is the fisheye effect used for?

Lenses with this effect are often used for filming extreme sports, this makes it possible to show not only the athlete himself, but the entire trick in the frame. In this case, you can shoot from a short distance.

The lens is good for shooting spherical panoramas. You can see the use of such a lens for interior photography, especially when it comes to small and narrow spaces (corridors, bathrooms). If you need to create a virtual 3D panorama, you also cannot do without fisheye.

To achieve a comedic effect when shooting portraits of people or animals, such lenses are also used. The results are funny and bright shots.

To summarize, this lens allows you to see familiar things from an unusual point of view, and this can be very interesting. You can photograph architecture, landscapes, trees from unusual angles. Strange photographs evoke a very lively and emotional reaction from viewers.

You can also shoot people; for this you need to place the person in the center of the frame and move away from him. In this case, the human figure will turn out to be full-length, small in size and without distortion, but the space around the subject will be curved in a very interesting way.

How to choose the right lens

If you've decided that you need a fisheye lens, here are some tips to help avoid post-purchase disappointment.

Consider the size of your camera's sensor when purchasing a lens. For a full-frame camera, a focal length of 15-16 mm will be sufficient; for a camera with a crop matrix, a lens with a focal length of 8-11 mm will be required.

Of the existing two types of lenses - diagonal and circular - the first is the most preferable. Examples of suitable lenses: Canon EF 15 mm F/2.8 Fish-eye, MS Zenitar-M.

This lens is unlikely to become your main working lens; the scope of its use is too narrow. But for replenishing the arsenal of means of artistic expression, it is really good and worthy of taking its place in the photographer’s bag.

If you want to buy a fisheye lens, also known as a fisheye, there are a few important things you need to know.

I'll try to explain the difference between a fisheye lens and a regular ultra-wide-angle lens. This is very important because many people do not understand it.

The main difference between ultra wide angle lens and the fisheye is that the fisheye itself does not correct distortion at all and thanks to this it has a viewing angle of about 180 degrees.

And if we consider standard wide-angle lenses, they have special lenses in the optical design that correct the image, but because of this the viewing angle is greatly reduced, and photographs are obtained with minimal distortion, not at all like those of fisheyes.

You should also understand that depending on the camera (crop or full frame), you also need different, for crop, fisheye is needed with a focal length of 8-10mm, and for full frame – 15-16mm. And be sure to pay attention to which camera the fisheye was created for, crop cameras or full frame, the viewing angle depends on this.

For SIGMA lenses, if there is DG in the name, it means it is for full frame, if DC is for crop.

Another important point is that all fisheye lenses are divided into 2 categories: diagonal and circular fisheye. The first ones are more popular due to the fact that they have a diagonal coverage of 180 degrees and almost the entire frame area is filled with the image.
A circular fisheye creates a circle right in the center of the frame, and the rest of the frame is just black without an image.

Fisheye: practical application

Every novice photographer knows, or has at least heard of, a lens called fisheye. But how to find a use for it, besides photo entertainment and experiments? Not many people will answer this question, limiting themselves to standard phrases like: “Well, ultra-wide angle, there, spherical panoramas, etc.”
But this would not be enough to buy expensive "fish eye", - is not it?

Wide angles are often in demand in artistic and technical photography. From this point of view, fisheye would be very useful, if not for one “but”. This type of lens has strong geometric aberrations, which are not always amenable to normalization by software. Therefore, the technical field, where geometric accuracy is important, is unlikely to be interested in such a lens. Exceptions may be made in specific industries, such as aerial photography or surveillance.

Fine art photography is finding more uses for ultra-wide viewing angles and the specific aberrations associated with them. Monstrous barrel-shaped distortions can be played up, resulting in very extraordinary and interesting pictures.

A fisheye lens is different from a regular lens wide-angle optics the ability to capture an angle of up to 180 degrees or more (in practice, up to 200 degrees). This means that a half-circle panorama can be made with it in one frame. True, such efficiency is associated with the appearance of distortions that resemble a reflection in a Christmas tree decoration.

Often advertisers and filmmakers find it fun to use fisheye to create creative products. By and large, something similar can be made from an ordinary (geometrically correct) photo using Photoshop filters. But a fisheye imitation will always be inferior to the original, since no plugin is able to fill the missing degrees of viewing angle.

By the way, for advertising and various media products, the fisheye lens is a powerful creative tool. It can make even a construction waste dump interesting, not to mention something more attractive. In addition, fisheye can be used to remove cool spherical panoramas, simulate the image from a door peephole or outdoor surveillance cameras, take pictures of the interiors of tight spaces.

In architectural photography, it would seem, there is no place for geometric distortions. But sometimes you just can’t do without an ultra-wide angle. You can photograph the entire interior of a small room only with a fish eye. Of course, barrel distortion and vignetting will make their own adjustments, but the human brain has a remarkable ability to organize distorted objects. No matter how fisheye “twists” the interior, the floor plan and the original appearance of the objects will still remain clear to the observer.

When listing a property for sale, modern agencies are increasingly including ultra-wide-angle photographs in their portfolios. They make such objects more attractive, but at the same time advertisers always have an ironclad justification that this is not a deliberate embellishment, but a technically forced optical effect.

The simplest optical device capable of covering an angle close to 180 degrees is a door peephole.

Even in its cheapest version, it consistently demonstrates an ultra-wide angle. Some amateur photographers even manage to adapt a door peephole to their camera to get the desired “fish-eye” effect. The quality of pictures taken using such an optical system, of course, leaves much to be desired. in this sense, at an unattainable level. Already at a focal length of 10-15 mm, fisheye demonstrates the full range of effects of ultra-wide-angle optics.

For amateur photographers, the fisheye lens opens up a lot of new possibilities. It reveals a previously inaccessible creative layer with inexhaustible potential. On tourist trips, at exhibitions, concerts, outdoors and in the zoo, at the stadium or playground - fisheye can be used everywhere. In this case, the pictures will not only be funny, but also more informative.

We recommend not to go for cheap products, but to buy SIGMA fisheye lenses: they are exclusively made in Japan, have excellent optical characteristics and are made of very high quality.

Happy shooting!