Power and Versatility: Shooting With Fisheye Lenses (Nikon)

Using a fisheye lens is a great way to create fun and unique images. They are useful for interiors, architectural shots, landscapes, and nature, and really just about any type of photograph. Although you may not use the fisheye lens as often as some others in your kit, it can still be a good addition.

On this page, we’ll highlight the best fisheye lenses for Nikon users. Compared to other types of lenses, fisheyes are affordable and lightweight, two things that are easy to like.

When you are looking at and comparing fisheye lenses it is important to understand the difference between circular and diagonal fisheye effects. A circular fisheye lens creates black edges around a circular image that floats in the center of the frame.

See the image below as an example of a photo created by a circular fisheye.

A photo created by a diagonal fisheye will not have the black edges. Instead, the image will fill the frame at there will be significant distortion, especially near the edges of the photo.

The photo below is an example of a photo created with a diagonal fisheye.

You may be interested in other articles in this series:

• Reviews of the Best Wide Angle Lenses for Nikon DSLRs
• Reviews of the Best Standard Zoom Lenses for Nikon DSLRs
• Reviews of the Best Telephoto Lenses for Nikon DSLRs
• Reviews of the Best Macro Lenses for Nikon DSLRs
• The Best Lenses for Landscape Photography

What Exactly Is A Fisheye Lens?

A fisheye lens is a type of prime lens, meaning that it is not able to zoom in or out. These lenses are also known as “ultra-wide-angle” lenses. The design of a fisheye lens allows it to take in an extremely wide-angle, and provide you with a huge field of view.

If you’ve ever lived in an apartment building or owned a home with a “peephole,” you’re probably already familiar with how a fisheye lens looks. It distorts the image and curves it, but provides you with a wide field of view – allowing you to see the entire area outside your door.

The term “fisheye lens” was introduced in 1906, and fisheye lenses were first used professionally in the 1920s to study cloud formations, and take whole-sky photographs, hence the alternative nickname “whole-sky lenses.”

The angle of view of a fisheye lens usually ranges from about 100-180 degrees, depending on the lens. The focal length for most full-frame fisheye lenses is about 8 millimeters.

In contrast, a traditional “wide-angle” lens usually has an angle of view of between 64° and 84. Thanks to the curved, distorted image a fisheye lens provides, it can more than double this measurement – allowing you to capture more of your surroundings, albeit in a distorted manner.

The Surprising Power and Versatility Of The Fisheye Lens

Among professional landscape photographers – and professional photographers of many kinds – fisheye lenses are widely considered to be a gimmick. Many photographers think that, due to the distortion and surrealistic effects of a fisheye lens, these lenses do not lend themselves well to landscape photography.

We certainly are not going to tell you that you should purchase a high-quality fisheye lens when you’re just starting out as a photographer. You’ll be much better off building up a collection of lenses that includes a telephoto, wide-angle, and other such lenses – at least, when you’re a beginner.

However, fisheye lenses offer unique creative possibilities that cannot be offered by any other type of lens. And while photo editing can be used for “fisheye” effects, it’s never quite the same.

If you are a more experienced photographer, We really do believe that you can use a fisheye lens. Using a fisheye lens, you can take some really interesting and unique photos. So, in this article, we’ll explore the basics about fisheye lenses, some of the reasons we think they’re so cool, and a few tips that will help you use a fisheye lens in your own photography.

Read on, and learn more.

Why Should I Get A Fisheye Lens?

So, a fisheye lens allows you to get an enormous field of view, and introduce some unique distortion and curves that you can’t get with any other lens. Pretty cool, right? Not convinced that you should get a fisheye lens? Here are a few reasons that a fisheye lens is a good addition to your gear bag.

• They’re great for astrophotography– If you want to take photos of the night sky and get as much of the sky in your photograph as possible, a fisheye lens is definitely the right choice. When shooting the sky, the effects of distortion are minimal – and can also be used for artistic effects.
  

  Image by Martina Badini from Shutterstock

  Using a fisheye lens, you can capture more stars than you would ever be able to with a traditional wide-angle lens. You can also distort the landscape and the horizon, which can provide some truly gorgeous, surreal effects thanks to the ghostly beauty of the night sky.

• You can take stunning photos from great heights– A fisheye lens is a great way to introduce a feeling of “vertigo” when shooting from high places like cliffs, mountains, or even tall buildings if you like taking cityscapes. You can distort the view, get close to the ground and include it in the shot – the opportunities are limitless, and you can get extremely creative with your fisheye lens.
  

  Photo by Anuj Gogari | Unsplash License

• Distortion can work to your advantage– Distortion is not always a bad thing. You can use distortion to create compositions that would not be possible with other types of lenses. Imagine that you’re in California in the Redwood National Park, and you’re surrounded by redwoods that are reaching into the sky, towering over you. A fisheye lens is a great way to capture the true beauty and majesty of these trees – you can lie back, take a shot, and watch the trees bending and soaring into the sky! By playing with distortion, you can add unique effects and atmosphere to your photos that may otherwise be impossible to capture.
• You can experiment with perspective– A fisheye lens truly changes how you see your photographs. This can’t be said for any other type of lens, at least not to the same extent as a fisheye lens. You can’t zoom with a fisheye lens, but you can still play with perspective in a lot of other ways.
  

  Image by Dabarti CGI from Shutterstock

  Try taking some shots from low to the ground, pointing upward. Get close to your subject – then back away. Try shooting with weird angles. The angle and distance to your subject will change how the lens distorts the image – allowing you to get a ton of totally unique photos and shots.

  Have we convinced you yet? we hope so. A fisheye lens is a great way to open up more creative possibilities if you’re an amateur photographer and can help you get a new perspective on your favorite subjects.

Our Tips For Shooting With A Fisheye Lens

Convinced that you need a fisheye lens? Great! Need some tips for shooting? Here are a few of our top pieces of advice.

• Play with the center of your image– The center of your image will typically be the least-distorted, so play around with how you’re centering your lens. If you want a very dramatic distortive effect, keep the center of your image away from the horizon. Conversely, if you want to minimize distortion, keep your image centered on the horizon or your subject.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment– It will take some time before you understand the creative possibilities of a fisheye lens. So go nuts! Take as many photos as you want, and try to be as creative as you can. Experimentation is the best way to get a feel for your new lens, and start taking better photos.
• Look for natural curves– If you take photos of an object with a lot of natural curves, the distortion of a fisheye lens will add another layer of surreal effects to it, and create some truly incredible compositions.
• Look for straight lines and angles– You don’t need to just shoot curves. Using a fisheye lens to bend and distort straight lines – such as skyscrapers towering over your city – can also create unique effects.
• Don’t be afraid to edit– Some photo processing software can actually smooth out some of the distortions of a fisheye lens. Once you’ve taken some great shots, play around with Lightroom, Photoshop or your favorite photo editing software, and see what kinds of cool effects you can achieve by using these tools.
• Consider renting or borrowing a fisheye lens first– If you’ve never used a fisheye lens, we would recommend that you try renting a fisheye lens before you buy one. Fisheye lenses usually start at around $200-$300, so they won’t break the bank – unlike some zoom and telephoto lenses.

However, we will admit that fisheye photography is not for everyone. Because of that, it may be wise to rent or borrow a fisheye lens and try it out for yourself before you buy one.

The Best Fisheye Lenses for Nikon

8. Lensbaby 5.8mm f/3.5 Circular Fisheye Lens

This fisheye lens from Lensbaby is affordably priced and a nice entry-level option. This is a circular fisheye lens that is intended for cameras with APS-C sensors. It can be used on full-frame cameras, but the circular image will be smaller at the center of the frame.

This is a manual focus lens, with no function for autofocus.

• For full frame or APS-C sensors
• focal range: 5.8mm
• aperture range: f/3.5 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: no
• weight: 10.5 oz.

7. Rokinon 8mm Ultra Wide Angle f/3.5 Fisheye Lens

The Rokinon 8mm will give you a diagonal fisheye effect on APS-C sensors with a 180-degree angle of view. On full-frame sensors it will create a circular fisheye effect. This is also a manual focus only lens.

If you are looking for a quality fisheye lens at a low price, this is an excellent option, as long as you are ok without autofocus.

• For full frame or APS-C sensors
• focal range: 8mm
• aperture range: f/3.5 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: no
• weight: 14.7 oz.

6. Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 ED AS IF NCS UMC Fisheye Lens

The Rokinon 12mm fisheye is another good option. Unlike the 8mm, this 12mm lens produces a diagonal fisheye effect on full-frame sensors with a 180-degree angle of view. This is also a manual focus only lens.

Although it is priced higher than the two previous lenses, this one is still priced very affordably.

• For full frame or APS-C sensors
• focal range: 12mm
• aperture range: f/2.8 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: no
• weight: 17 oz.

5. Tokina AT-X 107 AF DX NH Fisheye 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 Lens

The Tokina 10-17mm fisheye is the first lens on this list to offer zoom capabilities and autofocus (on a camera body with an autofocus motor). While the 10-17mm may not seem like a big range, there is a very significant difference between 10mm and 17mm. The autofocus is a nice option as well. On cameras with full-frame sensors this lens with create a rectangular fisheye effect at 17mm, and will begin to get a circular effect with some black edges as it moves to 10mm.

On an APS-C sensor, it will always be a diagonal effect.

• For full frame or APS-C sensors
• focal range: 10-17mm
• aperture range: f/3.5 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: yes
• weight: 12.3 oz.

4. Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye Lens

The Sigma 8mm fisheye produces a circular fisheye effect on both full-frame and APS-C sensors with a 180-degree angle of view. This lens does offer autofocus, for cameras with an AF motor.

While the price is near the higher end for lenses on this list, if you are looking for a quality circular fisheye lens with autofocus, this is a good option.

• For full frame or APS-C sensors
• focal range: 8mm
• aperture range: f/3.5 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: yes
• weight: 14 oz.

3. Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye Lens

The Sigma 15mm fisheye produces a diagonal fisheye effect for both full-frame and APS-C sensors, with a 180-degree angle of view. It also offers autofocus, for cameras with an AF motor. This is a quality lens that comes in a good bit cheaper than the Sigma 8mm fisheye.

If you are looking for an affordable diagonal fisheye, this is an excellent option.

• For full frame or APS-C sensors
• focal range: 15mm
• aperture range: f/2.8 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: yes
• weight: 13 oz.

2. Nikon AF DX Fisheye-NIKKOR 10.5mm f/2.8G ED Lens

This lens is for Nikon DX format DSLRs (APS-C sensors). It produces a diagonal fisheye effect with a 180-degree angle of view. It features autofocus, and this is a high-quality lens that will produce excellent images. If you have an APC-sensor and you want to go with a Nikon NIKKOR lens, this is the choice.

It is priced near the top of lenses on this list, but still an affordable lens.

• For APS-C sensors
• focal range: 10.5mm
• aperture range: f/2.8 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: yes
• weight: 10.8 oz.

1. Nikon AF Fisheye-NIKKOR 16mm f/2.8D Lens

Our top-ranked fisheye lens for Nikon is the NIKKOR 16mm. It creates images with a diagonal fisheye effect and a 180-degree angle of view. This is a high-quality lens, and it’s also the highest-priced lens on our list. Still, it is reasonably priced and is an excellent option.

If you’re using a camera with an APS-C sensor you will probably want to go with the 10.5mm lens mentioned previously, but for full-frame users, this is the top choice.

• For full frame or APS-C sensors
• focal range: 16mm
• aperture range: f/2.8 – f/22
• image stabilization: no
• autofocus: yes
• weight: 10.1 oz.

How to Choose the Right Fisheye Lens for You

Just about any time you are buying photography equipment the budget will come into play. All of the lenses on this list are priced below $1,000, as of the time of publication. Some of them are as low as a few hundred dollars, so you can get a quality fisheye lens without spending a fortune.

A big factor in your choice of lens will be your preference for a circular or diagonal fisheye effect. Some of the lenses on this list create a diagonal fisheye on APS-C sensors and a circular fisheye effect on full-frame sensors. Others are either circular or diagonal all the time. Decide which type of effect you prefer and your choice will become much easier.

The last major factor to consider is doing you want or need autofocus. The cheaper lenses on this list are manual focus only. That is not a big deal to some people, but having autofocus is essential to others. It’s just a matter of deciding what is best for you.

A fisheye lens is not right for everyone – and it’s not right for every subject. However, having a fisheye lens in your bag will open up more creative possibilities, which is always a good thing. They’re inexpensive, and experimenting with them can be a lot of.

Ready to get started? Pick up a fisheye lens today, start shooting, and unlock even more creative possibilities! we guarantee you won’t regret it, and you’re sure to get some absolutely spectacular shots whether you love landscapes, nature photography, or cityscapes.

Are you a Canon user? See our Reviews of the Best Fisheye Lenses for Canon.

Photo license links: Unsplash, Shuttershock