To Fisheye or not to Fisheye: I have an urge to purchase a Sigma 8mm 2.8 fisheye lens for my Canon 7d....question is anyone with a fisheye lens any make any camera how often do you use...

Niner6

I have an urge to purchase a Sigma 8mm 2.8 fisheye lens for my Canon 7d....question is anyone with a fisheye lens any make any camera how often do you use it.......I have a Sigma 10/20 WA a couple of times I could have used the FE.....in the woods or under a bridge no time to rent one ..........looking forward to all replays.....Thank you...Bil

Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

Seems Bill has an urge....don't we all...LOL
I'd say go buy the thing and have fun with it....its a specialty kinda lens to say the least....but...if employed correctly....you can get some amazing shots with it.

Swamp Gator Loc: Coastal South Carolina

Back in Dec. I got the Rokinon 8mm 3.5 for Canon crop bodies such as my 7D.
B&H had a two day sale for $214 (it's $299 now) so I figured for that price I would have something to fool around with even if I don't use it all that much.
It's uses are limited and you really need the *right* subject which I have not exactly found yet.
BTW I thought the IQ on this Rokinon was excellent.

Here's a sunset type pic I tried with it.

Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

Not bad at all Gator...download is very nice.

plessner Loc: North Dakota

we do photography for fun --right? well the fish eye lens is kind of fun to play around with and see what you can come up with. I don't use mine often but it is fun to play around with.

While at Horseshoe bend AZ I was glad I had it to take in the whole picture

just giving it a try to see what it would do

one of my flowerbeds--I have since this was taken painted the fence!

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

It's all about personal taste and what you enjoy. I'm not much for the fish eye look but that's just me. You decide based on what YOU like.

Opus Loc: South East Michigan

I have a Tokina Fish eye zoom. I don't use it very often but sometimes its the perfect solution. This is a 180 degree look at Dead Indian Hill Summit. My Tokina 12-24 wasn't quite wide enough but the fish eye got it all in.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

wbgrice wrote:

I have an urge to purchase a Sigma 8mm 2.8 fisheye lens for my Canon 7d....question is anyone with a fisheye lens any make any camera how often do you use it.......I have a Sigma 10/20 WA a couple of times I could have used the FE.....in the woods or under a bridge no time to rent one ..........looking forward to all replays.....Thank you...Bil

A fisheye is fun. Get it. The more you tilt it, the more round the image. Without much tilting, you can get a straight horizon.

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

wbgrice wrote:

I have an urge to purchase a Sigma 8mm 2.8 fisheye lens for my Canon 7d....question is anyone with a fisheye lens any make any camera how often do you use it.......I have a Sigma 10/20 WA a couple of times I could have used the FE.....in the woods or under a bridge no time to rent one ..........looking forward to all replays.....Thank you...Bil

It can be useful and fun to play with, but once the novelty wears off, you will probably not use it much.
There are times when it really makes for an interesting shot, but it can easily be over used.
More often than not, when packing for a hike or short trip, I leave mine at home.
It is a specialty lens, not essential, but it can be pretty awesome when called for.

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I utilize my Tokina 10-17 for landscapes and closeups plus when i do sky photography I have it attached to one camera that I use for interval shooting (1 25 sec picture every 27 sec) then either combine the pictures in a time lapse video or a stacked photo
This is a 100 picture stacked photo taken with the fish-eye at 10 mm

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

I recently bought the Sigma 8mm as I want to be able to make 360/180 panoramas with 3 shots around rather than the 6 my Nikon 16mm requires. It does a good job. The Sigma gives a circular image; the 16mm gives a rectangular image, albeit with the fisheye distortions

Sigma 8mm

Nikon 16mm

Kinopless Loc: Mandurah, Western Australia

wbgrice wrote:

I have an urge to purchase a Sigma 8mm 2.8 Thank you...Bil

Sit in a cold bath until the urge goes away.. You'll use it a few times and it'll then rot in your camera bag until you try to sell it on EBay for a few pathetic dollars to some other hapless soul. There are much more sensible extreme and useful wide angle lenses to choose from and of course there's always stitching..

amkras Loc: NY

I have the Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G and use it often.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

wbgrice wrote:

I have an urge to purchase a Sigma 8mm 2.8 fisheye lens for my Canon 7d....question is anyone with a fisheye lens any make any camera how often do you use it.......I have a Sigma 10/20 WA a couple of times I could have used the FE.....in the woods or under a bridge no time to rent one ..........looking forward to all replays.....Thank you...Bil

I have a fisheye,great fun lens, was a gift, I like it but I do wish it was an ultrawide not a fisheye, the effect is so easy to overdo, Bob.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

BboH wrote:

I recently bought the Sigma 8mm as I want to be able to make 360/180 panoramas with 3 shots around rather than the 6 my Nikon 16mm requires. It does a good job. The Sigma gives a circular image; the 16mm gives a rectangular image, albeit with the fisheye distortions

I have the Sigma 15mm fisheye, and I can get circular or rectangluar. If I remove the cap and collar, the image is rectangular. If I leave the collar in place, it's circular.