The 4 Best Fisheye Lenses Released in the Past 5 Years

For some photographers, a lens can make a huge difference to their vision. A zoom can help to compress the background, a wide lens can get details squeezed in, and a fisheye lens can further enhance the vision by creating extreme distortion. If you are looking for the latter, then we have a few offerings that might help. Have a look.

Laowa 8-15mm f2.8 

A full frame fisheye lens, the 8-15mm offers 175°-180° angle of view, 9 aperture blades, and a 0.23x magnification. The all-metal build lens lacks weather resistance, but certainly feels good in your hands. The focus is manual, and you get three rings to work with: aperture, zoom, and focus. Given that Laowa has some exceptional offerings, this one is no different. The image quality is crisp, the colors are fantastic, and it is fairly compact. Fashion, product, or portrait photographers can benefit from this lens.

Panasonic 8mm F3.5

With 180-degree angle of view, the Panasonic 8mm is a fisheye lens that has an autofocus feature. Weighing just 0.4lb, it also offers 0.33feet close focusing distance, and has a simple, pancake-like design. The focus works pretty fine for ultra-wide angle shots, and can be a little slower when photographing someone on the run. You can also get in closer to the subject to get an exaggerated look. Given its nature, this is not a distortion-free lens, but it certainly offers colorful and fun images. The edges are soft, but the center is quite sharp.

Brightin Star 11mm f2.8

Constructed with 8 elements in 11 groups, the Brightin Star 11mm offers 8 aperture blades and a 180-degree fisheye view. There is also a close focusing distance (0.17m), and a fantastic design with three rings. A manual lens, the 11mm requires you to be intentional with your images. The fisheye also produces some wonderful colors and effects, and when paired with Nikon cameras, results in beautiful photos, thanks to the color profiles. “The 11mm F2.8 can add tons of character to a simple walk to the supermarket,” we explained in our review. At under $300, this lens is a catch.

Astrhori 12mm

The Astrhori 12mm is a fantastic lens with a 185-degree, an all-metal build, and 757gm of weight. The front of the lens is bulbous, lacks a weathering seal, but it makes up by offering a nice, smooth focus ring. The manual focus lens also offers a good level of sharpness and contrast, and there were no aberrations as well. At under $300, the lens is pretty exceptional in every way.