To create interesting effects in the pictures and make them more expressive, different means are used. For example, unusual lenses. A fisheye, or fisheye, is a type of short-throw ultra-wide-angle lens with barrel distortion.
What is distortion?
These are geometric distortions that can occur in a photograph, curvature of lines and objects. The most common option is barrel-shaped, the lines seem to curve outward, while objects become convex. Pincushion distortion is the opposite effect, objects begin to appear concave.
Otherwise, barrel distortion is also called positive, and pincushion distortion is called negative. In classical photography, distortion is a defect, so photographers try to prevent it from occurring. Special corrective lenses are built into wide-angle lenses in order to avoid this effect.
However, if distortion works for the photographer, then it can be an interesting artistic technique, a way to get unusual, bright pictures.
Fisheye (lens) specifications
The main difference of this lens is the angle of view. It is at least 180 degrees, so it becomes possible to fit half the space in one frame. It is believed that the fish sees objects in this way, which is why the name has taken root - "fisheye effect".
The next characteristic is the 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 angle of view of the lens, the hood can get into the frame. Also, the traditional installation of a light filter on a fisheye is impossible.
Lens Varieties
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 replaced with black corners. This type of lens is used only in applied areas of photography (for example, meteorology).
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.
The history of the lens
The term "fisheye" was introduced by the American physicist Robert Wilms Wood, who was the first to think about how a fish can see the world around it. He speculated and performed an experiment involving a sealed box filled with water and containing a small hole. The first photographs taken with such a box were published in 1906.
The fisheye lens has been used since the 1920s and has been used in meteorology to capture clouds. Lenses were also needed for astronomical surveys.
To date, there are already dozens of such lenses, the viewing angle of individual 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 in the frame not only the athlete himself, but the whole stunt. In this case, you can shoot from a short distance.
The lens is good for shooting spherical panoramas. You can find the use of such a lens for interior shooting, especially when it comes to small and narrow spaces (corridors, bathrooms). If you need to create a virtual 3D panorama, you can't do without fisheye either.
To achieve a comedic effect when shooting portraits of people or animals, such lenses are also used. It turns out funny and bright shots.
In general, this lens gives you the opportunity to see ordinary things from an unusual point of view, and this can be very interesting. You can shoot architecture, landscape, trees from unusual angles. Strange pictures cause a very lively and emotional reaction from the audience.
You can also shoot people, for this person you need to place in the center of the frame and move away from him. At the same time, the human figure will turn out to be full-length, small in size and without distortion, but the space around the subject will curve in a very interesting way.
How to choose the right lens
If you decide you need a fisheye lens, here are a few tips to help you avoid disappointment after your purchase.
Consider the size of the matrix of your camera 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 two types of lenses available - diagonal and circular - the first is the most preferred. Examples of suitable lenses: Canon EF 15mm 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.
Among the wide range of optics that can be in the arsenal of a photography enthusiast today, a special place belongs to fisheye lenses. They are quite different from other lenses, and the need for their application in practice raises questions for many. What are the main features of such optics? Where and how best to use it? Let's talk about this in more detail.
Fisheye
A fisheye or fisheye (from the English fish-eye) is an ultra wide-angle lens, the image angle of which approaches 180 degrees or more of this value. Fisheye gives the photographer the opportunity to capture as much space as possible in the frame. This is an optic with a fixed focal length, its main distinguishing feature is the presence of strong distortion, which would be perceived as a disadvantage if using any other lens. However, in the case of a fisheye, things are somewhat different. Its main disadvantage, when used correctly during shooting, turns into the main "chip" of the lens.
There are the following types of lenses:
- Circular- the picture on the final frame does not occupy the entire area, but is tightly inscribed in a circle. Such optics have an angle of view close to 180 degrees in any direction, which makes it possible to obtain, in particular, photographs of the entire visible part of the sky.
- Diagonal- here, on the contrary, the frame fits into a circular image.
It is worth noting that such a division is somewhat arbitrary, since “cropped” DSLRs, in which the sensor sizes are smaller than the film frame, are very popular today. Accordingly, the circular “fish-eye” on the crop will already be similar to the diagonal one - the frame area will be almost completely occupied by the picture.
Peculiarities
The ability to capture as much space as possible in the frame, of course, opens up wide scope for interesting, unusual shots. The photographer does not need to step back to take a good shot, and cropping can be done without any problems. But this obvious fisheye advantage has, unfortunately, a downside.
FR 8mm F3.5, ISO 1600, 1/13c (Nikon D7100) A characteristic feature of such lenses is strong negative distortion, which leads to image distortion. Straight lines bend towards the edge of the frame, and the farther the straight line is from the center of the frame and the longer it is, the more curved the line will be in the frame. In particular, a straight horizon line in a photograph can generally look like a semicircle. However, for experienced photographers who approach the process of shooting with creative imagination and ingenuity, the distortion of straight lines is not a big problem. On the contrary, this phenomenon is used to their advantage in such a way that strong distortions become part of a certain design. But beginners, of course, will have to adapt to the features of optics.
Negative distortion in fisheye lenses is provided intentionally. The fact is that a lens with a wide viewing angle of 100 - 120 degrees leaves the lines straight, but very strong distortions appear along the frame boundaries. For example, slender people at the edges of the frame look obese and massive. In addition, there are perspective distortions - the background looks much further in the photo than it actually is. To compensate for the above shortcomings, negative distortion is introduced into fisheye lenses, which enhances the increase in the center of the frame. Straight lines are distorted, the center “bulges out”, but the proportions of photographed objects remain closer to reality.
Application
The use of "fish" during shooting has its own specifics. In particular, the depth of field even at an open aperture will be in the range from half a meter to infinity. In addition, when looking through the viewfinder, photographed objects will be seen a little further away than they are in reality. Due to the wide viewing angle, the photographer's hand, feet or a tripod can easily get into a frame made using a fisheye. So you should be especially careful.
It is clear that a fisheye is not suitable for subject, reportage or portrait shooting for objective reasons, even if you show all your imagination. But such a lens is often used for photographing extreme outdoor sports, such as skateboarding or BMX bike tricks. You can safely shoot at close range and the most street athlete, and architecture, and people gathered for the event.
Another area of application for fisheye is architectural and interior photography. In particular, fisheye can come in handy when shooting small, narrow spaces like a bathroom or hallway. It is enough to take two or three frames, and then glue them together using software. Then distortions will no longer be noticeable in the final photo, and the entire space of the room will be captured in the frame. Fisheye is also very relevant for architectural photography. Here you can give free rein to your imagination and shoot familiar city buildings in the most unusual way, using the distortions inherent in this lens.
By the way, various software tools today significantly expand the capabilities of such lenses. No wonder the "fisheye" is in great demand when creating spherical and virtual 3D panoramas. The task of the photographer here is only to shoot everything around him in detail, and then combine the individual frames in the program. With a fisheye, this task is really much easier to solve, because if you take an 8 mm fisheye, then for full coverage you will need to take only 4 - 5 frames. It is so easy to get a great 360-degree panorama.
If you've added a fisheye lens to your arsenal, don't be afraid to experiment. Try to analyze the results obtained in order to master the use of the lens in practice and learn how to benefit from the shortcomings of the fisheye.
Scope: Creative scenes that imply image distortion (landscapes, portraits, etc.). These are lenses with a focal length of 8 to 15mm. (English fisheye), or, in Russian, "fisheye", is an ultra-wide-angle lens with a strong barrel-shaped distortion. The principle of "fish eye" is implemented in a well-known household appliance - a door peephole. Looking into it, you can get a live idea of how the fish "sees". And the "fisheye" - because, as the guide to the domestic fish 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
Scope: Shooting of landscapes. This lens, which has an angle of view of 83 ° or more, and a focal length less than the small side of the film frame or m 
matrixes. 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 24 × 36 mm. For format matrices APS-C lenses with a focal length of 16 mm. and smaller - are ultra-wide angle
Wide Angle Lenses
ABOUT 
Application area: Shooting landscapes. Many photographers prefer to use lenses of this type. If you want to do without a standard lens, then it can be argued that a lens with a focal length of 28 mm or 35 mm will be universal. Almost anything can be shot with these lenses. In portrait photography, telephoto lenses are often preferred. Many reporters and journalists use a wide-angle lens as their standard lens, but this is a matter of taste. In addition, most electronic flashes do not illuminate the same angle of view that wide-angle lenses do. These lenses are good for group shots. You don't need to be far away from the group being filmed, so the individual faces will be clearly distinguishable.
Standard lenses
Scope of application: Shooting 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 that has a focal length of 50 mm, although in theory this is 43 mm and 
for APS-C matrices - 35 mm.). Angle of view from 40° to 51° inclusive (often around 45°). It is believed that the perception of the perspective of a picture taken with a normal lens is closest to the perception of the perspective of the surrounding world by a person. But the fact is that the eye practically sees at 180 degrees, although only objects that are in the area of \u200b\u200bdirect view are sharp. So with a standard lens, you can photograph just those objects that we see clearly, looking straight ahead. Standard lenses usually cost less 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 the use of a flash, they perform well.
Among the many photographic lenses, perhaps one of the most unusual is the fish-eye lens (English - fish eye), or "fish eye". This name was given to him at the beginning of the 20th century by the American experimental physicist Robert Williams Wood, who developed this type of optical system by analogy with the structure of the eye of a fish. How to use fish-eye in nature photography - a participant tells.
What is a fish-eye lens?
Fish-eye is an ultra-wide-angle lens with uncorrected optical distortion, the so-called barrel distortion, resulting in a characteristic spherical appearance of the entire image. The angle of view of fish-eyes is 180 degrees and can be even more. In this case, they joke that when shooting with such a lens, the photographer's ears will fall into the frame.
There are two types of fish-eyes - circular and diagonal.
A circular fish-eye is a lens that forms an image in the form of a circle and has a field of view of 180 degrees or more in all directions. The image size from such a lens corresponds to the short side of the frame, if we talk about the classic rectangular frame. This lens is extremely specific and is used mainly for scientific and research purposes - with its help, for example, you can take a picture of the entire celestial sphere, which is important for meteorologists or astronomers. In addition, some models have impressive dimensions and weight.
A diagonal fish-eye is a lens that covers the entire frame and is, in fact, a cut out of the image circle created by a circular fish-eye. In this case, the viewing angle of 180 o is available only along the diagonal of the frame, which is why the lens was called diagonal. It gives a more familiar picture and is very actively used by photographers. Actually, speaking of fish-eyes, in the overwhelming majority of cases, they mean exactly diagonal lenses. Almost all companies producing photographic equipment produce fish-ai, or even several: with different focal lengths, the maximum value of the relative aperture (aperture) and for different types of matrices - full-frame and crop matrices (APS-C and m4 / 3). There are even fish-eye zooms, they are more versatile in use, but, as a rule, have slightly worse optical characteristics, for example, lower aperture.
Advantages and disadvantages of fish-eyes
The advantages of fish-eyes include an ultra-wide angle of view, a large depth of field, and dimensions that are quite compact for an ultra-wide angle. Also, fish-eyes do not distort the corners, compared to conventional straightened ultra-wide angle lenses, which make the corners and objects caught in them elongated. This is especially true when shooting with an active and close foreground.
The only but significant drawback of fish-eyes can be considered strong image distortions at a distance from the center of the frame: all straight lines become curved and the picture as a whole has a spherical appearance.
Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of fish-eyes, you can actively use them when shooting, for example, landscapes and beauties of nature. Here are some simple tricks.
Centering the horizon
Knowing that as you move away from the center, all straight lines begin to become arcs, in particular, the horizon line becomes either convex or concave, depending on whether the camera is looking up or down, you can simply position the horizon in the center, violating the beloved one-third rule. and building a composition on a combination of textures and objects in the foreground, on the one hand, and celestial objects - beautiful clouds, clouds and other things - on the other. This technique works very well when shooting a beautiful sky with a reflection in the water mirror surface of sea and lake landscapes, when you want to show a huge expanse of sky and water. In the end, you can then crop the image in the photo editor and position the horizon line in thirds. As a result, we get a photo with an ultra-wide angle and a flat horizon line. This is the most commonly used way of taking fish-eye photographs.
Using an Implicit Horizon Line
This technique is good to use in areas with difficult terrain - mountains, hills, rocks. When we do not see a clearly flat horizon line, nothing prevents us from placing it anywhere, since its curve will be hidden by mountains or hills. This technique can also be used when shooting with a close close-up of the foreground that obscures the horizon, for example, when shooting from the bottom of vegetation or other natural objects.
Completely remove the horizon line from the frame
In this case, our perception does not cling to the shape of the horizon line, and the distortions are almost imperceptible. You can either lower the camera down, showing some beautiful corner of nature, or, conversely, raise it up a lot, leaving only a beautiful sky or tree crown. In fact, for the sake of a beautiful sky, you can leave a distorted concave horizon line, because this is already a secondary element of the image that does not affect the impression, but only enhances the impression of a huge sky.
Shooting in fog can be considered a special case, when distant plans and the horizon are hidden behind it. In this case, there is almost complete freedom of creativity, since you can shoot in any direction without fear of a curved horizon.
Make an object the main part of the image
For example, a complexly curved tree, branches or grass stalks that intensively fill the frame. It can also be a picturesque pile of stones or snow and ice blocks. In this case, it is important enough to capture a beautiful combination of these elements so that they form a beautiful pattern due to the additional bending from fisheye distortion.
Image framing
Beautiful photos are obtained if you do not try to straighten the curved tree trunks or grass stalks around the edges of the frame, but use it to frame the landscape view. Shooting from thickets of grass and trees, a grotto, a cave is interesting, especially if they have some unusual natural elements on the walls - vegetation, beautiful stones, stalactites, icicles, and so on.
round earth
Or, on the contrary, you can not try to straighten the curved horizon, but show that our planet is round. To do this, it is desirable to have some interesting and beautiful foreground and middle plans, and it is very good to be a little on a hill so that as much of the ground as possible is included.
Close up a beautiful and interesting foreground
This can be said to be a win-win option for using fish. Almost all fish-eye lenses have a small minimum focusing distance and allow you to use them for shooting fairly close foregrounds, almost macro. It turns out that the natural object is large, and you can see its environment, the place where it lives.
As you can see from the examples above, many of these techniques can be used in combination with each other, which makes shooting fish eye an interesting creative process.
Thus, creatively using fish-eye lenses, one can take interesting and beautiful landscape and nature photographs, both enhancing the impression of interesting places and showing a fresh, new look at places that are familiar and seemingly mundane and boring.
I am glad to welcome you again, subscribers and guests of my blog. I'm in touch with you, Timur Mustaev. On the blog pages, you could already read an article about, as well as about. It tells quite well about their types, features and purpose. Today's article will tell you what a fisheye lens is, or, as it is called in the West, a fisheye.
To begin with, it is worth indicating what this wonderful set of lenses is, and also why it is called that. To be precise, it is, which has a viewing angle close to 180 degrees. In the general classification, it can be designated as ultra-wide angle. Where did the name come from? It's simple: the principle of its operation is similar to the device of the eye of fish.
Can fisheyes differ from each other?
Certainly. Moreover, there are several types.
- The first and most common is circular. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that it does not cover the entire area of the frame, but shows only an inscribed circle. Why is it needed? For interesting panoramas or a 360-degree panorama effect. It also does a great job capturing the sky.
- The second type is diagonal. Why diagonal? A 180-degree field of view is distributed horizontally across the frame, resulting in a completely filled frame. This time, the full frame fits into the maximum angle of view of the lenses, and not vice versa, as in the previous case.
- The last type is mechanisms, with an angle of view of more than 180 degrees. There are very few such lenses, but they are, you should not forget about them either.
Why were these lenses invented?
In general, they have been used for quite a long time: approximately since the beginning of the last century. But the fisheye was used extremely rarely: photos of small streets, narrow corridors, cramped rooms. Now it is actively used by athletes, most often, representatives of street directions, for example, BMX. Why Fisheye?
It's simple: it allows you to capture a large area around the athlete, which allows you to better convey the atmosphere of the performance of the trick, the capture of architectural structures that served as a support for a bicycle, roller skates or sneaker soles. In addition, such a solution is relevant for both photo and video shooting.
In addition to sports, fisheye is used in shooting architecture, as before, as well as to create 3D panoramas of any objects. By the way, to create the Google Earth service, the corporation used Fisheye.
Fisheye Lens Design
Due to the location of the lenses in the mechanism, pictures taken with it will have several disadvantages. The first, most obvious - barrel-shaped. The image will be very stretched "forward", and the back plan will seem too far away. In other words, this is where manufacturers go consciously.
Yes, it distorts straight lines, “distances” the background from the foreground, increases the latter, but this allows you to get rid of the limitation of the viewing angle, which is what most of the target audience of such lenses needs.
Another drawback is related to the Fisheye hood. As a rule, their fastenings are extremely small. They may not be suitable for both Canon and Nikon, and adapters that increase its size will also make the hood part of the frame, so they are usually installed by manufacturers during production.
This can be called the reason for the impossibility of installing different filters on the lens. In addition, they will be of little use if they are installed in front of convex glass. Because of this, gelatin filters are usually installed behind the last lens, which is why they cannot be replaced quickly. To remedy the problem, manufacturers began to equip Fisheye with a rotating filter system consisting of a standard set of colors.
What can you mount such a lens on?
There are many variations of the fisheye. The most common is the fisheye version for the phone. These are sold in almost every mobile store and cost a penny, which makes them very easy to buy. There is a huge selection on Aliexpress. This is what a search on aliexpress gives on request fisheye lens for phones.
There are also models for the iPhone, and well-equipped. Sometimes there is doubt that the picture was taken on an iPhone. They can also be found on request on aliexpress, fisheye lens for iphone. They cost mere pennies, and the result is on the face.
In order not to buy a fisheye lens on the phone, some craftsmen manage to create them with their own hands. Sometimes the result exceeds all expectations, but more often than not, such crafts will not be successful.
Do not forget about cleaning the lenses, whether it is on the phone or on the camera. Fingerprints, dust and other debris, better clean up special pencil, and you can also use special rags for cleaning. I have both. I also bought these from aliexpress.
Want to take control of your DSLR? Want to take amazing photos? Do you want to finally understand which button on the camera is responsible for what? Then the following video tutorials will help you. The best video courses for beginners!
My first MIRROR- who has a CANON SLR camera.
Digital SLR for beginners 2.0— who has a NIKON SLR camera.
In general, the article can be completed. I told you everything I knew about Fisheye in general terms. If you were interested in the article - tell your friends about it, subscribe to my blog if you have not already done so, and continue reading my articles. They will tell you about the many techniques of photography, its technical and practical aspects. See you later!
All the best to you, Timur Mustaev.
