Canon EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye
Usually when you are looking for a fisheye you have two choices: diagonal or circular fisheyes. Diagonal covers the entire frame, but they have an angle of 180 degrees only from corner to corner, while the "side-to-side" angle is closer to 140 degrees; circular fisheyes, instead, offer an angle of 180 degrees in every direction, but they give a round image in the center of the frame: it is impossible to cover the entire frame with this angle of view.
The Canon 8-15 is a truly amazing lens because it offers both choices: at 8mm it works as circular fisheyes, while at 15mm it becomes diagonal, so you can always choose which one to use.
Specifications (in comparison with similar lenses)
| | Canon 8-15mm Fisheye | Sigma 15mm Fisheye | Canon 15mm Fisheye |
| Focal length | 8-15 mm | 15 mm | 15 mm |
| Construction | 14 elements/11 groups | 7 elements/6 groups | 8 elements/7 groups |
| Macro ratio | 0.39x (1:2.6) | 0.26x (1:3.8) | 0.14x (1:7.1) |
| Max Aperture | f/4 | f/2.8 | f/3.5 |
| Stabilization | No | No | No |
| Autofocus | Ultrasonic motor | Inner AF motor | Inner AF motor |
| Closest Focus | 0.15 meters | 0.15 meters | 0.20 meters |
| Dimensions | 70 x 83 mm | 73 x 65 mm | 73 x 62 mm |
| Weight | 540 g | 370 g | 330 g |
| Weather sealing | Yes | No | No |
| Price | $ 1400 | $ 500 | $ 670 |
| Announced | 2011 | ? | ? |
Built Quality and Autofocus
When I tried the old Canon 15mm fisheye, I was very disappointed by its built quality: it was really poor, almost as bad as the super cheap 50mm f/1.8 or 18-55. The new 8-15 is another world! It has the built quality of L lenses; it is quite light, but it feels sturdy and it is weather sealed. The lens is supplied with a small lens hood; you can use it only at 15mm, while at 8mm you must remove it, otherwise the hood will appear in the photo.
The zoom ring allows to choose every focal length between 8 and 15mm, even though most of the times you will use it either at 8 or 15mm - intermediate focal length give a kind of "hybrid" look between diagonal and circular fisheye that is a bit weird looking.
Canon 8-15mm Fisheye with lens hood, front view, and the lens without hood, side view.
This lens has the fast and silent ultrasonic AF motor; AF is very fast, as you can expect from an extreme wide angle with USM. A very interesting aspect of the 8-15 is that it has amazing macro capabilities: it can focus as close as 15 centimeters, and it gives an impressive 1:2.6 macro ration on fullframe cameras. If you use it on APS-C, you can get approximately the equivalent of a 1:1.8 ratio! If you want a lens for macro photos with "environment" into background, this lens is simply the best.
Taking macro photos with a fisheye is really cool. The lens almost touches the subject - remember that the minimum focusing distance is 15 centimeters from the sensor, so the actual working distance (distance between the front element of the lens and the subject) is about 1 centimeter. You get real macro magnification, but at the same time you have the perspective, angle of view and background typical of fisheye lenses. It is not easy to use, but it can give incredible results!
The image above shows the 8-15 used at miminum focusing distance (on Canon 7D). You can see the result between the image samples :-) Remember that in spite of the focal lenght, the depth of field is always very thin at high magnifications, so even with the fisheye you need to stop down a lot if you want to get the entire subject in focus. The areas that are within the depth of field are very sharp.
You can go even further: this lens is compatible with the Canon 12mm Extension Tube, for even more magnification. With the extension, the 8-15 become able to focus even things placed on the front element!!! Of course, it has very limited practical applications, because unless your subject is semi-transparent it will be impossible to illuminate it in any way. I have tried with a postage stamp and the result is amazing, even though image quality is not great.
Image quality: samples
These are some sample photos taken with the Canon 8-15mm, used on 1DsIII and 7D. You can download the full size version of all photos, both in post processed version and untouched version.
Canon 7D, Canon EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM Fisheye, Canon 12mm Extension, 10" f/9, ISO 100, tripod. Download: Post processed photo / Original photo
This photo is taken with the stamp posed on the front element. You can even see some pieces of dust in focus!
Conclusions
I am positively impressed by the image quality of this lens. It is very sharp at every aperture and its chromatic aberration is acceptable for a fisheye (in comparison, the old Canon 15mm Fisheye is less sharp in the corners and it has a lot more chromatic aberration).
The Canon 8-15mm has everything you may want in a fisheye: amazing angle of view, first rate built quality and image quality, plus the choice between circular and diagonal fisheye. It is an useful lens both on fullframe and APS-C cameras, and its amazing macro capabilities allows to take unusual "fisheye macro" photos. I highly recommend this lens.
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