Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX DG Diagonal Fisheye …. It is always a lot of fun to play with this lens.
The lens is a diagonal fisheye which means the distorted scene with 180 degrees view angle is shown full frame. A minimum focusing distance is just 5.9″. The lens is pretty small and light (330g / 11.7oz), so I often take it for paddling or hiking in addition to other lenses in my backpack. I like to use it from a limited space of canoe or kayak cockpit.
I don’t have too many fisheye images in my commercial portfolio, but I am just experimenting with a new setup for photographing words and phrase in letterpress wood type. “Blogosphere”, “look beyond obvious”, and “storytelling” were shot with Sigma fisheye lens and left with an uncorrected lens distortion. If I get a positive feedback I will shoot more typography pictures in this style. Fisheye look is available for custom designs as well. I think it works better for a shorter text, but I am ready to experiment.
Sigma has more fisheye lens, both diagonal and circular, in their lens line with mounts for all major DSLR camera (Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Sony/Minolta, Pentax).
Related posts:
3 Words Abstracts in Letterpress Wood Type Blocks
Fisheye Lens Perspective for Paddling?
Paddling Canoe through a Magic Forest