Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM Ultra-Wide Zoom Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras

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This is a worthy addition to the L lineup. Ive previously used the Sigma 10mm fisheye and the Samyang/Rokinon 8mm, but wanted to add something for my full-frame cameras. This is sharper, focuses faster and works on any Canon body. Its also nice and compact. Fisheye lenses arent for every situation and take some getting used to, but if you need one, this is the very best one available. My one complaint is that the lens cover comes off quite easily. You might need to add some gaffers tape to make the seal tigher.

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As a preface, I am the prosumer - I do not usually make money off my photographs, but enjoy shooting and do it often. I currently shoot on a crop-sensor 7D, for those interested in a review from someone shooting crop-sensor. I enjoy shooting with extreme wide angle lenses. I own the Canon 10-22 and it is one of my favorite lenses. I also do some underwater shooting, and Ive used the 10-22 exclusively in my Nauticam housing. Maybe not anymore... Since receiving this lens, the 10-22 hasnt even been in my bag. It makes me a little sad, but Im not sure how much use the 10-22 will be getting since the 8-15 does pretty much everything I ever wanted to do with the 10-22. The fisheye distortion is really very cool. You need to keep in mind that you will likely have to stop down your exposures to keep foreground elements from being too dark - the lightmeter gets a lot of light from the near 180 degree (on crop sensor) field of view, and thus tends to expose for the sky, etc. Theres been some CA to contend with, especially at the edges and in high contrast areas (silhouettes), but nothing crazy and not more than other wide angles. Images are nice and sharp. Im finding I get MUCH better results when I stop the lens down and extend the DOF... otherwise LARGE areas can appear out of focus -- not that the lens is soft, but if you close focus you have the rest of the world behind your subject that will be out of focus. Ive heard some claim that this lens might have limited use, but if youre someone who likes to work wide, this is not a gimmick lens. And with some creative cropping, you can easily achieve some fantastic landscape "panoramas" in one shot. Some other considerations: - Yes, the lens cap is a little goofy. Its a shame that this isnt better designed. - When shooting below 10mm its possible to get the lens hood in the frame. - Dont get too close! Easy to bump the front element (watch out for pet noses, too). - The delimiter makes a lot of sense if youre shooting on crop-sensor and dont want any vignetting, however, Ive really enjoyed pushing it wider and then cropping out the corners if I dont like them. If you use a good print service and know a good framer, theres no reason not to crop a wide-screen photo, especially with all the megapixels we have these days. Enjoy! **** EDIT **** This lens continues to be "extremely fun"... And I wanted to add a short comment about shooting with this lens underwater. The performance of this lens in a Nauticam housing with 8.5" dome has been outstanding. Its not a very fast lens, but the wide field of view allows for a lot of light. Its difficult to get "character" shots of individual fish, for example, but its great for underwater seascapes, over-unders (really strong), and the occasional megafauna shot if youre lucky enough to have a close encounter. I know this lens is pricey, but something tells me that if you shoot underwater youre used to the sting...

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FYI since I did not read anything about this item already having the lens hood included and i wasted an extra $50 bucks for one... I just took some pictures with it and on one instant I got some flower pollen on the lens, thats how close you can get and have a sharp image apparently... Its definitely one of the most fun lens I own, I would say this is more for landscapes or macro usage but the lens definitely can make people laugh with the distortion caricature like it gives them.

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If you shoot Canon, and like fisheye, and you have a creative bone in your body, you will LOVE this piece of glass...Period! it is the best thing ever and most likely will hardly ever come off my 5D Mark 3, this is designed for a full frame, it will look great on a crop sensor but on a crop you are better off with a Tokina or similar. I love this lens! check out samples at [...]

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Awesome lens!! Its an acquired taste but if you can appreciate a FE lens... WOW

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Canon quality as usual. This lens completes my collection of Canon equipment. With my 7D I can shoot from 8mm to 300mm now. This lens in particular at 8mm produces interesting effects on all types of objects, manmade and natural. Another feature I enjoy is the continuos manual focus - a feature becoming pretty much standard on new Canon EF lenses.

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This lens is fabulous. It is a specialty lens for sure but any image Ive captured has had great color and sharpness. Ive used it on my 5D3 only and used in the Sequoia National Park. Know what you are getting. This lens is not an everyday lens and the cost is up there but when and if you desire to use this lens it does not fail.

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Love this lens. A fisheye should be in every photographers bag. Of course there is some vignetting on the edges (to be expected) and the lens hood must be removed for the 8mm setting. Colors are amazing, blues pop with this lens and my Canon 5D mkII and mkIII cameras. Well built and very smooth operation. Great for landscape and special effect photography.

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I was instantly interested in this lens after Canon announced it - unfortunately for a shockingly high price. At this time I already owned a different third party 8 mm fisheye prime lens which suited me but which had some flare issues and only provided a semi-circular image on full frame camera sensors. Finally I found an excellent used mint lens copy of this 8-15/4 lens for a more reasonable price online. I am amazed by this lens - especially by its sharpness which I still find extraordinary for such fisheye lens with up to 180 deg view. The biggest plus of this lens is its zoom range - simply by moving the lens ring between 8 and 15 mm on a full frame camera, you can determine the best effect and composition in the ultra-wide range which you prefer. So far I used this lens more at the long end than at 8 mm. The lens hood can easily be attached and removed - I wish other Canon lenses had the same hood design with "click" lock. The hood works well at the widest end of the lens, but leads to some undesirable black borders at longer focal lengths (just remove the hood in this case). The lens cap also fits well onto the lens hood to protect the large front element. Overall, this is a well built lens with high optical quality for a fisheye lens - normally mainly a prime lens user, I enjoy the flexibility in the zoom range which this lens gives me. I should also point out that this lens works well in infrared light. It is a creative lens, sometimes also useful for some scenic shots. At 14 mm focal length, the 8-15/4 fisheye gives you a very different perspective than the rectlinear Canon 14/2.8 II lens. Highly recommended!

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Images seem oddly distorted. Love it. Great for Portraits!

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