My 2022 fisheye lenses buying guide to create a 360° panorama

Now that you know the choice criteria for your ideal lens, here is a list of interesting lenses and a list of my favorite ones. This list was built along my 18 years-experience as a coach which enabled me to hold in my hands almost all lenses on the market...

As soon as we're talking about choosing a lens, the first thing we think about is its optical quality. It is of course very important but it is also clear that other criterias should be taken into account.
Some of them, like quality of beauty of the beams are completely subjective, but others like quality and easiness of stitching are way more objective. But all lenses are not equal on that criteria. 10.5 mm Nikkor, new 8-15 mm Nikkor (june 2017) and 10-17 mm Pentax fisheye lenses are the best on that last criteria. And despite preconceived idea, 14 mm Canon and Nikkor are a lot more complicated to stitch correctly. The Sigma 8 mm f2.8 fish eye also fits perfectly.
Finally, the economical and little-known Pentax 10-17 mm fish eye is largely just as good for making excellent virtual tours - Yes, No! - and for three or four times less. It's even my new favorite for those who want to work with a reflex camera so they want to be able to zoom in on their virtual tour. For others, there is the new Ricoh Theta Z1 which finally offers sufficient quality without the need for any technical skills in a 360° one shoot camera.

Selection of fisheye or wide-angle lenses...

And my favorite fisheye lenses are...

	Pentax 10-17 mm f3.5 fisheye $446.95

A lens unfortunately unknown and yet formidable efficiency and very very good optically. I tested it during an training and it is a big surprise, really better than the Samyang above for just more expensive and heavier:

Qualities :

• Sharpness quality equal to the best on the whole field!
• Very little chromaticism,
• Very beautiful fine beams,
• Very little flare,
• Manual focus creamy and sufficiently geared,
• The price and value for money incomparable!
• The weight and bulk on a Pentax K70!
• Finishing,
• Easy stitching with virtually no artifacts with the best current stitching software.

Defaults :

• I am still searching !

My note : 9.5/10 - For virtual tours - Even better than the Nikkor 10,5 mm Fisheye so really better than the Samyang 8 mm for hardly more expensive! A revelation because mounted on a Pentax K3 II or the new and excellent Pentax KP very compact all will be slightly heavier (+100 grs) and more cumbersome than the pair Sony Alpha 6300 + Samyang 8 mm. My favorite!

Technical specifications  Focal : 10-17 mm fisheye (APS-C and 24x36 sensor)  Angle : 180° (full-frame or circular),  Apert. : f3.5/4.5 - 6 blades,  Lens construct. : 10 elements (1ED),  Focusing : ∞ - 0,30 cm/5.5in, - Hyerfocal à f8,0=1m,  Weight : 11.3 oz/320 grs, Pentax 10-17 mm Price Retailer $446.95   $346.95

	Nikkor 8-15 mm f3.5 fisheye $1,246.95

An excellent new lens that fits perfectly for all Nikon cameras (APS-C as FX) - New reference!

Qualities :

• Excellent image quality all the way ... to the corners,
• Perfect homogeneity as of f5.6;
• 8-15mm zoom allowing to work in only 3/5 photos according to the format of the sensor and in 8 photos when one looks for the best possible quality,
• Beams pretty and fine.
• Ease of stitching with the best current stitching software,
• Not very sensitive to the flare towards the light sources.
• The sun visor is removable!

Defaults :

• A bit of chromaticism but which corrects itself very easily in Raw;
• And that's all for us. Some could perhaps blame him for a lack of brightness ...
• We can perhaps also mention the need to have a housing support plate long enough because the nodal point is obviously very close to the front lens and the lens is quite long. Compared to the 10.5 mm DX, you have to back up the camera by 2 cm.

My note : 10/10 - The new reference in APS-C for Nikon D5300, D7200 or D7500 or in 24x36 for the D610, D750 or D850! Perfect stitching quality in PTGui. Oh, I forgot ... I bought it!

Technical specifications  Focal : 8-15 mm fisheye (APS-C and 24x36 sensor)  Angle : 180° (Full-frame or circular),  Apert. : f3,5/4,5 - 7 blades,  Lens construct. : 15 elements (2 ASPH + 3 ED),  Focusing : ∞ - 0,16 cm/0.5 ft, - Hyerfocal à f8,0=1m,  Weight : 1lb 1.2 oz/0,485 grs, Nikkor 8-15 mm fisheye Price Retailer $1,246.95   $1,246.95

	Canon 8-15 mm f4.0 fisheye $1,249.00

An excellent lens that fits perfectly for all Canon APS-C and 24-36 cases:

Qualities :

• Quality at the top of the market,
• Little chromaticism,
• 14 beautiful and fine beams,
• Not very sensitive to flare towards the light sources,
• The sun visor is detached,
• Ease of stitching with the best current stitching software (PTGui).

Defaults :

• Frankly, I do not see ... oh yes, the Canon cases singularly lacking in dynamics!

My note : 10/10 - The direct competitor of Nikkor 8-15mm: high definition, very little chromaticism, beautiful beams, little flare and stitching without artifact. Too bad that the Canon sensors is not as dynamic as the Nikon / Sony / Pentax sensors ...

Technical specifications  Focal : 8-15 mm fisheye (APS-C and 24x36 sensor)  Angle : 180° (full-frame or circular),  Apert. : f4.0 - 7 blades,  Lens construct. : 14 elements (2 ASP + 3 ED),  Focusing : ∞ - 0,16 cm/6.2 in, - Hyerfocal à f8,0=1m,  Weight : 19.1 oz/0,540 grs, Canon 8-15 mm fisheye Price Retailer $1,249.00   $1,249.00

	Samyang 8 mm f2.8 fisheye $229.00

An amazing lens in every respect for all Sony or Fuji cameras in APS-C and Olympus in 4: 3 but in 7.5mm focal length:

Qualities :

• Quality of sharpness almost equal to the best on the whole field!
• Very little chromaticism,
• Manual focus creamy and sufficiently geared,
• The price and value for money incomparable!
• The weight and bulk on a Sony Alpha 6300!
• Finishing,
• Easy stitching with virtually no artifacts with the best current stitching software (PTGui or Hugin).

Defaults :

• Sensitivity above the average flare. We must therefore pay attention to windows and sources of bright lights.
• 6 coarse beams ... so ugly!
• No lens / camera connection chip so Map manual and manual diaphragm also but is it embarrassing in virtual tour? This goal is not versatile but daunting virtual visit.

My note : 8.5/10 - I can assure you that if there was not this flare sensitivity on light sources above average, it would have on the other criteria 9/10 but is not Canon or Nikon who wants. Well, it has many beams a little ugly too but it is a remarkable value for money anyway. I recommend it with just this small reserve.

Technical specifications  Focal : 7.5 or 8 mm fisheye (4:3 or APS-C sensor)  Angle : 180° (full-frame),  Apert. : f2.8 - 7 blades,  Lens construct. : 9 elements (1 ASPH),  Focusing : ∞ - 0,12cm/0.5ft - Hyerfocal à f8,0=0,9m,  Weight : 0.6lb/0,540 grs, Samyang 8 mm fisheye Price Retailer $229.00   $279.00 Samyang 7.5 mm fisheye Price Retailer $219.00   $219.00

In the next page, we'll talk about cameras

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