Canon EF15mm f/2.8 Fisheye

• Specifications
• Reviews
• Sample Images

Canon's EF15mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens was first announced in April 1987, and was only superseded in 2011 by the 8-15 zoom fisheye.

The lens offered a full 180 degree field of view from corner to corner on a 35mm full frame body. The AF is driven by a relatively noisy AFD (Arc-Form Drive) motor. This lens uses rear drop-in type gelatin filters, up to 3 filters at the same time.

The metal lens cap is renowned for falling off easily. Our own copy has four small bits of masking tape on the inside, to give a slightly better fit.

PDF lens manual

Available from: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | B&H | Adorama

Lens specifications

The EF15 (right) and its successor, the EF8-15 fisheye zoom lens

Marketed	April 1987
Lens Construction (groups)	7
Lens Construction (element)	8
No. of Diaphragm Blades	5
Minimum Aperture	22
Closest Focusing Distance (m)	0.2
Maximum Magnification (x)	0.14
Filter Diameter (mm)	--
Maximum Diameter x Length (mm)	73 x 62.2
Weight (g)	330

Construction

MTF Chart

A quick guide to MTF charts (which only measure contrast and resolution. Canon's guide to their MTF charts) Black lines reflect lens performance at widest aperture. Blue lines show the performance at f/8 Thick lines indicate lens contrast Thin lines indicate lens resolution Dashed lines: Lens performance with meridional lines. Solid lines: Lens performance with sagittal lines Closer sagittal and meridional chart lines indicate more 'natural' out of focus areas. Remember that MTF charts are good for comparing similar lenses, so comparing ones from the 14mm f2.8L and 300mm 2.8L won't tell you much at all, whilst comparing the EF14 2.8L with the EF14 2.8L II will show meaningful differences. Note that other manufacturers may have different ways of displaying such information that may or may not match up with the Canon figures.

EF15mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens reviews and articles

• Canon UK | US info page
• Amazon
• Northlight Images - use of 15mm with fisheye hemi lens correction
• Canon CPN article
• Fred Miranda
• Digital Picture
• PhotoZone
• SLR Gear
• Lens Review
• ePhotozine

Written a review? Contact us and we'll add it to the list.

Sample images

Other straight lines are much more likely to curve...

With software correction, the lens can give very useful results, such as this shot of a hotel bar, where the corner is actually a 90 degree one.