Canon 15mm F2.8 Fisheye

Personally I think there’s 3 lenses that have to be part of a concert photographers bag. There’s the 70-200 F2.8, the classic 20-70 F2.8 and then as a “last resort” lens in case the light is worse than it usually is the 50mm F1.8 (or faster).

Then there are the fun lenses, the ones that you buy but don’t really need. After months of debating (with myself) and a weekend trip with my lovely wife I decided to get the Canon 15mm F2.8 fisheye.

I have to admit that my first impression was a bit mixed. The lens is really a lot smaller than what I expected for a 2.8 glass, which is not necessarily a mistake. No surprises with the build quality, it’s what you’d expect from a Canon non “L” glass. The lens hood is fixed to the body of the lens, it is quite small and will not prevent the front element from scratches. This could be an issue since the gear tends to be handled a bit rougher at a concert than in the studio. By the way, due to the form of the front element, there is no way of using a filter with this lens.  The lens cap (in case you were wondering how to fix that one) is “pushed” over the lens hood. I’m afraid that after a few months of usage the cap will come of the hood by itself, thus exposing the front element.  But we’ll see about that in a few months. Technically there is nothing to say, the Autofucs was fast, the lens is sharp enough for me and the people who publish my pictures.

As I mentioned before it’s a fun lens, and as with anything fun you can easily overdo it. I used the lens for the first time with Pale Obsession and Epica. I noticed that once I had the lens mounted on the camera I enjoyed what I saw through the viewfinder so much that I could easily have shot the whole concert with it, and that would be a mistake. I came to the conclusion that when the venue allows it I would shoot the first two songs with my regular lenses and the last one with the fisheye. When I say depending on the venue, I mean that you really take advantage of the lens when you can get really close to the action. There’s no point in using it if you are 2m or more away from the stage.

Conclusion: I am happy with the results of my first test, it will certainly always be in my bag. But it’s not a lens I will be able to use at every concert. Technically it’s a great lens with the “fun” effect.  The only detail I don’t like is the lens cap, and the fact that there is no way of protecting the front element from scratches. But other than that, if you’re looking to diversify the look of your pictures and have fun at it, by all means give it a try. It’s not a lens for everybody, so renting it first would be a clever thing to do.

Here’s a few examples from the to concerts I’ve mentioned before.