Portland, OR – April 10, 2014 – Lensbaby, makers of creative effects camera lenses, announces the release of a 5.8mm Circular Fisheye lens in Canon EF and Nikon F mounts. With this Circular Fisheye lens, Lensbaby now offers photographers with crop sensor cameras a fun and affordable way to create circular images that transform the world around them.
The Circular Fisheye is great for capturing the scale of endless landscapes and big events, fun self-portraits, quirky shots of pets or friends, creating extreme perspective, and experimenting with unique lens flare.
This manual lens has built-in aperture control ranging from f/3.5-22 and features an ultra-wide 5.8mm focal length. It is capable of capturing a 185 degree angle of view and focusing from 1/4 inch in front of the lens to infinity. That extreme close-focus paired with the incredibly wide 5.8mm focal length produces other-worldly distortion with exceptional sharpness throughout.
Circular fisheye lenses produce an image that is circular, surrounded by black.
Lensbaby deliberately designed the internal lens barrel of the Circular Fisheye to be reflective allowing bright sources of light to form a halo of colorful flare around the image, as seen in the image below left. In flatter light, parts of a scene can also be reflected into the area surrounding the image, as seen in the image below right.
“Our Circular Fisheye lens, from a hardware perspective, functions just like any other manual lens,” said Craig Strong, Lensbaby Co-founder & Chief Creative Officer. “Simply attach it to your camera, and start shooting – no additional parts needed. Of course – it wouldn’t be a Lensbaby lens without something fun, different, and wacky. That’s why Circular Fisheye lets you focus on objects nearly touching the lens, while getting a 185 degree view of your surroundings. Plus, the flare this lens can produce adds a creative element to the border around the sharp circular image.”
The images below were shot with the Circular Fisheye lens on an APS-C sensor camera: this lens was optimized to produce a full-circle fisheye image on these cameras.
Specs and Features
- Circular Fisheye lens
- 5.8mm focal length
- 185º angle of view
- f/3.5-22
- Focus type: Manual
- Polished internal barrel for creative flare & reflection
- Focus distance scale & hyperfocal scale to aid in focusing
- Available for Canon EF & Nikon F camera mounts
- Size/Weight: 2.75” (7cm) high x 3” (7.6cm) wide / 10.5oz (298g)
Circular Fisheye will retail for $299.95. The lens is currently available for pre-order from B&H, Adorama and Amazon, and will be available mid-May from select specialty photo stores worldwide and from www.lensbaby.com or by calling 877-536-7222 / 971-
About Lensbaby
Lensbaby, Inc. is a Portland, Oregon based manufacturer of award-winning Creative Effects SLR, mirrorless, and movie camera lenses. Lensbaby was launched in February 2004 by Craig Strong, a professional photographer and the inventor of the patented Lensbaby Creative Effects SLR lens system. Lensbaby sells to photographers all over the world through its website,www.lensbaby.com, by calling 877-536-7222 / 971-223-5662, at tradeshows, in leading photo retailers and through a growing global network of international distributors.
