Laowa’s New 8-15mm Fisheye Lens: A World of Creativity Awaits

I must confess, in my 40 years as a photographer, I’ve never once used a fisheye lens. I’ve not seen the point. When I was younger, I thought the idea of a distorted image was silly. But recently, I’ve become bored with my photography. I’ve been looking to try new things and explore more creative ways of shooting subjects like landscapes, street, and travel. As I pondered how I might achieve this, Laowa called.

They asked if I wanted to review their new full frame 8–15mm f/2.8 zoom fisheye lens. My first thought was, “Why would I want to do that?” A week went by, with more pondering about how I could shoot more creatively, and then a lightbulb came on. I do want to try this new Laowa fisheye lens—it might be the answer to my creativity dilemma! Was it too late to get the lens? No. Good.

Beautifully Made

I purchased Laowa’s 100mm macro a few years back and was impressed with the quality, so I had high expectations for the 8–15mm fisheye zoom. When it arrived, I was even more impressed than I thought I would be. It oozed quality. I recently had Hasselblad’s new 20–35mm zoom to review, and this fisheye felt just as good to hold. Crafted out of metal, the focus ring, aperture ring, and zoom ring all turned as smoothly as butter. The aperture ring has a lovely click to it, a tactile quality that is very reassuring. The only other lens I’ve experienced with an aperture quality like this is my Leica 28mm Summilux. Honestly, this lens is up there with the best of them for a reassuring quality feel. But will it deliver on image quality?

Image Quality

When it comes to testing lenses, I go out and shoot with them and look at the results, but I have little interest in pixel-peeping, “bench-testing,” and comparing to other lenses. I’m either happy with the actual results I get, or I’m not. That’s the real world. I’m a photographer more than I am a gear enthusiast.

With this 8–15mm fisheye zoom, I was, of course, keen to test the full focal range and shoot from very close up to landscape vistas. Most of the images I shot required an aperture of around f/8 to f/11. If I’m shooting a building or landscape and getting a lot in the frame, I’m going to want a decent depth of field. I did, however, test the lens wide open at f/2.8. There were a few situations where a shallow depth of field did seem to make sense with this lens, although when shooting very close to your subject, the background blur is impressive around f/8, and it looked like I was getting a sharper image there too.

Why Would You Want an 8-15mm Lens?

First off, this is not an everyday lens. It’s a lens with a 180-degree field of view, something you’d reach for when an ultra-wide distorted perspective is required. It needs to be used with intention, when you require surreal or immersive results. It’s a fabulous focal range for exploring and experimenting with creative images.

The one area this lens shines is when you use it instead of a macro lens for shooting objects close up. Like a macro lens, you can place the lens within a couple of inches of the subject, and the distorted result I was finding is more interesting than a standard macro.

You can shoot a traditional wide landscape scene, so long as the horizon is in the center of the frame to avoid distortion. A little top or bottom cropping, and you’ll end up with a composition adhering to the rule of thirds, which tends to be aesthetically pleasing. A fisheye is great for wide panoramic images, again, with a little cropping.

My Opinion

I spent a lot of time with this lens, shooting landscapes, street scenes, architecture, and even tabletop/flat-lay arrangements.

I found myself using the 15mm focal length the most because the barrel/vignetting wasn’t visible in the frame. The barrel appears around 14mm but can be cropped out. Mostly, from 15mm I would jump straight to 8mm, which gives you the full circle of the barrel in the frame. There were certainly situations where this effect is fun and very useful, particularly for 1:1 ratio images. But admittedly, it wasn’t used as much as the 15mm end. 9mm to 12mm didn’t get used at all.

Whatever focal length I used, I was cropping in. I always say a 24 MP camera is all you need for most types of photography, but this is a lens where having it attached to a camera with 48 MP is useful, so you can crop as desired and still end up with a decent-sized file.

Loved The Most

• The solid, reassuring build quality. As good as a Leica lens in this regard.
• This lens feels good to use. The older I get, the more I appreciate things that are made from metal to high standards and are mechanical—particularly with lenses. So many are made of lightweight plastic and electronics and can break so easily.
• That aperture click—just sublime!
• It’s not too big or too heavy, considering it’s an all-metal zoom.
• Image quality is good throughout the focal range.

Loved The Least

• The convex front element is exposed, protrudes beyond the protective lens casing, and can be easily scratched. This obviously is not just the case with this particular lens, but all fisheye lenses, by design.
• There’s no lens hood or thread to attach filters, so one has to be mindful when using the lens and place the metal slide-on lens cap when not shooting.

Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 Zoom Fisheye Specifications

• Format: Full frame, manual focus

• Mounts: E, Z, L, RF

• Focal Length: 8–15mm

• Aperture: f/2.8 to f/22

• Angle of View: 180 degrees

• Lens Structure: 13 elements in 9 groups

• Aperture Blades: 9

• Minimum Focus Distance: 16 cm

• Weight: 650 g without front and rear caps

• Price: $699 (US)

Bottom Line

If you’re like me and have been struggling with producing photos that are more creative than the usual images you shoot, maybe this lens is the answer. Having used it now for six weeks or so, I can attest to it being a lot of fun in various scenarios—from macro, architecture, and street to landscapes.

A 15mm fisheye prime would be enough, but there aren’t too many made. When I discovered Sigma’s 15mm fisheye sells for $2,200, I figured this Laowa 8-15mm was a much better deal. If I did need to shoot wider for whatever reason, I had that option, at a third of the cost.

The Laowa 8-15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Zoom is now available, priced at $699.

For more fisheye sample photos, you can watch my video above.