Sigma has long been a company willing to take risks and to do things in their designs that no one has. Their newest lens is one of the most extreme (and niche!) yet, and as such boasts a few “firsts”. This is the first autofocusing fisheye lens on Sony E mount (or L-mount, for that matter). Both Canon and Nikon have done autofocus fisheye lenses before, but nothing on Sony. It is also the world’s first full frame (35mm) diagonal fisheye lens with an F1.4 mount. Most fisheye lenses are manual focus, inexpensive, and relatively small. Sigma has gone the exact opposite direction, as their new Sigma 15mm F1.4 DG DN | ART fisheye is huge, heavy, and expensive ($2000 USD). So who is it for? I asked Sigma, and the response was A) astrophotographers (much like the 14mm F1.4 ART) and B) those looking for a high performance fisheye look who can benefit from a larger aperture, which could include concert shoots, underwater (using a housing, obviously), and other dim lighting scenarios (action sports, perhaps?) It’s clear that this lens is not for everyone, but is it for you? Explore that notion in either my video review below or by reading my text review.

Sigma 15mm F1.4 DG DN ART Diagonal Fisheye Review | An Extreme Lens with Extreme Performance

Thanks to Sigma Canada (Gentec) for sending me a review loaner of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.

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As noted, this is an extreme instrument. The incredible 180° angle of view bests even the recent Laowa AF 10mm F2.8‘s 130.6° angle of view, though that lens provides a very different rectilinear view of the world. I stood in the middle of a bridge that was roughly 12 feet (4 meters) wide and aimed the lens down at my feet. No only do my feet look far away, but the lens captured the full width of the bridge path and almost all of the rails around the edges of the bridge.

Prepare yourself for a LOT to be in the frame all the time with this lens!

The fisheye effect is the byproduct of extreme distortion. A rectilinear lens attempts to create straight lines, and, in the process, it has a much narrower angle of view. A fisheye lens embraces that distortion and uses it for a unique look. There are two types of fisheye lenses – circular, which creates a round, circular image that will not fill the frame (since that frame is rectangular, there will be black areas surrounding the circular image) and diagonal fisheye lenses like this one. They will fill the frame, though with a tremendous amount of curvature of elements along the edges of the frame.

What’s interesting with a diagonal fisheye is that you do have some control over the amount of distortion through the tilt of the camera. Below I composed the same scene with the camera first level (left) and then tilted.

In the first, the horizon is relatively straight. The second image shows a huge curvature as the horizon line moved towards the edge of the frame.

You can make things really extreme with just a little tilt!

Enjoy the photos below taken with this unique lens.

Images of the Sigma 15mm F1.4 DN Fisheye

Images taken with the Sigma 15mm F1.4 DN Fisheye

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the Sigma 15mm F1.4 Fisheye @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Sony a7RV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Sony a7IV @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Sony Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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