Check out the best (and most affordable) wide-angle camera lenses for beautiful cinematography in tight areas.
From Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey, to Yorgos Lanthimos in The Favourite, the fisheye look has been a go-to staple of cinema for ages. And while fisheye lenses can stylistically express both openness and containment, as well as distort perceptions of height, size, and importance, wide-angle lenses also have a very practical purpose. They’re great for filming in small, tight places.
So, for anyone feeling stuck inside, or simply needing to find the right wide-angle lens for shooting scenes in small rooms, we now present some of the best — and most affordable — fisheye lenses for your consideration.
Altura Photo 8mm F/3.0
The first option on our list is the Altura Photo 8mm F/3.0, which is one of the least-expensive fisheye lenses on the market. While wide-angle lenses are perhaps more popular in the photography world than in videography, lenses like the Altura Photo 8mm work great for both.
At 8mm, you’ll be able to handle a great deal of small-room cinematography — even with multiple subjects, if needed.
- Focal Length: 8mm
- Aperture Range: F/3 to F/22
- Number of Diaphragm Blades: 6
- Optics: 11 elements in 8 groups (with 1 aspherical element)
Price: $175
PENTAX 10-17mm F/3.5-4.5
A surprisingly affordable wide-angle zoom (and a great option for DSLR or mirrorless cameras), the PENTAX DA 10-17mm is actually an offshoot of the first fisheye zoom ever created. As a zoom, this PENTAX gives you solid coverage when navigating in tight spaces where you might need to tweak your framing and composition a bit.
The zoom will also give you some leeway when working with scenes that require movement, even while operating from a tripod setup.
- Focal Length: 10-17mm
- Aperture Range: F/5.3-6.8 to F/22-32
- Number of Diaphragm Blades: 6
- Optics: 10 elements in 8 groups
- Minimum Focus Distance: 0.14m
Price: $450 (new), $250 (used)
Rokinon 8mm T3.8
Unlike the fisheye lenses above, the Rokinon RK8MV-C 8mm T3.8 Cine Fisheye Lens is tailor-made for film and video. This means better design quality for a videographer’s needs, with a focus on ease of use for aspects like focus pulling and smooth motion.
With a 3.8 T-stop (read up more on the difference between F-stops and T-stops here), you’ll end up with a very defined cinematic look and some truly inspiring compositions. This might be your best bet for any interior shots where you need to go fisheye wide-angle.
- Focal Length: 8mm
- Aperture Range: T3.8 to T22
- Number of Diaphragm Blades: 6
- Optics: 10 elements In 7 groups
- Minimum Focus Distance: 11.8″ (0.3m)
Price: $399 (new), $275 (used)
Samyang 12mm F/2.8
One of the best options for full-frame videographers, the Samyang Optics 12mm F/2.8 ED AS NCS Fisheye is a great manual focus lens, with flexibility for filming from both short and long distances. The Samyang 12mm is also one of the best low-light options for those really looking to cut the edge with some beautiful shallow-depth-of-field shots.
Another aspect to keep in mind when shooting in small spaces are the multiple planes — from foreground to middleground to background — you might still want to capture in your compositions. Here’s a great article all about it.
- Focal Length: 12mm
- Aperture Range: F/2.8 to F/22
- Number of Diaphragm Blades: 7
- Optics: 12 elements in 8 groups
- Minimum Focus Distance: 7.9″ / 20.07 cm
Price: $380 (new)
Tokina 10-17mm F/3.5-4.5
Another solid hybrid offering that’s on the higher end of our affordability chart, the Tokina AT-X 107 F/3.5-4.5 DX Fisheye (10-17mm) is a strong APS-C format wide-zoom for those looking to utilize the fisheye look with more options and control.
Designed for both Canon EF and Nikon F-mounts, the Tokina 10-17mm is excellent for corner-to-corner photography and videography, and can really shine — even when stuck in small rooms looking for interesting angles. A fisheye zoom like this Tokina is also preferable for shooting run-and-gun in tight places, giving you that extra bit of coverage if you need to move in or out just slightly.
- Focal Length: 10-17mm
- Aperture Range: F/3.5-4.5 to F/22
- Number of Diaphragm Blades: 6
- Optics: 10 elements in 8 groups
- Minimum Focus Distance: 0.14m
Price: $450 (new)
Cover image by Geza Farkas.