The EF 8-15 f/4L Fisheye Has Landed

[vmphoto]

Broadway Camera in Vancouver has one! Sorry, I mean had...
http://instagr.am/p/IwA_b/?ref=nf

[Etienne]

really only good at 15mm on the 5DII

How do you figure that? 

If you actually want a 180° FoV all the way around, you need to go to ~8mm on FF, for example the currently available Sigma 8mm f/3.5 EX DG circular fisheye (or the manual focus Pelang version).  Canon used to make one, too - the old Canon FD 7.5mm f/5.6 Fisheye. 

As shown in the diagram I posted above, a lens like the EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, which is a 'full frame fishsye, ' provides 180° FoV on the diagonal only - the horizontal FoV is 147° and the vertical FoV is 94°.

So, I'd argue this lens is most useful on a FF camera like the 5DII - on APS-C and APS-H you just get a full frame fisheye, whereas on FF you a full frame fisheye at 15mm and a circular fisheye at 8mm.

Oh puhlleeaase.... how many times are you going to shoot a full circular fish-eye shot, which is essentially a round circle in black rectangle? Once, twice in your life? That's real useful.

Canon has even gone to the trouble of putting stops on the zoom so that 1.6 and 1.3 crops can be prevented from opening wide enough to waste all that sensor real-estate.

I have yet to meet a photographer or videographer who uses a full circle fisheye on a full frame. You're saying you're surprised that anyone would find this lens somewhat limited on a full frame? You can get a Sigma f2.8 15mm fisheye for $600 brand new, or Canons own for $700. I'll take the f2.8 over the f4 every single time, unless I predominantly used a 1.6 crop in good light.

[neuroanatomist]

...how many times are you going to shoot a full circular fish-eye shot, which is essentially a round circle in black rectangle? Once, twice in your life? That's real useful.

You're saying you're surprised that anyone would find this lens somewhat limited on a full frame?

I'm saying it's more useful on FF than on 1.3x or 1.6x. "Most useful" as in relative to use on crop sensors, in that on the latter you only get full frame fisheye (and there other options for that on 1.6x), while on FF you get the option of either full frame or circular fisheye.

Now, before you go knocking the virtues of full frame or circular fisheye, take me out of the discussion. I was speaking in relative terms, pointing out that this fisheye zoom is more useful on FF than on crop. In absolute terms of utility, while I'm sure there are photographers who will love this lens, *personally* I think an extensive collection of navel lint has more utility than a fisheye zoom.