This lens is not about big faces and noses like you see a lot over at Flickr. The lens gave a perspective that was so unique and different, it definitely differentiated me from the competition. You had to learn a few tricks to get the best out of it though - don't put the subject too close to the corners or you would create a "Mr. Gumby" stretch effect, the curvature is OK if used creatively, and don't take a picture of your on-camera flash or your feet, just to name a few of the simple yet needed-to-know tricks. Take a look at these few images created with my old Hassy Fisheye - still pretty cool looking.
There are two kinds of Fisheye lens, those that make the circle fisheye like the lens Sigma's 10mm for full frame 35mm and their 4.5mm fisheye for APS sensors just introduced last week and the cropped Fisheye's made by Canon, Nikon, and Hasselblad. The Sigma's circular fisheye lenses shows a 180 degree field of view around the entire image area while the other version shows the 180 degree field of view just from corner to corner. Nikon used to make a 220 degree fisheye, but has since been discontinued. The cropped lenses from Nikon and Canon work really well on the APS sensor cameras because the sensor is only seeing the "sweet spot" center of the lens, plus the fisheye distortion is minimized near the center too so we have a very wide, low light lens in this case. Heck, you can even correct the distortion with several solutions out there like Photoshop and DXO optics.
I own Sigma's 10mm circular fisheye for a full frame 35mm camera and really enjoy using it on my ASP sized sensors on my Canon 40D. The effect is still quite dramatic in the right situation. If the subject matter has "curvy" lines, I think the fisheye effect adds to the "dramatics" of the images like this image of the Netherland ballroom below. 
You have the choice of going with the partial circle or cropping off the circle effect and being left with what I used to get with my trusty old Hasselblad. Check out the following image. 
Check out these last two images - where they made with a fisheye lens - you can't really tell, can you. That's because I kept the horizon line in the center of the viewfinder and the subjects near the center of the frame. The rest of the subject matter had no point of reference from a distortion point of view so "appears" not to be distorted in the image - hence, the extremely wide angle shot without the "Fisheye" distortion. 
The fisheye lenses today sure don't break the bank like in the Hassy days, so they can be part of your equipment arsenal should you want a very different look to your photography. Give it a try - It opens up a entire new world of shooting possibilities. That's it for today, Gang, we are off for a day of sun and fun over at the Hilton - best views from a pool in the world. See everybody tomorrow. Adios, --David
Check out these last two images - where they made with a fisheye lens - you can't really tell, can you. That's because I kept the horizon line in the center of the viewfinder and the subjects near the center of the frame. The rest of the subject matter had no point of reference from a distortion point of view so "appears" not to be distorted in the image - hence, the extremely wide angle shot without the "Fisheye" distortion. The fisheye lenses today sure don't break the bank like in the Hassy days, so they can be part of your equipment arsenal should you want a very different look to your photography. Give it a try - It opens up a entire new world of shooting possibilities. That's it for today, Gang, we are off for a day of sun and fun over at the Hilton - best views from a pool in the world. See everybody tomorrow. Adios, --David 
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