If you have in mind making a stitched 360 degree (by 180 vertical; in other words a full sphere), then a fisheye isn't strictly necessary, although it makes the job easier by reducing the number of frames needed. But any lens could be used; the wider the angle the fewer frames, that's all.
On the other hand, if you are wanting to maximize the field of view in a single shot, a fisheye won't give you 360 degrees, unless you measure that around the perimeter of the image circle. For instance, if you aimed straight up, you could get a full sky view with the horizon all the way around. For such shots you would need a full circular type fisheye, such as the 8 mm Sigma mentioned above, or the Canon 8-15 (circular on full frame at 8 mm).
I used the Sigma 8mm for a few years on a mark ii and handcrafted pano head. It was fast with only 3 shots needed if you didn't care about the ground directly underneath.
If you have the budget, the Canon 8-15mm fisheye is the sharpest, most flare resistant, and most versatile lens for shooting 360 panoramas. If you don't want to spend that much, the version of the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye without the hood is also quite good on full frame.
The 8mm fisheye focal length is not optimal for shooting on full frame -- it's better for crop sensors. You'll get a lot more resolution by shooting 4 shots around at 10-12mm on full frame. Using 8mm means you have a lot of black space around the image = less image area. The typical resolution for 12mm and 4 around on the 5D2 is about 11,000x5,500.
The other option is a 15mm -- both the Canon and Sigma are excellent. This will require you to shoot 6 shots around plus one up (zenith), and at least 1 down (nadir). Typical resolution for 6+1+1 on the 5D2 is 14,500x7,250.
Here's an extensive review of the 8-15mm fisheye that includes comparisons that will visually show you how an 8mm fisheye is not a good choice for shooting 360x180 spherical panoramas on full frame: http://michel.thoby.free.fr/Canon_8-15mm/8-15mm_review.html
Yes, I want to shoot 360 degree stitched panoramas of interiors mostly. Resolution isn't my biggest concern since the panoramas will mainly be used on the internet.
I could use a 16-35 @ 16mm, but I would have to take many shots to make a 360 panorama. Not sure how many exactly though...
The Canon 8-15mm looks like the most versatile option. But also quite expensive.
Any wide angle will allow you to go all the way around with a minimal number of frames. For instance, a 16 mm lens has an angle of view in the short axis of about 73 degrees. So if you shot in portrait orientation and overlapped about 1/3, each frame would give you about 50 degrees and you'd need 7 or 8 shots to go around. If you wanted a full 360 x 180 you'd need a zenith and nadir shot, but that's it. So if you already have a 16-35, I'd give it a try until you find that you need something wider, which isn't likely to happen.
When I had the Rokinon 8mm with fixed hood, it stitched very well for interiors. I had the 5Dii and used 4 shots, but did not bother with the floor directly underneath the tripod. Get the rokinon with the removable hood.
I am using the Peleng 8 mm fisheye on my 5D II - great performance for the price, but it tends to flare a lot more than the Sigma 8 mm lens. If I would make a choice now, it would probably be the 8 mm lens from Sigma.
Standard rectilinear lenses give you a lot more resolution, at the expense of a lot more shots.
The 16mm end of a 16-35mm would require 2 rows of 7 shots around to yield a 360x180 spherical pano. And you'd still need zenith and nadir shots. So that's 16+ shots compared to between 4-8 with a fisheye lens.
If you have an iPhone, check out the PanoCalc app -- it's very handy for figuring this stuff out.
I've had good results from the Sigma 8/3.5 fisheye on APS-C bodies. I prefer to allow for significant overlap so I tend to shoot 6 around, 1 up, and 1 down.
The 15mm Sigma is reportedly as good as the old EF 15mm from Canon and it is a pretty good price. But if you have the money get the 8-15mm Canon as it is so versatile.
A few questions:
- Do I need something from Arca Swiss to make this work? ATM I have a Gitzo tripod + RRS ballhead and camera plate.
- Do I need something else besides my camera, fisheye lens, tripod and this NN package to make 360 panorama's?
Brands like Rokinon and Peleng are all made by Samyang but they are sold in different areas with different names...
You should seriously look at Samyang though their optics are very nice; it's a fully manual lens but don't let that out you off. Set the aperture to f/8 or f/11, set to infinity focus and off you go.
@Daan B -- The R1 will give you more flexibility than the fixed R10. The RS-1 will allow you to shoot a zenith (up shot) as well: http://shop.nodalninja.com/nn-rs-1-f9700/
Talk to the folks at Nodal Ninja -- they're very friendly. You might also check out http://www.panoguide.com/
In addition to the fisheye lens and pano head, you'll need a way to level the head. This could be a leveling base (Nodal Ninja, Acratech, etc.), or a rotator (RRS PCL-1). I do recommend staying with the click-stop style rotators from Nodal Ninja -- they're much faster and more convenient than a PCL-1 style.
And then you'll also need software to stitch the pano. It can be done in Photoshop, but it's difficult and it's really not the right tool for the job. PTGui or AutoPano (Kolor) are both good choices here.
And then you'll need a way to display the panos -- this could be 360 cities, or you could use either Pano2VR or krpano to put the panorama into a player. Did I mention you should consider making both flash and html5 versions for different browsers and devices?
Going down the rabbit hole with 360s is a lot of hard work, but it's fun once you get the hang of it.
Ok, I did get a NN R1 + click-stop RD5 rotator. I still need a way to level the head. My ball-head is too wide and will show up in the frame at 8mm (on FF). So that won't work. What I don't get is that the NN EZ leveler is also visible in the frame, because it will come into the 180 degree view of the 8mm (on full frame). Any ideas on levelers that stay within a radius of 5cm so they won't be visible in the frame?
