The Lensbaby Circular Fisheye captures the entirety of the world in front of the lens in an extreme, curved perspective. It's not an effect that you'll want to use for every photo, but it's a fine example of a lens that many an artistic photographer likes to have available. It sets itself apart from other lenses of this type by removing an internal baffle, which adds a soft halo-like border to images. If you're a fan of fisheye lenses, it's worth adding to your gear bag, especially when you consider its reasonable $299.95 price.

The Circular Fisheye measures 3 by 2.75 inches (HD) and is light at just 10.5 ounces. The focal length is 5.8mm and maximum aperture is f/3.5. Regardless of which mount you choose, the aperture is controlled via a physical ring and can be narrowed all the way down to f/22. Likewise, focus is manual, but there's so much depth of field with a lens of this type that it's not difficult to nail focus. You do have some control over depth of field, but really only when focusing close. The lens can focus almost down to its front element, so you can get right up to your subjects if desired.

The field of view is 185°, which captures just a bit more than what's directly in front of the lens. Lensbaby has omitted an internal baffle that's usually used in circular fisheyes, which adds a soft halo border around images. It also promotes internal reflections, so you can force rainbow lens flares around the edges of the frame when shooting with a strong light source in view—and the field of view is so wide that it's tough not to include the sun in outdoor shots.