Fisheyes are almost always used for underwater photography where there are no straight lines to worry about. They also produce sharper images with brighter colours than a rectilinear lens. Shooting the horizon? Depending on your composition, a fisheye can be used to enhance the curvature of the earth.

The angle of view of a fisheye lens is usually between 100 and 180 degrees, although lenses covering up to 280 degrees exist (see below).

Wide-angle lenses are well-suited for capturing expansive scenes with minimal distortion, providing true-to-life images. In contrast, fisheye lenses offer a dramatic, ultra-wide perspective with significant distortion, focusing attention on the foreground object.