Drum/Barreled Image
Click here for + Larger View

Full-Circular Image
Click here for + Larger View

Full-Framed Image
Click here for + Larger View

Many Virtual Tour photographers shoot 30 or more images to create a 360-degree Virtual Tour. With a fisheye lens, you can shoot as few as 4 images to create a 360-degree Virtual Tour. This means you'll spend less time at the shoot and less time on your computer managing your images and creating your Virtual Tour. Fewer shots mean it’s quicker and easier to get great results. 

Images taken with a fisheye lens can be 1 of 3 different shapes: Drum/Barreled, Full-Circular or Full-Framed (as shown above). The shape of the image that is produced is determined by the sensor of the camera that it is being used with. This is why you may need to take only 4 images with your camera and fisheye lens yet another photographer using a different camera with the same fisheye lens needs to shoot 6 (plus an up-shot).

The Sigma 8mm fisheye lens is 180-degrees and produces a Full-Circular image on a camera with a full sized sensor such as the Canon 5D. The same Sigma 8mm lens on a Canon 20D produces a Drum/Barreled image. Either set of images can be turned into a 360-degree Virtual Tour. With the Drum/Barreled images, you need to shoot 6 images and with the Full-Circular and Full-Framed images, you may only need to shoot 4. To get an idea of how many shots you will have to take, check out this excerpt from the "VR Photography Made Easy" handbook about fisheye lenses.

Recommended Camera & Fisheye Lens Combinations Include:
the Canon Rebel XTi (400D) or the Nikon D40X with the Sigma 8mm F/3.5 fisheye lens.