Fisheye Lenses – Ultra‑Wide Angle Optics Designed by Yighen

At Yighen Ultra Precision, we develop and manufacture high‑quality fisheye lenses—also known as ultra‑wide‑angle or hemispheric lenses—that capture up to 180° fields of view. With more than 55 years of optical engineering heritage, we deliver off‑the‑shelf and custom fisheye optics for VR/AR headsets, dome projection, automotive surround view, panoramic surveillance, and scientific imaging. Our lens families include circular fisheye, full‑frame (diagonal) fisheye, and cropped circle fisheye models.

🔍 What Is a Fisheye Lens?

A fisheye lens is a special type of wide‑angle camera lens that bends incoming light rays to create a panoramic or hemispherical image. Unlike rectilinear wide‑angle lenses—which strive to keep straight lines straight—fisheye lenses introduce controlled barrel distortion to map a hemisphere onto a flat sensor.

Types of fisheye lenses:

• Circular fisheye lenses project a 180° hemisphere onto a circular image circle inside the rectangular frame, leaving black corners. They are popular for dome projection and full‑hemisphere imaging.

• Full‑frame (diagonal) fisheye lenses extend the image circle beyond the sensor diagonal, delivering 180° across the diagonal with slightly smaller horizontal and vertical angles. These are versatile for immersive photography and videography.

• Cropped circle (portrait) fisheye lenses are optimised for sensor formats where the width is more important than the height, cropping the top and bottom of the circular image to achieve a wide panoramic feel.

We offer fisheye optics for sensor formats ranging from 1/4″, 1/3″ and 1/2″ up to micro four thirds and 35 mm full frame. This ensures compatibility with compact IoT cameras as well as professional digital cameras.

🧪 Key Features & Optical Performance

Our lens designs focus on balancing distortion, resolution, and illumination across the entire field of view. Using an inverted telephoto architecture (negative elements in the front to reduce ray angles and positive elements near the sensor), we achieve accurate ray tracing and minimal pupil aberrations. Controlled barrel distortion is realised through f‑tan(θ) projections, keeping F‑theta distortion below 3% for high accuracy in applications like dome projection or structured‑light scanning.

🛠️ Custom Design & Applications

Every wide‑angle imaging system has unique requirements, so off‑the‑shelf solutions may not suffice. Our optical engineers employ Zemax OpticStudio and other advanced simulation tools to customise focal length, aperture (F/‑number), relative illumination, back focal distance and distortion mapping for your application. We design for visible, near‑infrared and SWIR wavelengths, ensuring optimal performance whether you need an ultra‑compact board‑level lens or a high‑precision projection lens.

Key application areas:

• Immersive VR/AR headsets and projection optics

• Dome and planetarium projection systems

• Automotive surround‑view cameras and advanced driver assistance

• Panoramic surveillance and security cameras

• Scientific wide‑angle imaging, including astronomy and microscopy

• Laser scanning, structured light and machine vision

🧰 Why Choose Yighen?

• Precision manufacturing – We produce aspheric and freeform surfaces with ultra‑precise diamond turning and CNC grinding.

• Integrated opto‑mechanical expertise – Our team can design the lens, barrel, focusing mechanism and coatings as a complete module.

• Quality assurance – Each lens is tested on MTF benches, interferometers and centring instruments to meet strict tolerance requirements.

• Customisation & scalability – We support prototype runs and volume manufacturing, with distortion mapping tuned for your sensor and image‑processing pipeline.

🧪 Sample Specification – 14 mm F/2.8 Dome Projection Lens

These values are illustrative and can be tuned to your requirements (e.g., smaller sensor, longer focal length, narrower field of view).

🧱 Fisheye Projection Modules

Beyond standalone lenses, Yighen can supply complete fisheye projection modules—combining optics, mechanical housing and, if required, integrated laser collimation or beam shaping. These modules are ready to install in VR headsets, dome projectors or scientific instruments, saving you integration time and ensuring consistent optical performance.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between a circular fisheye and a full‑frame fisheye lens?
A circular fisheye projects a complete 180° hemisphere onto a circular image area, leaving black corners on a rectangular sensor. A full‑frame (diagonal) fisheye fills the sensor from corner to corner, providing a 180° diagonal field of view with slightly smaller horizontal and vertical coverage.

Q: How does barrel distortion affect images captured with a fisheye lens?
Barrel distortion is the outward bulging of straight lines toward the edges of the image. In fisheye lenses, distortion is intentional; it allows the lens to capture a much wider field of view than rectilinear lenses. Our lenses employ controlled f‑tan(θ) distortion models to ensure predictable, easily mapped distortion that can be corrected in software if necessary.

Q: Can you design lenses for infrared or SWIR imaging?
Yes. We offer anti‑reflective coatings designed for extended wavelength ranges and can tailor glass materials and coatings for near‑infrared, SWIR or even UV applications. Just let us know your wavelength requirements.

🌐 Custom Fisheye Lens Design for Panoramic and Immersive Imaging

Need ultra-wide angle coverage with minimal distortion? Yighen designs custom fisheye optics for 180°+ FOV systems used in AR/VR, surveillance, action cameras, and immersive displays.

📩 Request a Custom Fisheye Solution
From equidistant projection to stereographic or custom mapping models, we’ll design and optimize based on your sensor and application.

📘 Explore our spec sheets and models
Find optical drawings, FOV charts, and distortion maps on the Downloads page.

🏢 See what sets Yighen apart
Visit our About Us to learn how we combine advanced optical design with ultra-precision machining.

🔗 Related Content

• 🔍 Wide Angle Lenses
  Explore our other wide-FOV lens families for imaging and sensing applications.

• 🎯 Projection Lenses
  Compact designs for near-eye and curved-screen systems.

• 🔬 Microscope Objectives
  Other precision multi-element lens modules built for clarity and detail.

• 🧩 Opto-Mechanical Modules
  Integrate your fisheye lens into a robust, manufacturable mechanical housing.

• 🧠 Optical Engineering Services
  Modeling, simulation, and tolerancing support for extreme FOV designs.