Wide angle or ultra-wide (fisheye) lens for interior and exterior architecture shots?

Question

I'm thinking to add a wide angle lens to my gear and I need your advice.

I own a Nikon D5300, and my options are the:

10.5mm f/2.6 Nikkor fish eye or the 10-22mm f/4 Sigma wide angle zoom.

I think fisheyes are fun to use, and add very dramatic effect to the photos, but not all the pictures look great and the exaggerated distortion could be annoying sometimes to watch.

The Sigma it is a rectilinear wide angle, and I think it would be more useful, and will need less post-processing if I don't want the extreme distortion.

I'll be taking pictures of architecture, narrow spaces in colonial cities of Mexico, and rooms. Most of the time using tripod, so I think the aperture difference won't be a problem.

What would be the best option for those requirements?

Answer 1

The ultrawide is what you want, not the fisheye. The fisheye will always render things with distortion and curves.

I shoot both an ultrawide and a fisheye--they each have their place. But for architectural stuff where it's more typical to want straight lines rendered as straight lines, you really want a rectilinear lens. I use a fisheye for interior shots, but that's only because I shoot 360x180 panoramas and need the scene coverage. An ultrawide lens is a typical choice for the type of shooting you're describing. And if the aperture does make a difference (since you mentioned shooting interiors), there is always the Tokina 11-16/2.8.