How to Create a Retro Fisheye Camera Effect

By Steven Van · 2026-02-04

Learn how to transform any photo into a vintage fisheye camera shot with chromatic aberration, vignette, and VHS scanlines.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to create a retro fisheye camera effect that combines lens distortion with chromatic aberration, vignette, and VHS scanlines. This effect gives any photo that nostalgic, vintage camcorder aesthetic.

Before After

Step 1: Upload Your Image

Start by uploading any image to the Fisheye tool. This effect works great with portraits, street photography, or any image where you want to add a vintage camera feel.

Step 2: Set the Distortion

The distortion settings control the fisheye lens effect. We'll use subtle values for a realistic camera look rather than an extreme warp.

Strength: 1.10 - Subtle barrel distortion that mimics a wide-angle lens
Radius: 1.00 - Full image coverage for the distortion
Feather: 50% - Smooth falloff at the edges
Zoom: 1.10 - Slight zoom to crop out edge artifacts
Center X: 0.50 - Centered horizontally
Center Y: 0.50 - Centered vertically

Step 3: Add Chromatic Aberration

Chromatic aberration creates that distinctive RGB color fringing you see in vintage lenses. This is key to the retro look.

Set Chromatic Aberration to 10. This adds visible but not overwhelming color separation at the edges, mimicking the imperfections of older camera lenses.

Step 4: Apply the Vignette

The vignette darkens the edges, drawing focus to the center and adding to the vintage camera aesthetic.

Vignette: 0.75 - Strong edge darkening for dramatic effect
Vignette Size: 0.50 - Medium coverage, affecting about half the image
Vignette Feather: 0.00 - Sharp vignette edge for that classic camera look

Step 5: Enable VHS Scanlines

The final touch is adding VHS-style scanlines that give the image a true retro video aesthetic.

VHS Scanlines: On - Enable the horizontal line overlay
Scanline Intensity: 0.30 - Visible but not overpowering

Final Settings Summary

Strength 1.10

Radius 1.00

Feather 50%

Zoom 1.10

Chromatic Aberration 10

Vignette 0.75

Vignette Size 0.50

VHS Scanlines On

Scanline Intensity 0.30

The Final Result

Here's what your image will look like with all the settings applied:

That's it! You now have a professional retro fisheye camera effect. Try adjusting the chromatic aberration for more or less color fringing, or increase the scanline intensity for a stronger VHS look.