willemvelthoven Posted December 11, 2006 Share #1 Posted December 11, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) This is a pre-production version of the new 16-18-21 mm leica tri-elmar lens. I could play with it for a sunday afternoon thanks to my exellent leica dealer Foto Nivo Schweitzer in Amsterdam. Interesting to note that the focusing goes till 50cm (rf coupling till 70cm of course). the scale runs even further so you can read depth of field. perfect! i took this image with an m8 and a 65mm elmar on bellows w visoflex 3. interesting trivia: the black of the leica lens reflects ir and turns out slightly reddish with the m8. compare the color of the lens cap to that of the lens itself. more worrysome is the fact that this lens does not have filter thread. you have to buy a special filter adapter from leica and then you can fit 67mm filters on it. Bestellnummer: 14473. about $50 extra again... but it's a very nice lens. i'll post some images here later. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 11, 2006 Posted December 11, 2006 Hi willemvelthoven, Take a look here tri elmar informal testing. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
reven Posted December 11, 2006 Share #2 Posted December 11, 2006 the link is not really working right now.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willemvelthoven Posted December 11, 2006 Author Share #3 Posted December 11, 2006 Here's a test image with the tri elmar. and another one: descriptions on my flickr pages... Phototech - a photoset on Flickr Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grober Posted December 11, 2006 Share #4 Posted December 11, 2006 DOF: at f/11, it's good from six inches to the planet Pluto... Looks intriguing but f/4 is just to slow for me. -g Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willemvelthoven Posted December 11, 2006 Author Share #5 Posted December 11, 2006 Here is a comparison to the CV sw heliar 1:4,5 / 15... CV Leica Phototech - a photoset on Flickr Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvaubel Posted December 11, 2006 Share #6 Posted December 11, 2006 DOF: at f/11, it's good from six inches to the planet Pluto... Looks intriguing but f/4 is just to slow for me. -g I'm kind of a high speed guy myself, but I will make an exception for ultrawides. The 15mm/4.5 Heliar on my RD1 showed me the utility of an wide F4 . I think its because the subject matter tends to be more static and in any case shutterspeeds of 1/8 or slower are doable. I would be interested in how rectiliniar and distortion free the lens is. I could imagine using the TE for architechal work (on a tripod ) Rex Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdai Posted December 11, 2006 Share #7 Posted December 11, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) It seems the CV15 has slightly better control over barrel distortion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasl.se Posted December 11, 2006 Share #8 Posted December 11, 2006 It seems the CV15 has slightly better control over barrel distortion. Let's hear if you see any other advantages of the CV over the Tri-Elmar Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvaubel Posted December 11, 2006 Share #9 Posted December 11, 2006 Here is a comparison to the CV sw heliar 1:4,5 / 15... CV Leica Phototech - a photoset on Flickr Both of these shots show the how close the opposite side of the price spectrum can be in quality. I have downloaded the full size originals and they are both very sharp. But notice that the Leica has a purple flair on the knife caused by the bare bulb. The Heliar is flare free. Also, I can't help but ask, is the coat in the back, left purple or black? Wait, wait,......let me guess Rex Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted December 11, 2006 Share #10 Posted December 11, 2006 Willem-- Thanks for posting! Am I right to assume that the automatic lens recognition was enabled, since the Tri-Elmar shot looks more evenly exposed? And did you notice whether there is a movable flange on the bayonet (as there is with the 28-35-50 Tri-Elmar) to pass the selected focal length along to the M8? Does the Heliar have rangefinder coupling? Both of these shots show the how close the opposite side of the price spectrum can be in quality. ... But notice that the Leica has a purple flare on the knife caused by the bare bulb. The Heliar is flare free. Rex-- 1) Remember, Heliar is also only one focal length (though still less expensive than only one of the three in the Tri-Elmar ). 2) Note that there's apparently a lot less vignetting from the Tri-Elmar, insofar as there's a lot more detail on the right-hand side under the shelf. Maybe due to lens recognition? Definitely more even exposure with the Tri-Elmar. --HC Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvaubel Posted December 11, 2006 Share #11 Posted December 11, 2006 Rex--1) Remember, Heliar is also only one focal length (though still less expensive than only one of the three in the Tri-Elmar). 2) Note that there's apparently a lot less vignetting from the Tri-Elmar, insofar as there's a lot more detail on the right-hand side under the shelf. The vignetting looks minimal for both lenses, which is a pretty amazing accomplishment for the Leica offset microlensing solution. Anyway, I think what you are looking at is a difference in exposure, not vignetting. Rex Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted December 11, 2006 Share #12 Posted December 11, 2006 Based on the ceiling line I'd give a slight edge to the Heliar on distortion, but both are excellent for this focal length. Is that what you see in the original files? Thanks for posting these. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted December 11, 2006 Share #13 Posted December 11, 2006 The vignetting looks minimal for both lenses....Anyway, I think what you are looking at is a difference in exposure, not vignetting. Rex--I agree that both show remarkably low vignetting. But even if you try to match the two in Photoshop by bringing the overall exposure up on the Heliar, you still have noticeably darker edges from the CV. It's not something you couldn't work around, but I think it's there. I've only looked at the files shown here, though, not at the originals. Would need to take more time to confirm my initial view. --HC Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammam Posted December 11, 2006 Share #14 Posted December 11, 2006 DOF: at f/11, it's good from six inches to the planet Pluto... Looks intriguing but f/4 is just to slow for me. -g Of course, you know that Pluto is not a planet anymore. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean LeBlanc Posted December 11, 2006 Share #15 Posted December 11, 2006 more worrysome is the fact that this lens does not have filter thread. you have to buy a special filter adapter from leica and then you can fit 67mm filters on it. Bestellnummer: 14473. about $50 extra again... That is truly bizarre. What possible reason could they have for requiring a separate filter adapter rather than simply building in the filter thread, like almost every other camera lens in existence? And if it does have to be a separate part for some reason, why would it not be included with the lens? Are you sure this was not a prototype? Leica has an odd history with filters, but this is a bit over the top. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakley Posted December 11, 2006 Share #16 Posted December 11, 2006 The CV certainly delivers a very nice performance here - and it's a lens I use and like a lot. Re: Both of these shots show the how close the opposite side of the price spectrum can be in quality. I have downloaded the full size originals and they are both very sharp. But notice that the Leica has a purple flair on the knife caused by the bare bulb. The Heliar is flare free. I think not quite flare-free - I see purple flare spots in the shadow of the clock and on the lower right of the clock's glass cover in the CV shot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted December 11, 2006 Share #17 Posted December 11, 2006 Willem--Thanks for posting! Am I right to assume that the automatic lens recognition was enabled, since the Tri-Elmar shot looks more evenly exposed? And did you notice whether there is a movable flange on the bayonet (as there is with the 28-35-50 Tri-Elmar) to pass the selected focal length along to the M8? Does the Heliar have rangefinder coupling? Rex-- 1) Remember, Heliar is also only one focal length (though still less expensive than only one of the three in the Tri-Elmar ). 2) Note that there's apparently a lot less vignetting from the Tri-Elmar, insofar as there's a lot more detail on the right-hand side under the shelf. Maybe due to lens recognition? Definitely more even exposure with the Tri-Elmar. --HC Hi Howard, Neither the CV12, CV15 or CV25 are RF coupled. Best, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rvaubel Posted December 11, 2006 Share #18 Posted December 11, 2006 The CV certainly delivers a very nice performance here - and it's a lens I use and like a lot. Re: Both of these shots show the how close the opposite side of the price spectrum can be in quality. I have downloaded the full size originals and they are both very sharp. But notice that the Leica has a purple flair on the knife caused by the bare bulb. The Heliar is flare free. I think not quite flare-free - I see purple flare spots in the shadow of the clock and on the lower right of the clock's glass cover in the CV shot. Yes your right. Good eye. But on the other hand I think the Heliar has less veiling glare. Of course shooting right into the light is a tough test and am sure the Leica would respond well to a little Photoshop. The Heliar is one amazing lens for it's price....actually at any price. I wouldn't throw the Tri Elmer out of bed either. I got a chance to use it at a Leica day and it handled very smoothly, seemed smaller than it is and quite lightweight. A little rich for my blood but one can dream Rex Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willemvelthoven Posted December 11, 2006 Author Share #19 Posted December 11, 2006 the heliar is indeed not coupled with anything. the tri elmar is rangefinder coupled. it does not communicate its focal length to the camera and it of course doesn not switch frame lines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
willemvelthoven Posted December 11, 2006 Author Share #20 Posted December 11, 2006 oh ja, the purple coat is, of course, black nylon. actually, i've seen a lot of t-shirts turn purple too. not only syntetic textiles do it... if i have time this week i'll post my cyan vignetting tests withte 15 and 12 mm heliars. they look horrible! also tested with behind-the-lens filtering. that gives a lot less vignetting but introduces an extreme focusing problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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