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Leica M Monochrom with Zeiss Hologon 16mm/8


dierk

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Anyone that can provide insight about the center-to-edge sharpness of the Hologon 16 mm compared other (ultra)wides for the M. Thanks...

 

Dierk's post # 12 says it all.

 

The two strong points of the Hologon are it's incredible sharpness across the frame and its complete lack of distortion. There is no other 15/16mm lens reaching this performance.

 

The two weaknesses of the Hologon are:

 

Heavy light falloff, only manageable with it's supplied centre filter and additional post processing (especially difficult with digital sensors).

 

Awkwardness in practical use: fixed aperture f8 (+additional loss of light due to the 2 stop centre filter), no rangefinder coupling (not that one would need any @ f8 + 16mm), it's tiny size, providing barely any way to handle it (not a lens you want to change often in the field).

 

Dierk has some great shots from this lens, I am looking forward, seeing more!

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the main difference is:

the price ;) the original lens is about 18k$, if you find one

 

and it has no T* coting and uses 3 lenses instead of 5 in the G version

 

try this link

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129065&highlight=hologon

 

there will be a G version in the next Westlicht auction in November!

 

Another important difference is that the original Hologon 15 f8 cannot work properly on M9 / M... can be mounted but vignetting and color shift are really impressive... I found an example posted time ago (M9) :

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Edited by luigi bertolotti
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I think the 15mm might even damage the Copal shutter!? I think that was the reason for the 16mm-replacement in the first place.

Otherwise great images! I hope I can test the "alternative" (ZM15) soon.

 

People that have used it say that mechanically there is no risk... even if for a very small margin... but no surprise that Leica states that it cannot be used on digital Ms... :o

I am curios to see pictures taken with the Super Elmars 15 for R on M240... but haven't yet found any...

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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I think the 15mm might even damage the Copal shutter!? I think that was the reason for the 16mm-replacement in the first place.

Otherwise great images! I hope I can test the "alternative" (ZM15) soon.

 

This is not correct - the 15/8 Hologon in M mount can be used without risk of damage also on the Leica M8 and M9 bodies.

 

The Carl-Zeiss Hologon history is quite a curious one, interesting for a read up.

The Leica M mount Carl Zeiss Hologon 15/8 has been created from a batch of leftover lens assemblies, that were actually destined to be assembled into the Zeiss Ikon Hologon camera.

 

Zeiss Ikon went out of business with left over stock of these lens assemblies.

 

… so it happened, that the 15/8 Carl Zeiss Hologon in Leica M mount came to happen.

Only very few have been made, which translates into very high collectors prices of that lens (well above 10.000 EUR).

 

For interested people, who would want to try out the original lens design, Zeiss Ikon Hologon cameras, although also pricey, go for a fraction of the collectible Leica M mount 15/8 although their optical cell is identical (and some of them from the same production batch @ Carl Zeiss Oberkochen).

 

The Carl Zeiss Hologon 16/8 for Contax G mount is actually a recomputed lens with more lens elements, to simplify production of the very complex central element of the original lens.

Having been recomputed and manufactured several decades later, it benefits also from better optical performance than the original lens (mainly higher contrast and flare resistence), although it's great achievements in resolution and lack of distortion remain comparable.

 

Here are a few links to read up:

 

Zeiss Ikon/Voigtlander/Contarex HOLOGON (10.0659) ultrawide Camera w/ 8/15 (15mm f/8.0) & other Hologon Ultra-wideangle lens variations - Part II/V

 

Glatzel

 

I started a thread on RFF some time ago to collect info about Hologon lenses from knowledgable contributors here:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129065

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Luigi, thank you so much for the link - this must be the most information wealthy on these unique wide angle lens designs on the internet.

 

I have come to see the article when the virus first infected me with the Hologon, but never worked through, as I don't understand Italian and the google translation can be rough sometimes.

 

It is nevertheless a great collection of information from where to start to learn more about these lens designs!

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Is interesting the detail about the alternative Hologon design, never gone in production, that covered 120° with a focal of 12,5mm... years before the Nikkor 13 and MANY years before the current CV 12,5... :cool:

And the "Monster-Hologon" for Linhof 13x18 is also a tasty exercise...

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thanks Luigi and Dirk,

the page about the Superwides is impressive, even without understanding Italien, thanks.

Yesterday I had a few minutes for the Hologon and here is the result.

Both with ND center filter, PP in LR5 and Nik Silver Efex2

 

This one is my favorite, but I don't like the clouds on both pictures.

10562978376_3f848980c4_z.jpg

 

and this one got 3.000 clicks in flickr in the first 15 hours?

10562971296_1c8a89c88e_z.jpg

 

dierk

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one from yesterday, I forgot the center filter and the finder, but it worked without.

 

PP: LR5, Nik Silver Efex with a big Upoint on the center to darken the center, and LR5 again with gradient filter on the left and right side to reduce the vignetting

 

10714222994_c152efa195_z.jpg

 

dierk

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Wonderful.

I confess - I'm smitten. I'm researching getting one of these lenses myself.

I'll be surprised if I can use it as well as you seem to - but I'll have some fun trying.

 

How much PP is there in your pics?

thanks, marc,

how do I explain, how much PP is in there. I use a set of my own LR5 settings and modify them, till it looks right to me :-))

That doesn't take long, maximum 1-2 minutes most of the time, and of course more, if it is complicated by exposure and contrast.

LR is just perfect for my needs and gives me all freedom, I need!

dierk

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Here's one with a 15 CV, handheld, not much light (early AM). On a rented MM, very much fun. No CF, no vignetting corrections.

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