bono0272 Posted April 24, 2007 Share #1 Posted April 24, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Would any members please advise their experience on using the Voigtlander 15mm/F4.5 on the Leica M cameras? Any other suggestions if I want to buy a super wide angle lens for my M6 but with limited budget? The above captioned Voigtlander costs USD 350 here in Hong Kong (new). Thanks in advance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 24, 2007 Posted April 24, 2007 Hi bono0272, Take a look here Voigtlander 15mm/F4.5 Heliar experience. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Rik Posted April 24, 2007 Share #2 Posted April 24, 2007 hi, i recently bought the 15mm. Shot my first 2 rolls of film with it and am very pleased with the result. The lens is very compact and well built. The finder is great, very clear. So all in all i would say its a great lens given the price. Mounting to Leica M is no problem with the adapter ring. The only thing is its limited speed with may be an issue if you to low light shots. But i did some shots at dusk and had good results. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonpg Posted April 24, 2007 Share #3 Posted April 24, 2007 I have had mine for 2 + years and began using it on my M7 with great delight. It offers such interesting opportunities I decided to buy a Voigtlander Bessa L (no viewfinder or rangefinder) and mount the 15mm as a dedicated wide angle camera - wonderful stuff. I get to use the 15mm much more (no need to change lenses and mount the 15mm viewfinder etc.. Optically it is very high quality - great value for money. It resists flare surprisingly well; sharpness to the corners is good and other corrections are well achieved. My only question is: "How do they do it?" If you like to occasionally shoot very wide angle and experience new creative opportunities - BUY one! But I will also strongly suggest you buy a cheap Bessa L (discontinued although Steve Gandy may still have some stock = Camera Quest) and leave the 15mm on it. The benefit is that you won't risk forgetting you own this little delight; or risk feeling mounting it for occasional opportunities is a drag. The VC 15mm is a very good quality lens with a really interesting angle of view. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono0272 Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted April 24, 2007 Sounds good, thanks. Can anyone post some sample photos? Much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
samwells Posted April 24, 2007 Share #5 Posted April 24, 2007 Richard - it's a jewel of a lens...and exceptionally good value. Some vignetting at corners sometimes, tho I find it a rather pleasurable effect. And watch out that you don't get your feet in shot! Here's a shot I posted before. cheers: Sam Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/22356-voigtlander-15mmf45-heliar-experience/?do=findComment&comment=237160'>More sharing options...
Philippe D. Posted April 24, 2007 Share #6 Posted April 24, 2007 Hi. Voigtlander 15mm/F4.5 [...] costs USD 350 here in Hong Kong (new).I would be curious to know the price of a Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/15 ZM overthere in HK ? Well, i guess maybe 12 or 13 times the Voigt. ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted April 24, 2007 Share #7 Posted April 24, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Works great. I tried it first on my M8 to see how much out-of-frame image was displayed on the LCD. Once I was comfortable with composition I moved it to one of my film M's. It is, however, my only lens that needs the IR cut filters (on the M8) due to cyan bleeding in the corners. The lens itself is an absolute bargain and in use the 4.5 maximum f-stop doesn't really come into play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono0272 Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share #8 Posted April 24, 2007 Hi.I would be curious to know the price of a Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/15 ZM overthere in HK ? Well, i guess maybe 12 or 13 times the Voigt. ? I dunno the price for a new ZD T* 2.8/15 mm ZM (may be there is no more new item left in the market). But a second hand of which costs around USD 5000 here in Hong Kong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted April 24, 2007 Share #9 Posted April 24, 2007 I just bought one for £150 on ebay, brand new with viewfinder. Unbelievably light and compact. I decided to put it on my Bessa R3A and keep the 35mm on the M - just looks better there but doesn't really matter I guess. I did think of getting the super super wide 12mm, but when I read reviews and looked at some sample photos I realised it was not half as good and mostly unuseably wide. I can think of many situations I will want to use the 15mm in. I also like the fact that you can't focus it through a viewfinder but that does not matter as it has such great DOF. Think that will be great for street photography. When I finally get some photos done I'll post up a link. I always find the pbase camera database a good place to check out people's photos with different cameras/lenses. Here is the link to the 15mm: Voigtlander Super-Wide Heliar 15mm F/4.5 Aspherical Lens Sample Photos and Specifications Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest liesevolvo Posted April 24, 2007 Share #10 Posted April 24, 2007 Just buy and use! - and sell if You don't like this rather extreme angle of view! I like it on the M6 and rather dislike it on the M5, I like it on a Bessa-T. Some people say, that 15-Heliars have a huge variety of quality, other than Leitz-lenses, I have been one of the lucky boys, most other users have been, too. So perhaps it shood be an experiment with 'calculated risk'. My other Voigt/Cosina-lenses are really good, too. Good luck! Leonard Liese from Cologne/Germany Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono0272 Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share #11 Posted April 25, 2007 I just bought one for £150 on ebay, brand new with viewfinder. .... £150 is very cheap, and it is brand new! Is this a normal market price? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicamateur Posted April 25, 2007 Share #12 Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Richard, I'm also in HK and I just ordered some lenses from Cameraquest (USA) which is an official Voigtlander distributor/reseller. website: FOR SALE I didn't get my order so far (guess I'll have it by the weekend) but so far I can say everything went smooth (replies to my mails/questions came in a timely manner and Stephen gives also good advice). I also ordered the 15mm F4.5 (silver) for 345 USD. New. the black one is 375 USD, but was currently out of stock. Express shipping for the two lenses (and some accessories) I ordered was USD 40, which is reasonable. and hey... I want to buy a black Bessa L from Cameraquest, they have some second hand mint ones left in stock, but you need to buy a new Voigtlander lens in order that you can buy that. We could order together and split shipping costs so you get your 15mm and I get my Bessa L. send me a PM if you're interested ; ) Marc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted April 25, 2007 Share #13 Posted April 25, 2007 £150 is very cheap, and it is brand new! Is this a normal market price? No the normal prices is more like £260 (Rober White in UK). But I found this guy on ebay selling "new" Voigtlander lenses. I bid on the first 15mm that came up and put my max bid at £190. Someone else got it for £195. Two days later another one came up so I put my max bid at £195 and git it for £149.99. I was lucky I guess - but you just got to keep your eyes open. I would have ended up buying it for £260 anyway as I really wanted it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono0272 Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share #14 Posted April 25, 2007 No the normal prices is more like £260 (Rober White in UK). ... Yes, that should be the normal market price, since I just found from a camera shop here in Hong Kong selling a brand new of this lens at around EUR 220. Thank you for the advice. And Marc, You can find this lens at the above captioned price at TST. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
reality Posted April 25, 2007 Share #15 Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Richard, I'm also in Hong Kong and was looking into buying the same lense. Do you know the best place to get it from? Island or Kowloon side? Many thanks, Brett. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bono0272 Posted April 25, 2007 Author Share #16 Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Richard, I'm also in Hong Kong and was looking into buying the same lense. Do you know the best place to get it from? Island or Kowloon side? Many thanks, Brett. Kowloon side at TST, more shops and more choices. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted April 25, 2007 Share #17 Posted April 25, 2007 That's a good price too. I was thinking of another photographic visit to Hong Kong and now you mention it I should consider whether there is any gear I can pick up there at a good price. I had a bad experience last time being sold a Konica-Minolta Dimage 4 or something, my first proper digital camera. The shop asst told me how great it was and after I used it a few times and checked that the recent model was the 7 (and even that I wouldn't buy) I realised he must have been despertae to get rid of the camera! Anyway, that was a hile ago and I know a bit more about buying cameras now. If there is anywhere where you can get good deals on leica, Voigtlander or other rangefinder camera equipment I would be interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicamateur Posted April 25, 2007 Share #18 Posted April 25, 2007 @ Richard... thanks again for your tip with Tin Cheung. I went there tonight and finally got my M7. As said I ordered my Voigtlander 15mm from Cameraquest (official US reseller). I'll report back as soon as I got it. @ reality definitely go to TST, Tin Cheung Camera shop. ..street name was like.. Carnovoran road.. sorry can't remember exactly. If I knew earlier I would have bought my Voigtlander 15mm there as the price is around same as buying from Cameraquest. I would be very carefully buying used (and also new) cameras, lenses etc. in shops in Hong Kong. I don't want to say all shopowners are crooks, but there are definitely some who are not so honest or may try to rip of foreigners. Tin Cheung is an official Leica reseller, so you can buy there with peace of mind. If anyone wants to order online I suggest buying from Cameraquest, that's the cheapest online (and official Voigtlander) reseller I know. cheers, Marc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gylee Posted April 26, 2007 Share #19 Posted April 26, 2007 Tin Cheung are very good and their prices are reasonable on a whole range of equipment. They have a fantastic selection. I have not bought a camera there, but I have bought a Billingham Bag and a Gitzo tripod and the prices were better than any other genuine dealer. I saved a good 15% on the bag and the tripod compared to prices in Stanley Street. They have a good website as well. Service was excellent. Good range of used equipment as well. G. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicamateur Posted April 26, 2007 Share #20 Posted April 26, 2007 update for my 15mm order from Cameraquest. Ordered last Friday and paid immediately. Not shipped until today, Cameraquest claiming order was misfiled or something. So I cancelled order now and I'm going to get my 15mm from Tin Cheung. Can say service is really good and you can expect to get good prices and advice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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