Zeiss ZE 2.8/15mm on Leica SL

[Steve McGarrett]

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I use extensively the Voigtlander 15mm Version III on the Leica SL, and I can say it that is an amazing performer - both generally, and especially so considering the price point.

 

The 10mm is also incredible, considering how wide it is.

 

The 12mm Version III is also an extremely good lens, but I preferred to keep the 15mm and the 10mm and sell the 12mm: the 15mm is better optically than the 12mm, and once you settled that, the 10mm is a much wider and more fun wider alternative to the 15mm than the 12mm. Keeping all three didn't make much sense - too close to each other.

 

Best regards,

 

Vieri

 

Thank you Vieri.

And which is better optically, 10 or 12mm?

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[J S H]

 

You may want ot consider the spectacular Voigtländer Super Wide Heliar III f/4.5 for M mount (note that version III performs much better than its predecessors).

 

 

Laowa has just announced a 15mm wide angle, which also looks interesting (Loawa 15mm f/2). It is much faster, but also bigger and heavier. Due to coma it may not really be interesting for astrophotography:

 

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/rolling-review-laowa-15mm-2-0-zero-d/

 

 

For the M the Zeiss Distagon 15mm f/2.8 ZM is still a stellar performer, maybe the best 15mm ever. It is incredibly sharp, fast, focusses down to 30cm and it produces very nice saturated colors. I always enjoyed it a lot.

 

However, for the SL I am also very happy with the Voigtländer Super Wide Heliar III f/4.5. It is very sharp, renders nicely, has nice colors - and it is tiny and light. It works both with SL and M.

 

You may want ot consider the spectacular Voigtländer Super Wide Heliar III f/4.5 for M mount (note that version III performs much better than its predecessors).

 

 

Laowa has just announced a 15mm wide angle, which also looks interesting (Loawa 15mm f/2). It is much faster, but also bigger and heavier. Due to coma it may not really be interesting for astrophotography:

 

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/rolling-review-laowa-15mm-2-0-zero-d/

 

 

For the M the Zeiss Distagon 15mm f/2.8 ZM is still a stellar performer, maybe the best 15mm ever. It is incredibly sharp, fast, focusses down to 30cm and it produces very nice saturated colors. I always enjoyed it a lot.

 

However, for the SL I am also very happy with the Voigtländer Super Wide Heliar III f/4.5. It is very sharp, renders nicely, has nice colors - and it is tiny and light. It works both with SL and M.

The Laowa 15mm f/2 is a really nice lens, especially for astrophotography, but it is only available in Sony E mount at this time. However, Laowa makes a 12mm 2.8 that is a stellar lens on the SL (I use the EF version, but it is available in other mounts). I own the newest Voigtlander 10 & 15 and the Laowa 12 is better than both in my experience. It's reasonably priced and there is a 100mm filter holder available for the lens which can also accommodate 95mm round filters.

[J S H]

I took a quick look and this was the only shot I had on hand with the Laowa 12mm on the SL. A you can see from the 100% crop, it is sharp to the very edge. This was a 2.5 second exposure, so any softness in the leaves is likely from motion blur. Also, I have the Cinema version of the Zeiss 15 2.8 in EF mount and the Laowa is better in my experience, not to mention 12mm vs 15mm.

 

Full Frame and 100% crop of left edge...

 

 

 

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[Vieri]

Thank you Vieri.

And which is better optically, 10 or 12mm?

 

You are welcome Steve. While I didn't do a compared review, you can see how the 10mm fared here:

 

https://vieribottazzini.com/2016/08/voigtlander-heliar-hyper-wide-10mm-f5-6-review.html

 

pretty impressive, if you ask me

 

Best regards,

 

Vieri

[Sandokan]

Hi JSH, 

Have you tried the Laowa 100mm filter holder? Does it accept Lee, Cokin or Hitech 100mm filters? 

[J S H]

Hi JSH, 

Have you tried the Laowa 100mm filter holder? Does it accept Lee, Cokin or Hitech 100mm filters? 

 

Yes. It accepts 95mm round filters (also provides for independent rotation of the 95mm filters), and at the same time accommodates two standard 100mm filters that are 2mm thick. HOWEVER - it does cause a small amount of vignetting even when reduced to just one filter slot. It's not horrible, but still not a perfect solution. NISI also makes a 100mm filter holder for the Laowa and according to reviews it has no vignetting.

 

What I have done is to remove all of the filter slots from my Laowa holder and I only use it for the 95mm round filter capability (there is no additional vignetting when used this way). I have the NISI holder on order, which should work great for the rare times when I need to use a ND grad.

 

*Edit - to further clarify - the image provided was taken using the Laowa filter holder with a 95mm 6 stop ND filter attached.

Edited December 11, 2017 by J S H