UWA lenses

[Dippy]

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I've also posted this in the CL forum but as we share the same lens mount I thought I'd ask here too!

 

Hi Everyone

 

I've come from m43 and apart from a short flirtation with the original T system I'm new to Leica and very new to using adapted lens so would be very grateful for some advice on using non-Leica glass on my new CL. 

 

I'm extremely keen on UWA photography and whilst I have the excellent TL 11-23mm I still yearn for a little more width. On m43 I used the Voigtlander 10.5mm f0.95 mainly for nighttime tripod work and a Samyang fisheye for all sorts of things. I'm ready now to fully transition to CL so would like to replace the capability of those two lenses on this system. So, taking each lens in turn.....

 

The Voigt on m43 was never as wide as I wanted but I had other lenses and the rendering is lovely (non-technical term) and it gives amazing starbursts at night. I don't need f0.95 when the camera is screwed onto a tripod so I have been considering the Voigtlander Hyper Wide 10mm f5.6 mounted on the CL via the M adaptor. But by my calculation on the CL sensor it will give me only a circa 5 degree increase in the field of view compared to the 11mm end of the TL 11-23mm so maybe not enough to justify its purchase. 

 

The Samyang fisheye is an extremely sharp, capable and versatile little lens on m43 and I'm keen to add it to my camera bag for the CL. It comes in a variety of mounts for ASP-C and gives a 180 degree diagonal FoV - Canon M, Nikon, Fuji X, Sony E (NEX), etc.  Full details are here https://www.samyanglensglobal.com/en/product/product-view.php?seq=335

 

So here are my questions:

 

1. The Voigt 10mm is probably hard to justify given that I’m not going to get a lot of extra width for my money though someone may like to tell me if I’ve got my maths wrong. Are there any other UWA lenses that I should be considering or that other forum members would recommend? As always it will be a trade of between quality, speed and portability. 

 

2. For the Samyang fisheye, should I prefer one mount to another for use on the CL? Is there another fisheye I should be considering? I’d be really interested to know if anyone out there is actually using this combo. 

 

Thanks for your help, my brain is still buzzing as I move from one system to another and try to compare fields of view and what is out there to do the job.

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[dkCambridgeshire]

The Samyang 10mm fisheye is available in e.g. Canon EF mount which in theory would mount on the CL via an EF(EOS)  to Leica TL adapter … but I'm not sure if the manual aperture ring operates when an adapter is attached. 

 

The Leica TL 11-16mm lens is one of the finest ultra wide angle zoom lenses available.  If you want to experiment with wider FOV images you could consider using the TL 11-16mm lens in 'portrait' (i.e. vertical) format and 'stitch' several overlapping frames together via Photoshop. Google 'panoramic stitching' to find out how to make an ultra wide panoramic image e.g.   

… but don't use the 11mm end of your zoom … use the 15mm or 16mm setting in portrait format. 

 

dunk 

Edited June 10, 2018 by dkCambridgeshire

[blueskyoveraquatic]

Hello Dippy,

Also, based on my limited experiences, there are known UWA lenses that were not designed for Leica M or Leica T produce smeared images at corners when they are mounted on Leica M/T using an adapter.  One example is Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 Heliar (1st and second generation).

My own case has been Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AI mounted on Leica M240 using an adapter (Nik-L/M)

Dennis

[gbealnz]

While not categorically disagreeing with you Dennis, I used a CV15mm M mount last year, (V2, I believe) and never found any smearing, on my ancient T.

Gary

[blueskyoveraquatic]

While not categorically disagreeing with you Dennis, I used a CV15mm M mount last year, (V2, I believe) and never found any smearing, on my ancient T.

Gary

Gary,

Thanks for the info!  It is good to know this data for T users!  I do not have CV 15mm M, and I had read about the issue being reported on the web.  I had experienced smearing issues with a Nikon 20mm f/2.8 on Leica M.

Dennis

[gbealnz]

Dennis.

You had me wondering, so I checked.

While I haven't processed too many of them yet, a quick sample.

T with CV15mm

Gary

 

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[Dippy]

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The Samyang 10mm fisheye is available in e.g. Canon EF mount which in theory would mount on the CL via an EF(EOS)  to Leica TL adapter … but I'm not sure if the manual aperture ring operates when an adapter is attached. 

 

The Leica TL 11-16mm lens is one of the finest ultra wide angle zoom lenses available.  If you want to experiment with wider FOV images you could consider using the TL 11-16mm lens in 'portrait' (i.e. vertical) format and 'stitch' several overlapping frames together via Photoshop. Google 'panoramic stitching' to find out how to make an ultra wide panoramic image e.g.   

… but don't use the 11mm end of your zoom … use the 15mm or 16mm setting in portrait format. 

 

dunk 

 

Hi Dunk

 

Thank you for the video (not had time to look yet but I will) and also for the recommendation. Much appreciated. 

[Dippy]

Dennis.

You had me wondering, so I checked.

While I haven't processed too many of them yet, a quick sample.

T with CV15mm

Gary

 

Interesting to see, thanks. I'm hoping for a wider lens though :-(