Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 III

[mopswerk]

My 1st post here, and today, it was in the mail : I got the brand new Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar.

My 1st impressions:

#1 The purple edges of the old lens versions are gone

#2 Some purple fringes at the edges

#3 quite a heavy vignette / light fall off

 

#2 and #3 probably can be fixed in post (#1 with the old lenses could only be fixed with additional efforts). It's still a tiny lens (the 1st images showing the lens implied a bigger size) and I like the metal finish of the Voigtlanders.

 

I only had a chance to take a quick & dirty photo of the usual wall with stones, but ok for a 1st impression (taken with A7):

15mm Voigtlander Super WIde Heliar III Test on A7 by MOPS Werk, on Flickr

Here's a 1:1 screenshot crop of the center

20150320_009_SCR

by MOPS Werk, on Flickr

 

And here's one from the corner

20150320_011_SCR by MOPS Werk, on Flickr

 

Maybe the images won't come as clean out as out of a 16-35 ZA, but for me the form factor is equally an issue (chances are high that this lens will land in my back pack often than a "bulky" 16-35 )

 

Can't wait to take some real pics  ...

 

 

 

 

[SAR_admin]

Hi!

 

Thanks for sharing your findings. Do you also have the older Heliar 15mm lens to make a comparison?

[mopswerk]

Hi!

 

Thanks for sharing your findings. Do you also have the older Heliar 15mm lens to make a comparison?

No, since I knew of the deficiencies of the old ones, when used on A7x. Maybe I sometime will find the time to compare it to the Voigtländer 20mm SL II and Tokina 17mm RMC (both Nikon Mount)

[Jan Anne]

Interesting results, thanks for sharing.

 

I have the LTM version and found that the corners perform much better at close focus than at infinity and course things improve also at smaller apertures. So the trick for landscapes is to combine both for optimum performance by using hyperfocal focussing, for instance by setting focus at the 2 meter mark and the aperture at f/8 or f/11, should give you a DOF from roughly 1 meter to infinity and a reasonably clean image.

[kaherdin]

Yesterday I got this lens too !

The corner performance is reasonably good.

 

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Distortion is very low !:

 

 

 

 

More shots here:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaherdin/

 

 

 

 

 

 

[addicted2light]

Interesting results, thanks for sharing.

 

I have the LTM version and found that the corners perform much better at close focus than at infinity and course things improve also at smaller apertures. So the trick for landscapes is to combine both for optimum performance by using hyperfocal focussing, for instance by setting focus at the 2 meter mark and the aperture at f/8 or f/11, should give you a DOF from roughly 1 meter to infinity and a reasonably clean image.

 

So I'm not seeing things, nice to know  

 

I'm another owner of the old LTM version, and on my A7r for what I've been able to see so far (I've had the camera since a couple days only) it is actually way better than it was on a Nex 7. And the borders, besides an almost undetectable hint of purple, have zero issues.

 

I'm starting to wonder if some of the troubles many folks have experienced weren't at least in part adapter-related.

 

Considering my use for a 15mm is limited to relatively near subjects I guess I'll have (gladly!) to abandon my previous plan to sell the LTM version and acquire the latest one.

[Jan Anne]

So I'm not seeing things, nice to know  

Glad to be of service

 

The behaviour is very easy to understand too btw, just look at the rear of the (detached) lens while turning the focus ring. You should see the rear element getting further extended the more you focus to infinity, and the closer the exit pupil gets to the sensor the harder it will become for the light rays to get into the sensor "buckets" in the outer corners.

 

Here's two OOC B&W test jpg's, pre focussed, no cropping or editing done other than resizing for the web:

 

[mopswerk]

Yesterday I got this lens too !

The corner performance is reasonably good.

Yesterday I was out and compared with an old Tokina 17mm and a Voigtländer 20mm > There's heavy vignetting, there's Purple Fringing (at least on A7), but not the purple color shift ... but it can be dealt with Post Processing. Of the three the 15mm is sharp into the Corners (the 20 gets a little  mushy there ...). I'll be working on a short review on my blog some time.

When using a helicoid adapter, you can even get closer than the 50cm focussing distance making for interesting photos

[kaherdin]

Yesterday , I had more time (and light) to test the Voigtläner with my A7s:

No corrections !

 

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100%corner-crop:

 

100%corner-crop:

 

100%corner-crop:

[krismaciejewski]

My 1st post here, and today, it was in the mail : I got the brand new Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar.

My 1st impressions:

#1 The purple edges of the old lens versions are gone

#2 Some purple fringes at the edges

#3 quite a heavy vignette / light fall off

 

#2 and #3 probably can be fixed in post (#1 with the old lenses could only be fixed with additional efforts). It's still a tiny lens (the 1st images showing the lens implied a bigger size) and I like the metal finish of the Voigtlanders.

 

I only had a chance to take a quick & dirty photo of the usual wall with stones, but ok for a 1st impression (taken with A7):

 

Maybe the images won't come as clean out as out of a 16-35 ZA, but for me the form factor is equally an issue (chances are high that this lens will land in my back pack often than a "bulky" 16-35 )

 

Can't wait to take some real pics  ...

 

Thanks for posting your first impressions. Would you mind taking some interior pictures? I am in process of looking for lens to use in interior design photography. It would be cool to see if this one would be an option.

Thanx

[mopswerk]

In the mean time over the week end I did some comparisons of the 15mm with an 80ish 17mm Tokina RMC and a 20mm Voigtländer SL II (both Nikon). My bad I only discovered I had the adapter set on Max. Aperture   ... so it's not a real comparison, but rather some comparative impressions.

http://www.mopswerk.de/voigtlander-15mm-super-wide-heliar-iii-test/

This lens is sort of a diva, but in my opinion it's looking just like one as well. And if treated well, it can produce some cool & corner 2 corner sharp photos

15mm Voigtlander F4.5 Ultra Wide Heliar III Post Process by MOPS Werk, on Flickr

@kris: On the interior stuff: I'll need to look for some location, as I am rather an exterior guy and don't want to publish any personal interiors   ...

[mac313]

Thanks for samples,can it stand against big native brothers (FE lenses 55mm,35mm,16-35mm)regarding the contrast?

[mopswerk]

Thanks for samples,can it stand against big native brothers (FE lenses 55mm,35mm,16-35mm)regarding the contrast?

- Can't compare it up to the 16-35, as I don't have it (and will not want it, given the form factor ... even if it was better the Voigt 15mm is so compact which is also a discerning factor for me!). I assume, the light fall off is much less drastic on the 16-35 (simply as there you can press much more light through the metal tube than through the quite small leica m mount lens). But I find corner to corner sharpness to be quite good.

- Doesn't make sense in my opinion to compare it to the 35 / 55 as the focal range is a little bit different ... that's why I compared it to my 17mm and 20mm respectively in my review

[mac313]

Thanks for the input,I'm not that bothered about distortion or light fall off,I kinda know what to expect,but I'm not sure about contrast

I don't own Voigtlander 20mm SL nor Tokina 17mm RMC so I've asked to compare with popular native lenses.

Maybe to zeiss ZFs lenses(18mm,21mm) if you own any?

[hbjorn]

What adapter would one use for the new Voigtlander Heliar 15mm III lens if using it with an a7r camera?

Thanks

[sedohr]

Wish they would have given us a removeable lens hood on the model. A show stopper for me in that I can't use any type filter.

 

Randy

[Phillip Reeve]

looks good, thanks for the reporting! Now I want an optimized version of the 4/21, 15mm is too wide for my applications

[kaherdin]

Corner performance test with A7s at f/8.0:

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[kaherdin]

100% crop:

 

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[Jason Abbott]

Anyone willing to share a RAW from the 15/III, preferably from A7 or A7r (I have an r)? A chance to play with the file is usually the final persuasion I need. 

[mopswerk]

What adapter would one use for the new Voigtlander Heliar 15mm III lens if using it with an a7r camera?

Thanks

* Can only speak for me and the A7: I use the Novoflex Leica-Nex Adapter. pretty solid. I also have a cheap Helicoid adapter to be able to get closer, but I find the Novoflex to be better suited for regular use.

* These days it's pretty dull outside, maybe ince in a while I'll be able to provide more shots and providing a RAW sample as well ...

* Philipp Reeve is correct about the limited usage areas of the 15mm focal range, a 20mm would be more versatile. However I also have the A6000, so the 15mm turns into a 23mm full frame equivalent lens there, so I am happy to have both view angles delivered by a single lens with two bodies

 

[Abbyroza]

Just had a day of testing with this15mm prime from Voigtländer. 

 

The results are absolutely positive: there is still some vignetting, but nothing that cannot be easily corrected in PS or Lightroom. But the good news is that sharpness is excellent, even in the corners of the image, and at wide open aperture (4.5), and also the colorcast problem has been solved almost entirely.

 

Moreover, this little lens is very well built and finished and very compact. A treat on the A7, even for long walks. It can hold a filter in its thread, but the lens hood is a fixed one. 

 

The in-body stabiliation of the A7 mk II works flawlessly, although at this focal lengt that is not such a big deal.

 

This could very well become my favorite lens for my A7 mk II

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[kaherdin]

This lens produces beautiful ten pointed sunstars:

 

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[mopswerk]

I agree, the lens provides sharpness into the edges .. I also have some fun roaming around just to check which things might not become boring in the foreground:

The Expressionist's Bridge HDR VErsion

by MOPS Werk, on Flickr

( I also have a photo filter version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/100003468@N05/16435444373/in/photostream/this version is not for the tack sharp guys ! )

Once again you'll see the stars in the light sources (taken at F8-11 or so) ... interestingly enough there's double rays to see, not sure, where they are coming from ...

[kaherdin]

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