who has a 15 mm lens...

[back alley]

...and who uses it often?

i have a cv 15 that i thought i would play with a bit. but lately i seem to have less time than normal for shooting and when it comes time to pick a lens or 2 for an outing the 15 stays home.

lately i have been using the zm 50/1.5 or the cv 25 most of the time.

anyone else have the 15 and just use it occasionally?

joe

[Keith]

They are a fun lens when you feel like taking a few chances! I put mine on my Hexar recently and just aimed and pulled the trigger ... I don't have a 15mm finder so it was a little like using a digicam with no LCD screen.

The results were satisfying and having that much depth of field and not having to think about focusing all the time is suprisingly liberating!

[Bryce]

For a very long time I kept the 15mm and Fuji GS645s as my go everywhere kit. It was great, and I'd say I used the 15mm for about 1/3 of the shots taken. Lately I've been in school and carrying a huge bookbag nearly all the time and had to shrink the kit and get more lens speed for indoor handheld shots, so the kit has been largely replaced with a Pentax and 35mm lens.
Come summertime that will change!

[jmilkins]

Hi Joe

I have one and use it much more than my 25mm which I didn't expect to do.

Shots in my gallery which you have probably seen. Lens is best from f5.6 to f11.

I really like it and find that it can make an enormous difference to your everyday point of view. I don't find the distortion unmanageable - I just try to factor it into the composition.

I use it most often with my Bessa L and slide film. With a lot of sky you have to be careful of under exposure, but the little L helps you out there with it's simple but effective meter. Horizon lines can be an issue, but once again- I allow a tilted horizon sometimes to add dynamism and to break the rules.

[jan normandale]

Joe, it's a good lens. I don't know if it's a street shooting lens tho which I think is where you're coming from.

Regarding the lens, it's DoF is it's big feature. You can shoot almost anything outdoors at f8.0 - 11.0 or higher and be in focus from about 10' - 3 metres. It's contrasty and gives images a certain 'pop' factor. See the link below

http://flickr.com/photos/jann/296118882/

[ferider]

I used to Joe, and I think I took a few OK photos with it. These days,
super wides are boring for some reason, to make something that looks
to me later much different than a lens test; the wider I go, the more
foreground or big spaces I need. So I avoid them, also my 21 ... and
usually stop at 28.

Personal choice, I guess, and depends on what you shoot, of course.

Technically, the Heliar is a great lens though.

Roland.

[maddoc]

I had it but sold it. It is a nice lens, easy to handle and give nice effects but as ferider mentioned ... After some time it gets boring and for some wide stuff I prefer my 21mm (but also only occasionally)

[bobkonos]

Hi Joe,

I keep mine on a Bessa L that I keep at work for noontime and after work strolls to document architecture downtown. I also intend to use it as a landscape camera. Loaded with ASA 400 film, color or B&W, and stopped down, there is plenty of depth of field and I like getting weird perspectives.

[back alley]

i like the view from the few rolls i have shot with it, and it is fun to use as a point & shoot but i doubt that it will be used all that much. nice to have though and i will be holding on to it.
my preferred focal length of late is the 25. i carry the r4a and cv 25 much of the tiime.

[drewbarb]

I bought a CV 15mm several years ago, when it had been on the market for a year or two. After the WOW factor wore off, I found the lens to be so wide that it was of limited use, so I sold it. Fast forward a few years, and I found myself missing it. Not that I'd want it often, but very occasionally I find myself in situations where even the 21mm isn't wide enough. So when I found a good deal, I bought another.

Here's another thing. Mr. K's release of his first Voigtlander gear- the Bessa L, the 15mm and the 25mm- basically marks the begining of the recent RF renaissance. This was the first LTM gear produced in a long while (not counting the limited edition Pentax lenses...) and at the time, the 15mm was the widest lens ever produced in the Leica thread mount. Add to this the fine performance and low price, and you have a compelling reason to own this stuff. I'm not a collector, but I find myself owning this kit even though I don't shoot with it nearly as much as I do with some other cameras. It's a nice little wide angle kit on it's own; and I like that they work seemlessly with my Leica gear. I shoot with this stuff mostly at weddings, where I want all the bodies I can get so I'll need fewer lens changes, and where folks seem to love wide angle church and big groups shots- but I'll keep the 15mm and the other Bessa gear for less than purely utilitarian reasons.

The 15mm isn't a lens I shoot with a lot. But for those rare shots where only a real super wide will do, I'll happily keep this one in my bag.

[projectbluebird]

I have one, I like it and I use it fairly often.
That said, it is easy to start shooting boring typical super-wide photos.
That gets old, fast.

On the other hand,

the distortion and super-super contrast can make for some rewarding challenges.
Which for me is all part of the fun of using a rangefinder in the first place!

[fuwen]

I have a ZM 15 but do not use it often. Ultra wide photography is not as easy as I expected. The most challenging part is that I am not able to visualise the perspective effect with the external finder. I find things are more predictable with SLR and the 18/4 Distagon.

http://www.fuwen.net/photos_gallerybylens/index.php?album=ZM_15_f28_Distagon_T

[sienarot]

I have the CV 15/4.5 and I'd say I use it pretty often, though it isn't exactly my regular lens. I *love* wide angle photography, so that's probably why I can use it as often as I do. I couldn't imagine it not being in my lens line up.

[leif e]

I had one (must be the most-used phrase around here - after "I want one") ;-) Sold it and regret that a bit. Got the CV 12 in a trade in the meantime - had loads of fun and a couple of good shots with that in the mountains this summer. Lately I ended up with the new M-mount version of the CV 4/21. That one´s a keeper!
Still, I am thinking of getting another 15. As someone said; from 5,6 and a couple of stops it´s really good and a feist for architecture.
leif e

[BillP]

I have one. It took on a new lease of life when I mounted it to my IIIc. I have to be in the mood to use it though.

53784

53785

What I would say is that it is so small and so cheap that there is no excuse for not having it in a corner of your bag.

Regards,

Bill

[Marsopa]

Hi:

I've got one, I like it very much but I didn't use it a lot, just somedays I feel something like: "Hey, why not shot a roll with the L and 15mm", after the shooting session I feel happy to have the Bessa L and the lens...

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1181/1342485191_7bdc632783.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1205/850402055_9f1aaf2fa2.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1296/1342485023_d3d1801bc6.jpg

[jvr]

Yes, I have the CV 15/4.5 and I used it a lot, on the RD1s, where it behaves like almost like a 21 in 35mm. It vignettes a lot on the Epson, even more than the 12/5.6. It's very sharp and contrasty. For "documental" shots, you'll have to remove at least some of the vignetting (Photoshop works great but Lightroom is even better). For more "fun" and artistic shots, vignetting even helps (check some London pictures attached, definitly on the "artistic" camp).

On the M8, I'm still on the learning curve, I tend to prefer the CV 12/5.6 when going really wide. Vignetting is much more controlled on the M8 but the 15 becomes a 18, which is not too wide or too wide, depending... :) So I catch myself favoring either the CV 12/5.6 (when going wide) or the 21/2,8 Biogon (when not so wide).

On the M3, I also prefer the 12, although I confess 99% of the shots are of the "fun" variety and it really wears quickly. A good friend of mine, who makes a lot of professional architectural interior shots likes the 12/5.6 very much.

[wallace]

I've purchased a Bessa L with the 15mm just one week ago.
Now I'm waiting for the sun to come out. Going to post some shots later.

[hofrench@mac.co]

I've loved mine, especially on my M8, where the focal length is increased a bit. Wonderful, fun glass. The CV viewfinder is terrific, too.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2049/2019573601_9ee41c4a5e_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1081/819887172_b4f474e09c.jpg

[tbarker13]

I've had a CV15 for around a year. I can't say that I shoot more than 5 percent of my shots with it. But I'd have a hard time parting with it, just because it does something my other lens simply can't do. My next widest lens is a 28 hexanon.

[oscroft]

The CV 15 was the main cause of me entering rangefinder photography. I read about it somewhere, loved the price and the idea of a Bessa-L to go with it, and having been a wideangle freak for ages I just had to have one. Then a bit later, a CV 21 and another Bessa-L followed (Robert White was doing a cheap deal on L bodies bought with lenses). Then later again a Bessa-R with a 35/2.5 (a special deal from CameraQuest), and I was lost (or found, depending on your viewpoint ;) ) I now have several more CV lenses, and the two Ls and the R are now gone - they went to raise money for an R4A. And my main RF camera is now an M6.

But I still have and love the 15. It rarely gets used, but I love it when I do use it. In fact, I deliberately don't use it much because it could easily become a novelty/gimmick lens and the novelty could wear off easily.

[Kim Coxon]

I have avoided the CV15. I have the Pentax 15/3.5A. I have certainly used it a great deal more on the digital bodies as a "21mm" lens than as a 15mm lens on the film bodies. To me it is one of those lenses that if you need it, nothing else will do but you don't often need it. It can be used for some "different" effects but for more usual work, it is best suited for architectural work and is invaluable indoors in a confined space. I can see an estate agent loving it as it will make the space seem so much more.

I wouldn't get a CV one as it isn't an "RF" lens for me. the 20's are a different story.

Kim

[sevres_babylone]

I use it on my R-D1 with the vf from the 25mm, and like it. I wish it were faster. On the other hand, its small size makes it good for people shots.

http://www.pbase.com/zuiko40/image/85173591.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/zuiko40/image/86610442.jpg

[sienarot]

Since we're showing off sample photos....

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1066/981475936_1a31711d78_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1298/1405753410_34e97568f2_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1273/1067844033_41c4641fa2_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2235/1702550626_a0eded4d51_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2106/1702552166_6a09cc15c4_o.jpg

I said it before and I'll say it again... I love this lens! :)

[back alley]

i think i may put the 15 and finder on the cle for some shooting tomorrow.

derrick, that first shot makes me dizzy everytime i look at it:)

joe

[emraphoto]

the 15mm on the m8 is really the absolute best combination i have used for street schtuff in a very long time. it was preceeded only by a ricoh gr1. throw in the vc 21mm finder and it's the wickedest point and shoot for the street you'll find!
same goes for the r-d1! iso 1600, f8 and away i go!

[emraphoto]

http://not.contaxg.com/document.php?id=19361

[emraphoto]

http://not.contaxg.com/document.php?id=18731

[whiteley]

i got one back in 1999 only because i couldn't afford the 21 leica lens at the time. i put it through a ton of use over the next few years until i got a 21, and in the five years or so i've had both i've come to realize that i like the 15 more- not for technical superiority by any means, but for the perspective and the overall ease of use. it's so small compared to the 21/2.8, and just setting the focus and shooting away without constantly re-focusing is so fast and easy. i've used it for portraits, landscapes, a ton of live music photos (shooting with that lens from the front row or photo pit provides such a unique perspective- it's like you're alone with the band because you can see so much and there's nobody else in the frame). anyhow, i stopped using it a lot a few years ago but since i got an m8 it's come back into regular rotation, using my 21 finder. i don't like it as much as a 21, but it's still a great lens and well worth owning for the price. here's one of the first pictures i took with it- a portrait of chan marshall (aka ms. Cat Power) for an interview in 2000...

[sienarot]

i think i may put the 15 and finder on the cle for some shooting tomorrow.

derrick, that first shot makes me dizzy everytime i look at it:)

joe

Joe,

As someone who's afraid of heights, I can completely understand and sympathize! Haha :)

[Bill58]

I'm toying w/ the idea of getting one of these in either Nikon SLR or LTM (FILM) mode. Anyone care to comment on the desirability of one versus the other? My interest is for strictly architectural or landscape shots.

As always, much appreciation for comments.

[fuwen]

I'm toying w/ the idea of getting one of these in either Nikon SLR or LTM (FILM) mode. Anyone care to comment on the desirability of one versus the other? My interest is for strictly architectural or landscape shots.

As always, much appreciation for comments.


For lens this wide I feel that range finder designs are better bets. The weight and size different are great anyway.

[jvr]

I'm toying w/ the idea of getting one of these in either Nikon SLR or LTM (FILM) mode. Anyone care to comment on the desirability of one versus the other? My interest is for strictly architectural or landscape shots.

As always, much appreciation for comments.

I think the Nikon versions can only be used with mirror lock up and an external VF. That transforms a SLR into a bulkier RF... :) So I would go with the LTM, unless you aleready have the SLR and don't have the LTM... If you have both, I would go with the LTM, if you had none, also... :)

BTW, Steve Gandy says that Cosina only claims full compatibility with F and F2 Nikon camers, although it should work with any camera with mirror-lock up (http://www.cameraquest.com/VCSL1215.htm).

[Ron (Netherlands)]

If there is any interest, I have a spare 15mm finder (voigtländer)

[Rob-F]

I find the single most useful focal length, for the full 35mm format, to be a 24mm. I also use 21mm (or 20mm on a Nikon SLR). But I did not want to be without that equivalent focal length on the D200, so I picked up the 15mm f/3.5 Nikor, which gives me 22.5mm on the D200.

But last weekend I tried the 15mm Nikor on a film Nikon. Now, that is wide! I shot some storefronts I like to photograph sometimes. Like several others above, I would not want to shoot this wide too often; but I think it is worth having for its ability to do double duty as a superwide with film, and roughly 22mm equivalent with digital.

I had originally thought of doing this with a 15mm CV and and Epson, but I don't have that outfit. I stayed away precisely because of the vignetting with superwides on the Epson. The 15 on the D200 does not have this problem. I'm also going to play with my 16mm Russian fisheye on the D200 when I get around to it.