Which is best quality voigtlander wide angle?

[mark_amos]

My need is for architectural photography. I have a 35 cron

aspherical, and I believe it is fantastic..never lets me down, but it

isn't wide enough for many situations. I normally rely on a Nikkor

20 2.8 AIS on an FM3a, which does very well, but I always

enjoyed my Nikkor 24 pre-AI and I'd like to have the architectural

photography option for my M. I can do what I need to do with 21

or 25mm, and perhaps even 28mm. I realize these different focal

lengths require adjustments to one's approach. I am willing to

adjust within that range for a fine optic-flat field, sharp all over,

low vignetting, even if I have to go to f4 or 5.6. Specifically, of the

VC 28 3.5, 25 4 or 21 4, (I'd prefer to stay with 39mm filters)

which compares most favorably to its Leica counter part.

[steve g]

15mm, hands down.

 

If I want a tighter composition, I crop away.

15mm all the way.

 

:-D

[johnmarkpainter]

Hands down?

 

I have shot with the 15 quite a bit.. I think that the 21 is a superior lens. Unless you need

the 15mm view.

 

Mark,

 

I you already have a 35, then you should get the 21 so there is a worthwhile difference.

 

jmp

[mark_amos]

Somehow I thought that answer might come up. I have the VC

15, and it is indeed a very fine and fun lens, but it can be

unpredictable for me, especially when I need architectural

interior shots of technical excellence. Filters are awkward with

the 15 and the lack of parallax compensation is particularly

unpredictable with a lens as wide as this.

[mark_amos]

John, I know what you mean about going with the 21 to see a

difference from the 35, but there are situations where I might

take a 50 and not take the 35 if my other wider angle alternative

lens is good enough. I admit that I may have expected people to

say that the 28 3.5 VC was the best "quality" lens because at 3.5,

perhaps a 28 is reasonable enough in parameters to make a

first class 28.

I think the 15mm VC is so noteworthy because as I understand

it, there was nothing really to compete with it, especially for the

price, but perhaps notwithstanding the price. Can you stop down

these other VC lenses and get an image that is essentially

similar to the Leica image stopped down?

[frederick_muller]

Mark, I prefer the 15mm to the 21mm, though you haven't listed it. I also don't know why you haven't listed the 28mm f1.9 Ultron, which, for my money, has a slight edge over the 28mm Summicron. The 28mm Skopar is a nice lens, but not in the Ultron's class.

[kaiblanke]

I have the 25 and find it a nice lens. Esp. if combined with the 40 it gives a nice package. However, sometimes I would like to have it rangefinder-coupled just for the sake of it - it was not necessary for the shot and I never missed a shot due to misfocusing. It is also wide enough for anything shot under normal conditions. Optical performance is nice enough for me - I never made anything larger than 8x10 until now and practical results are comparable with other Leitz lenses.

 

But if you like the 24 on a SLR, I would recommend the 21 in favor of the 25: with 'rangefinder style' and not exact framing the 21 will be a bit easier to handle and the 25 seems to be more like an SLR 28 than a SLR 24.

[vincenzo_maielli]

Hi, dear friend. I own a fantastic VC Heliar Super Wide Aspherical 15/4,5 that i mount on Bessa L. I'm very happy whit this ultra wide angle, for sharpness, contrast, colour rendition and spectacular perspective, in spit of don't allow the use of any filter and don't allow the focusing with rangefinder patch of my Leica M2, M5 or MP.

My brother own a VC 21/4. The sharpness, the contrast and the colour rendition are extraordinary, whit outstanding quality. Also, allow the use of 39 mm filter and allow the focusing with rangefinder patch on many Leicas or Bessas with rangefinder focusing capability.

Ciao.

 

Vincenzo Maielli Italy

[torben_daltoft]

Yeah, seems that you are asking (a lot of) questions, but already have the answers

[mike-images]

Hi Mark,

 

you didn't ask about Leica lenses but...the 21mm Elmarit Asph is a fabulous lens. If you own the 35 'cron Asph then you know the kind of quality. Of course $$$$ are a problem!

 

Regards

 

M

[dan_kreithen]

I'd take a close look at the new Zeiss ZM offerings. The 25mm lens is reputed to be superior to the Leica version, for considerably less money.

[paul_neuthaler]

I don't think it's wide enough for architecture, even though you mention the focal length, but I have found the little CV 28mm 1:3.5 Color Skopar (the smallest & lightest of ALL CV lenses) to be sharp, quick focusing and fine. I love it on my M4-P -- as small as walking around with an unextended 50 Elmar!

[frederick_muller]

28mm isn't a bad focal length for architectural photography. A lot of those tilt and shift lenses were made in the 28 and 35 focal lengths.

 

Mark, if you are set on a 21, consider the 21mm Elmarit-M Pre-Aspherical. They are quite good buys for the money. You pay for the stop in speed over the VC, though, with a hefty increase in size.

 

If you have a 35mm already, the next two focal lengths down might be 24/25mm and 15mm.

[yang_wen]

I'm a fan of the CV 15mm.

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[james_elwing]

When you say 'architectural photography' it's like saying 'nude photography'.

Is this existing buildings only; interiors or exteriors, or does it incluse models ditto. V/C makes a double accessory shoe attachment that fits their bubble level & viewfinder. This makes ultra wide shots a bit more predictable. Nobody talked about the 12mm, but it can at least fit a dark centered ND filter to even out light falloff, and it's a great lens.

The 15 is the most useful, particularly inside architectural models, but in a setup you need to establish the colour temperature, as you can't use filters and unless it's your enlarger (or scanned / specialist software etc) , can't correct for light falloff. bla bla bla

[35mmdelux]

Yang, Those are great shots.

 

Mark, I owned the 25VC and hardly noticed much of a difference over my 35mm cron view, very little IMO. For interiors I'd consider a 21mm for starters. For exteriors I'd probably choose the 28mm to control convergence (somewhat).

[carbon_dragon]

You might find this useful <http://www.imx.nl/photosite/japan/voigtl01.html>

 

I have the 25/4 and the 50/2.5 Voigtlander lenses (and the Leica 35 ASPH). The 50/2.5 is an underwhelming performer though it seems to be solidly constructed. The 25 seems reasonably sharp so far. I don't much like the non-rangefinder coupled part, but it's worked out so far and it's really really lightweight. The viewfinder that comes with it is very good too. Supposedly the Leica 24, if you can afford it, is one of the best lenses they've ever made.

[mark_amos]

Thank you for all the responses. Let me repeat the emphasis of my question. I already have a 15mm and its great, but it is somewhat unpredictable for the type of near-professional interior architectural images I need. I had hoped to achieve the results I need with a good value VC lens with the idea that stopping down to 5.6 or even f8 was not a problem because I always use a tripod for these pictures.I'm wondering which of the lenses: 28 3.5, 25 4, or 21 4 comes closest to state of the art performance in their focal lengths when stopped down-meaning can these lenses achieve 35 cron aspherical type performance stopped down in terms of very low distortion, evenness of resolution and low vignetting.I wasn't asking about the relative appropriateness of the focal lengths because I can accomodate. It sounds like all the lenses mentioned may perform well enough when stopped down because I have read such good things about all of them. I appreciate any available specifics. Thank you again.

[mark_amos]

Thank you for the link to E Puts. He doesn't have a review there for the 28 3.5 or the 21 4. Has he reviewed those?

[keirst]

You may also want to consider the Zeiss 21mm/2.8 or 25mm/2.8 ZM mount Biogons.

They are extremely good lenses that certainly equal the quality of 35mm/2 ASPH Leica

lenses, with smoother out of focus areas. They cost more than the Voigtländers of these

focal lengths, but have more speed and higher quality control standards. The Biogons are

a bit bigger, but still smaller than almost any SLR wides. I have both and they are brilliant,

the best wideangles I've ever had the pleasure to use.<br><br>

 

Here's Herr Put's review of the 21mm: <a href="http://www.imx.nl/photosite/comments/

c020.html"> http://www.imx.nl/photosite/comments/c020.html</a>.<br> And from

there you can follow his links to evaluations of the 25mm and other Zeiss M mount lenses.

[keirst]

Here's Camerequest's Zeiss page full of "camera boudoir" pictures of the lenses and the new

black paint Zeiss Ikon body: <a href="http://cameraquest.com/ZM%20lenses.htm">http://

cameraquest.com/ZM%20lenses.htm</a>. Try not to drool on your keyboard.

[ken_ford1]

Torben, is today "International Snotty Posting Day"?

[Ian Taylor]

I also like the 15mm, but I haven't tried any of their other wides.

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[vivek iyer]

Mark, Regardless of the lens you buy or use your existing 15mm, consider getting the bubble level and the double shoe adaptor. This would help you with the perspective problems.

[Bill Blackwell Images]

"Which is best quality Voigtlander wide angle?"

 

While I agree the 15mm Heliar is a fun lens and very good (especially for the money), calling it "the best quality" Voigtlander wide-angle lens is, at best, purely subjective - the test data available simply does not support this claim.

 

Plus, IMHO, comparing the 28mm f1.9 Ultron to the 28mm Summicron only makes sense when comparing relative costs. The 28mm Summicron is one of Leica's latest designs. The best you can say when comparing these two lenses is "Stopped down it is a draw." But in the wider apertures, there is no contest.

 

Having said that, you could make the argument (with supporting test data) that the 28mm f1.9 Ultron is the best Voigtlander wide angle. The VC 21mm f4 is also said to be quite good and it couples to the RF (the 25mm f4 does not).

 

Look also here:

 

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/japan/indexj.html

 

and here:

 

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/leicaM.html