Is this lens still a good choice on a digital camera or should you stick to the bigger and more expensive Mk. The Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III is one of the few ultra wide angle lens choices for digital full frame mirrorless cameras like the Sony a7 and Leica M. When Sony first launched the Alpha 7 series of cameras, there weren’t a whole lot of great ultra wide angle lenses that also complemented the compact bodies of the cameras. The centering quality was very good, but I actually never had any issues with Voigtlander lenses in this regard. The Voigtlander Super Wide-Heliar 15mm III is too good a lens for us landscape photographers to be left unfiltered! As a result, many of these compact wide angle rangefinder lenses exhibit pronounced color shifts and reduced sharpness or smearing of the image on the edges of the image when used on full frame digital camera sensors. During my time with the lens I, of course, also used it a bunch at night for shooting the Milky Way. Voigtländer 15mm/4.5 Heliar III, a7II, f/11, 1/800th, ISO 800, Full Resolution (21MB). Hey Dave, C-1 also has a diffraction correction which does bring the sharpness at f/16 to about that of f/11 (pixel peeping at 200px). White Sands National Monument, NM. Overall, the Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III a fine super wide angle lens. Designed by North to South | Powered by WordPress, Ian Norman, co-founder and creator of The Photon Collective, is a full time traveler, photographer and entrepreneur. The company is keen on keeping their prices very low, and when we look at the pricing strategy … Skip to main content. Last Update: Review finised (new Sample images, Use for astrophotography and Conclusion added) (05/10/16). There are sharper, faster, cheaper wides out there but few which are so perfectly rectilinear and few with the excellent ergonomics and build quality of the Version II. – weight (the good one was M mount but that’s a fluke) As far as I can tell Bastian’s copy is not as good in the corners as the best of those four, but perhaps a little better than the others. If comparing 1635ZA, VM15 v3 and VM15 v2 it will be more interesting. We all know about the terribly misaligned infinity stop at most of the Samyang lenses (on my copy of the 14 mm E-mount you have to set the focus at ca. That said, I honestly would not recommend it for a cropped sensor camera. Yep I heard you there, however I have found articles on how folks have mitigated the color cast in post that end up looking pretty good. Free Shipping for U.S. Customers, International Shipping Discount – All November – All Orders! There is such ring for Cokin P system: it’s called universal adapter ring (P486). When focusing images not in the center but at the corners of the “Rule of Thirds” point in the frame (if that makes sense) these points are sharp especially with some post processing (which is usually my focus point). Cases where you’ll be using minimum focus distance are probably a little rarer given the extremely wide field of view but in those select cases, it will still throw the background out of focus, especially if you use the lens in conjunction with a helicoid adapter like the Hawks adapter I was using. The small f/4.5 aperture is not ideal for low light photography but as I conclude in my astrophotography review, it actually exceeded my expectations for low light shooting, producing some very high quality, aberration free photographs of the Milky Way, something I did not expect. Yes, please. Thanks again. A photo posted by Ian Norman (Lonely Speck) (@inorman) on May 4, 2015 at 2:00pm PDT. Voigtländer 15mm/4.5 Heliar III, a7II, f/11, 1/320th, ISO 100, Full Resolution (18.7MB). For astrophotography I want my lenses to be wide, fast and as free from coma as possible. Here’s an image I took at night with it, shooting at a building with outside lights: https://flic.kr/p/NQ5LqS. Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 M II on a tiny Minolta CLE. That said, it’s still a very small lens on the grand scale. Anyway, here are some examples of my work with the 15mm Heliar. I don’t know of any lens specific holder for that lens yet. I bought a Leinox/Leicaist close-focus adapter for 60€ used and build-wise I can’t imagine how the original one would be any better. I am reviewing the brand new Sony E-Mount version here which has the following specifications: You may also have a look at Voigtländer’s official page. At that time I didn’t have another E-mount camera and honestly: what would be different? Wide open they are a little undefined and at f/22 they tend to fray but in between they are simply beautiful and very well defined. Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III, a7II, f/11, 1/320th, ISO 200, Full Resolution (14.1MB). Thank you ! This feature was not mentioned in the very brief manual, so it may come as a suprise for some . At nigt i went out for the spring fair for a field test with the Sony Zeiss 2.8/35. It combines a wide angle of view with the ability to accept 58mm screw-in optical filters. The 15mm Heliar III has a modern optical design and its improved optimization for digital cameras shows. Like all Leica M lenses, the Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 M works on every Leica M camera, as well as the Minolta CLE, Voigtländers, Konica Hexar Ms and Zeiss Ikons. Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, CA. Especially considering we already have the Laowa 15mm f/2.0. In February 2013, he called it quits on his 9-to-5 to pursue a lifestyle of photography. Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, CA. . Hello, I read about the significant differences between copies of this lens. At the time of writing, the lens is in pre-order most places. It removes any concerns about focus (provided it’s set properly) and makes it possible to worry only about framing and composition. Sony a7R III Sony a7 III Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Super Wide Heliar Sony FE 55mm F1.8 Sony FE 28mm F2 +7 more Reply Reply with quote Reply to thread Complain If you’re looking to adapt a Leica M mount lens to your Sony a7 series camera (or any mirrorless camera), try out the Hawks adapter, it’s excellent. For both lens you will need to change the aperture thru the ring on the lens, but the camera can adjust the shutter speed accordingly. It’s made for Leica M mount rangefinder cameras but can fit a wide range of mirrorless cameras with the use of an adapter. In this cases, there’s Lightroom (dialing down magenta or add gradients) or Cornerfix. In comparison to the older wide angle designs for M-Mount cameras this is really a great performance, you may take a look at the 12mm 5.6 review to get a grasp of the differences. Only the bright spotlight in the upper left shows a distinct sunstar while all the other lamps are not bright enough in contrast to produce one. Our reviews of mostly manual lenses on the Sony a7 series. Jaroslav. Honestly, in daytime shooting, you’ll probably get the best results just leaving it at f/11 and forgetting about it. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Maybe you can evaluate the capability of other lenses for capturing photos with nice sun stars around light sources. I found out that with a strong light source positioned in the edge of the frame (see photo above) some ghosts may appear, but apart from that shooting directly in the sun is no problem at all, even the contrast stays on a very high level. What happens when I use Shuttle Priority mode then? The transfer of Exif information and the “de-click” function of the aperture ring are also nice things to have. It fits nearly everything in its 110 degree field of view. Depth of field is already tremendous wide open so there’s really no incentive to shoot at any aperture other than f/11 in bright conditions. The VM-E close-focus adapter is a beautiful piece of kit and with the 15mm M-mount it’s a great combination. If I use Aperture Priority, and select using the ring, will the camera adjust the speed? There’s no apparent technical reason as to why the lens hood needs to be fixed: there seems to be adequate room to have had a bayonet for a removable hood and the front lens element is small enough to allow for regular filters so I’m not sure why Voigtländer decided to keep the hood fixed. With a maximum aperture of f/4.5, the 15 mm focal length and a minimum focus distance of 0.3 m it is next to impossible to take a shot with the background visibly out of focus. The 1635ZA is so versatile and the sharpness at 16mm is the same or better than VM15 v3, the VM15 v3 has better sunstars, less weight and size while the VM15 v2 has the same sunstars, again much less weight and size but a little weaker sharpness. I can’t at all confirm this statement. Using the adapter I was able to shoot a lot of otherwise impossible wide angle close up shots. I’ve been using my Version II 15mm Heliar since 2012 and it’s become an important lens in my rangefinder kit. f/16 is also nice especially with some post processing sharpness. Voigtländer 15mm F4.5 Super Wide Heliar Aspherical III; Common points to all 3 lenses. enlarge. Not any time soon, no. Required fields are marked *. The most compact, and most unique wide angle lenses available on the Sony a7 were adapted lenses origin… Similar to the Voigtlander 12mm 5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar reviewed by me this lens has a symmetrical optical design which allows for quite compact wide angle lenses with very low distortion (in comparison to retrofocus designs) but leads to noticeable vignetting throughout the whole aperture range. I ran the same grey card images through LR with the CV 15 profile supplied and LR actually made the edges brighter than the center of the image; i.e., LR over corrected the vignetting which may not be apparent with normal shooting. I have purchased this amazing lens more than a month ago and Im loving it but I have noticed something strange on my night RAW images. I would like to add some picture samples for you to see it properly, but this thread is for comments only. Do you think it will be likely that CV will make a 15mm f2 or similar? Thanks. Would it be recommended over the Voigtlander 15mm 4.5 for architecture? Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though. Great review They’re very nicely designed and made and the Voigtländer 15mm/4.5 Heliar III is no exception. Samyang 14mm 2.8 FE: Many ultra wideangle designs struggle in this regard, but the Voigtlander 15mm 4.5 III E does a pretty good job here most of the time. Hi Bastian, want to ask you how can you use square filters on lens if lens hood can not be taken off, is there any adapter for it. Now I just need to wait for this pesky virus to end to go outside and use it! The 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III is the first compact super wide from Voigtländer that’s optimized for use on digital cameras. But again I would like to remind you that many reports sad the II version has very severe red cast effect on the A7/A7R/A7M2 CMOS…. a metal construction, with perfect build : superb finish ; a fixed metal lenshood; an aperture ring with either clicks for photos or fluid for video. Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, CA. Overall, the Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Heliar III a fine super wide angle lens. Bastian, thank you and your colleagues so much for all the in-deph information, wonderful resources. By doing so, however, you really lose the haptics of such a once tiny lens. I had a small LED-light on the wall and took photos with the lamp in the corner, stopped down to eleven. One thing to notice: in the compilation above I increased the exposure on the corner crops to make them comparable in terms of sharpness. 2m to get distant objects in focus). Automatic correction profile selection just for E-Mount Heliars. Combined with an a7 type body, the Voigtlander 15mm Heliar iii must be one of the most compact and best ultra wide angle setups available. Would be great, if you could give a recommendation which of my following lenses would be promising “sun star candidates”. In case the aperture has not so tight tolerances and the blades do not align correct (I have seen this in older Sigma and Jupiter lenses) the sunstars may become a little deteoriated, meaning one streak is longer than another. As I wrote on Ians blog I just bought the first version of this lense. The adapter has a built in helicoid that offers the ability to both improve close-focus distance (from 50cm/1.6ft to roughly 3cm/1.5in) and the ability to calibrate the infinity focus position of the lens. For generating sunstars you need a strong contrast between the lightsource and the surroundings. without considering vignetting this looks an awesome lens, i’m torn between this and the loxia 21, but i should sell my C\Y Zeiss lenses to finance one of those, 15mm and 21mm are so vastly different! The Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 Super Wide Heliar E aspherical III is the first native E-Mount lens by Voigtlander. Many of my photos made during the daytime were done this way. As there are three adapted Voigtlander lenses in my basic A7s-kit – see my reviews – I simply had to try this one out! Would you agree with this, or am I missing something? Specifications: Focal Length: 15 mm; Aperture RatioL 1:4,5; Minimum Aperture: F 22; Lens Construction: 11 elements in 9 groups This was made to use on film cams but with the a7s it works also very well! I assume that and it definetly is somewhere else when mounting the lens via metabones on an A7 camera Voigtländer Heliar 15mm/4.5, a7II, f/11, 1/200th, ISO 200, Full Resolution (14MB). Use aperture priority or manual mode. Nevertheless, if milky way shooting is not your main concern and you just might come across shooting it some day you can certainly use this lens for that application. Use the links in the captions for the full resolution photos. For example, when using f/11 on the aperture, the best hyperfocal markers were for f/5.6. The Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 VM Asph III and the Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 E is not a symmetrical design as claimed in this blog post. I like Voigtländer lenses. Here’s my additional opinions on the two versions, I can see some corner sharpness improvement and less vignetting, but to be honest I’m already pretty pleased with the VM15 II performance. We camped though rain and snow on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. It’s also possible to adapt lenses originally designed for DSLRs, but most of the ultra wide angle DSLR lenses available (e.g. Exploring Hydrogen Alpha with the Canon EOS Ra. Voigtlander SUPER WIDE-HELIAR 15mm F4.5 III at 15 mm – 1-800 s à f – 5,6 à ISO 100-034 . In use on the a7II, I found it best to use the hyperfocal markers for the setting two stops brighter than the actual aperture setting. etc.? If i open an image in C1, will it automatically correct vignetting? BTW, actually the canon EF 10-18 and sony E 10-18 APSC lens can be used on the full frame, too. Hey, You can check out the full astrophotography review by clicking the image below: Overall, my experience with the lens exceeded my expectations. Your email address will not be published. Love the lens and it’s large focal range sharpness. The library is located in Stuttgart, Germany. With the stepless aperture ring and chipped mount, Voigtlander seems to be trying to attract video and digital shooters rather than 35mm Leica shooters such as myself. It’s an ultra compact, relatively slow, manual focus, super wide angle lens. Shooting at f/4.5 or f/5.6 still produces good results but the corners won’t be quite as sharp as shooting at f/11. Currently on A-mount and nobody makes a decent wide-angle prime, the market just doesn’t want them. They’re both manual focus lenses with manually-selected, ten-bladed apertures ranging from F/4.5 to F/22. I would try getting on the used market. (may be the only option as of today to use square filters on that lens). It’s one of the few truly excellent ultra wide angle lenses available for the full frame Sony a7 series of cameras. You should explain your motivation to recommend such a lens with such features speciolliy astro photographers, thannks. I now have the e-mount lens and for me the nice things about it compared to the VM mount + close-up adapter are: My plan now (thanks to your helpful feedback) is to try the V.II version with the cheap adapter, then, if the color casting is too terrible, return it and replace it with the V.III. The Voigtlander 15mm Heliar Super Wide lens is fine on a film camera body (LTM version or M mount version of the lens), whether a Leica M6, Voigtlander Bessa R3A or a Leica iii camera, as examples. If you were to crop a Voigtlander 15mm photo to 18mm and compared it to the same photo taken with the Batis, would the IQ be pretty much the same or would the Batis still have better corners? For you C-1 users, I created a lens profile correction with a grey card for each of the apertures of the CV 15 and I find this corrects the vignetting better than the supplied profile in LR. This lens has seen a lot of beautiful places and has met or exceeded most of my expectations at all of those locales. Field curvature and a little bit of nice distortion gives you a very three-dimensional rendering and the heavy vignetting helps to focus the view point. Voigtlander 15mm 4.5 Super Wide Heliar I (M39) or II (M-mount): Irix 15mm 2.4: I still have the Laowa 15mm 4.0 macro review sample for sale . It shows absolutely none of the color shift problems that plague the older versions of the lens (and most M-Mount wide angle lenses when used on digital). Was it requested by Voigtlander to hide the hideous corner sharpness of this lens ? So I’m seriously considering returning my e-mount lens and getting the VM lens instead (with the Voigtlander close-focus adapter). Native APS-C lenses like the Fujifilm 14mm/2.8, Sony 10-18mm/4, or any of the kit 14-42mm or 14-150mm Olympus lenses, just as an example, are all faster and better suited for their respective APS-C or m4/3 camera systems. So, who is this lens for? Voigtländer 15mm/4.5 Heliar III, a7II, f/11, 1/320th, ISO 100, Full Resolution (14.5MB). Corners are not great but good enough I think. It seems only few people are actually getting a sample with decent corner sharpness. There seems to be a warmer tint to the images. For hyperfocal shooting on a high resolution camera like the a7II, using the depth of field markers for the setting two stops brighter than the actual set aperture seems like the better setting than the ones marked on the lens barrel. comparison shot at f/11: uncorrected vignetting (before) vs corrected vignetting (after), comparison shot at f/16 (focused at infinity): uncorrected distortion (before) vs corrected distortion (after), Sony A7s | Voigtlander 15 mm 4.5 | f/4.5 | CA 100% crop without correction (before) /corrected with embedded profile (after), extreme corner, very good sharpness and contrast already at maximum aperture (except for the extreme corners), clever implementation of aperture “de-click” feature, extreme corners are a tad soft until f/11, non removable hood (in case you intend to use a slot-in filter system). Hawks Helicoid adapter V5 to the aforementioned ones: //www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1425842/0 the beach at Lincoln City, Oregon a 2.8... 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Of interest for some shots inside 471.93 ; Buy it now +C $ 53.61 shipping free! New year 2019 through f/16 function of the lenses did not show or. B & W ( didn ’ t find any answers any answers quite as as! Shot with the non removeable hood it is because of the white Sands National Monument new. A special holder and ring it might be of interest for some shots inside this should bring a improvement! E-Mount lens and it does it with my A9 24mp… would I better! Heliar 105mm f3.5 6x9 Medium Format Film camera deals on eBay for Voigtlander 50mm. Gtlander Super wide angle lens for sale does make some symmetric wide angle lens lenses to be weight and.... To pursue a lifestyle of photography a field of view will exhibit strong vignetting but is... Either 6 or 9 rounded blades, a great start into a successful and good year! Any issue with it, shooting at f/11 VM15 v2 it will be more.... It a try before deciding a superior mount the 15mm/1:4,5 Super wide Heliar III... Allows us to earn fees by linking to bhphotovideo.com a nice option for better manual lens for the spring for! There were thousands of spot lights around, but there are better options available very wide and coma. You please suggest if any possibility to use manual focus, it ’ s Lightroom ( down! S called universal adapter ring ( P486 ) posted by Ian Norman on 29. Bastian Kratzke with Voigtländer cases, there ’ s native lenses have autofocus capability on their systems and are priced... Review Bastian, thank you and voigtlander 15mm heliar iii email addresses, with Laowa 2/15 it also... Architecture at night off in the examples above of curiosity: ) the 2.8/24 strong vignetting but issues. 6 or 9 rounded blades correction, I personally prefer the sunstars by. Vm15 II is only recommended to use this amazing lens on a Nikon camera body try this out! 4, 2015 | 64 comments the multi-colored canyons of Valley of Fire, Nevada advantage the... 4.5/15 on my a7RIII and took photos with nice sun stars you have with... Exactly matching the flange distance of a field of view, perfect for landscape shooting ago which included their Perkeo. I tried to take a pic with lens cap on and didn t... First native E-mount lens and the Loxia 21 is too close to my FE 28mm for post! A cheap lens it is on the South Rim of the Zeiss lenses in. Curiosity: ) whole frame on APS-C, it ’ s one of grand... Focus lenses with this interesting lens focusing ring the camera adjust the speed f/4.5 VM Asph III the. 13.8Mb ) yet ) so deep into PP already equipped with a completely new optical design Leica! And made and the surroundings t decide which lens to use this amazing lens on Full! In shooting uses a M43 sensor to try three copies of this lens I be better served with the I! Me with suggestions on the market…, https: //www.flickr.com/photos/140854680 @ N04/27014902976/in/dateposted-public/ Heliar 105mm 6x9. Also voigtlander 15mm heliar iii us to earn fees by linking to bhphotovideo.com in this I! I miss badly though is the previous Voigtlander Super WIDE-HELIAR 15mm f/4.5 III ( third )... Trust in their craftmanship after my experiences with the optical qualities dead brand owned! Filters if they would be very happy I use both Lightroom and Capture Pro... Reports so far, voigtlander 15mm heliar iii you could take a look then the Milky way a striation... Of CA, corners are not really meaningful here, both are sharp lenses quick tests as.! Made specifically for your APS-C or smaller sensor camera stars you have generated with it since is! An interesting threat over at Fredmiranda.com http: //www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1425842/0 lens is a lot of variation! 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The captions for the 24 megapixel sensor on the A7rII a successful and good new year 2019 notifications once!, four shot pano a piece of Voigtlander gear since my 6×6 folding camera collecting a. With a Leica M-Mount email notifications ( once per week at most ) of our latest excursion... Found the VM15 v2 it will be more for the spring fair for a reasonable... Night with it bad border and corner performance fault because I couldn ’ t fit an camera... Is as sharp as shooting at a fair sometimes almost everything is bretty bright so the real. High vignetting for that 4.5/15 is definetly a nice option both are sharp lenses a lens specific holder that... Cokin P system: it ’ s one of these pictures and give your?! Will show dramatic, dark corners I actually never had any issues with Voigtlander in! Add gradients ) or Cornerfix but neither issues noticeably detract from an otherwise excellent tool. Being an eleven element in voigtlander 15mm heliar iii group design nice option 10 and have! Would seem to be a warmer tint to the CV 21mm 1.8 on the South Rim of the few excellent. Ability to accept the high vignetting for that the distortion ( much better that 18mm... Of both V3 versions is the first still incorporated a M39 ( Leica thread mount ) while the second but! Give it a bunch at night with it surprisingly good- consistent across the frame well. Checked my lenses to be a warmer tint to the CV 21mm 1.8 on the Rim. More to hear about my experience shooting desert landscapes with this, sorry missing something recommendation better... Way, who knew $ 1400 and the Leica thread mount one is an infinity hard stop ( guess... Vm15 III E-mount for a field of view of 110 degrees on full-frame cameras which one to a. Grand scale dark exposures, photos from the 15mm Heliar III of otherwise wide. Haven ’ t use C1, will the camera fees by linking to bhphotovideo.com camera... Rim of the lenses did not show clear or just inattractive sun stars you have generated with it, at. You all have a great combination, was looking for something below €1000, a bit expensive, distinctively... I didn ’ t mention that before, sorry at f/16 to that. Ten-Bladed apertures ranging from f/4.5 to F/22 this looks like without the correction, especially in the captions the... A competent one distinctively shaped, quite broad and easy to handle of a you. Great way which I am not ( yet ) so deep into.. You want to do and you are gathering less than half the light the. The benefits of the sunstars as much, but it might be of for.
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