[Leica] 15 mm M lens

[Christer Almqvist <christer@almqvist.net>]

Some observations relating to the 15mm SW Voigtländer Super Heliar:

- - feet (photographers): I had been warned. There were no feet in any picture.

- - knuckels (ditto): I had not been warned. Several pictures showed 
part of my left index in the right hand corner. This lens has an 
amazing depth of field.

- - filters: It is possible to hand-hold a 60mm filter (the one that 
screws on to the pre-ASPH 21 mm) in front of the 15 mm and get good 
results, but you are unlikely to be able to center it properly unless 
the camera is on a tripod. Martin said this lens was not meant for 
filters, a statement which has inspired me to construct a cheap 
filter holder. All ideas welcome.

- - water level: Not really needed for an amateur like me. I look 
through the M6 viewfinder and line up one of the outer frame lines 
with something I know is absolutely vertical like a building wall. Or 
I  place the horizon in the middle of the small rangefinder window 
(unless I am at the top if World Trade Center, I guess, but it was a 
long time ago that I was there). I have a small water level (bought 
as a replacement part at a DIY shop) that I use when I have the 
camera on a tripod in a tight corner where it is difficult to use one 
of the other tricks. Often I want falling lines anyway, or I realize 
that I really like them when I see the print.

- - viewfinder: I think the one that comes with the lens is good enough 
for me. I lined up a number of  spades and other garden tools against 
a wall, took a couple of pictures and noted how many of the tools 
could be (a) seen without moving the eye, (b) seen sharp with moving 
the eye, and (c) seen unsharp with moving the eye. The result was 
that what I could see without moving the eye would be in the picture 
with a good safety margin. How large was the margin? All that I could 
see sharply when moving the eye was not in the picture. Result: I 
will not worry too much, I will look straight and what I see I am 
sure  I'll get. In doubt I will bracket.

- - Voiglander viewfinder-waterlevel combo: This is not for me. I try 
to avoid accumulating too much gear. It gets in the way of picture 
taking. There are simpler solutions that meet my requirements. And I 
do not like the look of the Voigtlander water level. Why on earth did 
they give it  a different surface structure from the smooth surface 
of the viewfinder. After all the two things sit side by side on that 
special Voigtlander holder. The water level surface is what they call 
'krymplack' in Swedish, it looks like reticulated paint and has an 
uneaven surface.

- - pocketability: with this  lens on a M6, the M6 is easier to put in 
the jacket pocket than with any other lens. Perhaps because I have a 
sunshade on the other lenses, and there is none for the 15mm. I have 
to put on the lens cover every time which is a pain in the neck. 
Taking it off even more

- - other: I'll have to get some Locktite so I can fix the lens to the 
Leica adapter ring in such a position that the dot (against which you 
line up the distance set) is at 12 o`clock. My dealer did not have 
any Voigtlander adapters

I'll tell you about sharpness and micro contrast some other time....

Chris
- -- 
Christer Almqvist
D-20255 Hamburg, Germany and/or
F-50590 Regnéville-sur-Mer, France