[Leica] The Zeiss Choice

[Frank.Dernie at btinternet.com (Frank Dernie)]

The biggest problem with ultra wide angle lenses on a viewfinder camera 
is parallax effects (over and above the actual parallax error) I am not 
so sure a 15mm lens which focuses to 12" will be much use, in that one 
one sees in the viewfinder at this distance will bear scant resemblance 
to what appears on the film.
Frank

On 12 Jan, 2005, at 17:03, Bill Marshall wrote:

> Overlooked IMO has been what's different about this product line. 
> What's overlooked is the fact that all of the lenses wider than 35mm 
> close focus to 0.5m (18") & the 15/2.8 close focuses to 0.3m (12"). No 
> other RF lenses on the market to the best of my knowledge do this 
> other than the Leica Macro-Elmar 90/4 - & this lens needs a special 
> Leica Macro-Adapter-M to enable the body to focus down to 0.5m. Unless 
> I'm missing something, then, Zeiss is correct when it says that it 
> needed to design its own body to take advantage of the capabilities of 
> these lenses. While there has been much discussion to assert that 
> Zeiss has made only one lens that will benefit from the long base 
> line, the Zeiss literature stresses the advantages of this camera for 
> use with wide angle lenses. I believe that it is the close focusing 
> capability that they are talking about.
>
> So what is the Zeiss choice? It is the option of wide angle lenses 
> that close focus to 12"-18" (.3-.5m). If your need is for ultra-fast 
> lenses, take the Leica option & put them on a Leica body that is 
> designed to work with lenses that focus to 0.7m (27"). But if you 
> prefer to get in closer - 9" or more - then choose Zeiss. it's nice to 
> have the choice.