Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/12/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>Anybody know the closest focus on the 12? >I think it will be my stocking stuffer au year. >I'd imagine using at mainly at its closest focus on my L and would hope it's >darned close. Otherwise most of the image might tend to get minute and >require a loupe. >The widest lens ever make for 35mm photography? >Gee I'd not being the first on my block! >I could specialize in shooting group shots in small closets. >Just pack them in there like clowns in Volkswagen. > > >Mark Rabiner >Photography >Portland Oregon >http://rabinergroup.com/ Mark A little bit late but I was out last week. The Voigtl?nder Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm f5.6 is an extraordinary lens with some outstanding features and some important defects. The closest distance seems to be o,3 meters but in fact with the hyperfocal at f16 you have *all* in focus. It's by no means the widest available 35mm lens -this correspond to the huge 6mm f2.8 Nikkor fisheye who see behind the camera- but it's in fact the rectilinear wider lens ever built. It's followed by the Nikkor 13mm f3.5 another legendary lens and the not less well known Hologon 15mm for Leica or 16mm f8 for Contax G. Voigtl?nder has in catalog another excellent 15mm for Leica. It's unbelievable getting such scarce distortion and very good resolution but the falloff of the lens is too hugely unbelievable and the problem cannot be arranged closing stops but with a special degrading filter not supplied by the firm. For some special purposes is *the* lens to be used and mine -I own almost every mentioned lens- is always in my M7 bag. Regards. Felix