Voigtlander Super-Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical Manual Focus Lens with Viewfinder - Silver

by Voigtlander

Product Details

• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000BZZFQ
• Item model number: 45BA212A
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 17, 2003

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little lens for little money., March 21, 2006

By 

D. Fineman "[e-mail]" (L. A., CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voigtlander Super-Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical Manual Focus Lens with Viewfinder - Silver (Electronics)

This lens is sharp as heck, light weight, and almost free. The other reviewer notes that it's cheaper than the Leica 15mm. A bit! The Leica is 7500$ and hardly any more contrasty or sharp. Further, you can buy a body, a Bessa L, for 100$ and have an extraordinary combination for interiors, buildings, or special effects. This lens is fully linear. Finally, while the viewfinder does have barrel distortion, the lens has no fisheye effect at all and the finder is BRIGHTER than the Leica (if you took out that 3rd mortgage to buy the Leica).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heliar & M8, July 25, 2007

By 

Gordon Yonehara ""new to digital"" (OC, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voigtlander Super-Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical Manual Focus Lens with Viewfinder - Silver (Electronics)

I concur with prior positive comments about the Voigtlander 15mm. The optical performance appears to be very good, the build quality is nice, the compact size is handy, and the value is unbelievable! My only reservation is use with full frame format, which I have not tried. I suspect vignetting may be an issue with some users since a graduated ND filter to my knowledge is not offered.

This is not a significant issue with the M8 1.33 format. I have done a limited amount of shooting using the full fov of the M8 rangefinder. I have since acquired a Russian 20mm accessory finder. Wide spread packaging with the 21mm Voigtlander finder would avoid the hassle.

One issue I have not seen discussed is use of this lens on the M mount. The lens features non adjustable shade petals. When I used a Chinese made adapter, the petals were off about 10 degrees. Again not a problem with the M8 (no apparent vignetting) but a potential issue with full frame, in addition to the obvious cosmetic issue. In fitting several genuine Leica rings I was only able to find 1 out of 5 tried that resulted in proper petal alignment. Perhaps the Voigtlander rings are more consistant. In any case I would suggest this is one case where you try your luck at a full service "brick & mortar" store as opposed to ordering rings off the internet.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the widest wide angle lenses available to Leica screw mount and M rangefinder cameras, July 21, 2005

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voigtlander Super-Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical Manual Focus Lens with Viewfinder - Silver (Electronics)

The Voigtlander Super-Wide Heliar 15mm f4.5 aspherical lens offers suprisingly good performance as one of the two widest lenses available from Voigtlander for screw and M mount rangefinder cameras. I have seen excellent enlargements nearly 11 x 14 inches in dimensions which attest to the excellent optical qualities of this lens. I would still recommend this lens over the more expensive Zeiss ZM 15mm Distagon f2.8 for the casual user who doesn't require such an ultra wide angle lens or one with a maximum aperture of f2.8. Much to Cosina's credit, this lens is yet another fine example of optical excellence in the Voigtlander lens line now being manufactured by Cosina. Leica M mount rangefinder cameras will need a screw to M mount adaptor for mounting this lens.