Re: [Leica] Which Ultra-Wide, Heliar 15mm or Heliar 12mm

[Henning Wulff <henningw@archiphoto.com>]

At 11:12 AM -0400 5/2/01, JULIAN TOPLEY wrote:
>Does anyone have an opinion or has anyone had experience in using these two
>lenses?
>
>The 12mm Heliar gives me an extra 10 degrees of view, it has, dare I say it, a
>filter attachment option and is around double the price.
>
>I noted from a recent edition of Leica Fotographie was that there is some
>noticable vignetting and more chance of flare when compared with the 15mm
>Heliar - is this true?
>
>Information of image quality, usability, differences in the two finders, i.e.
>barrelling and build quality would be greatly appreciated.
>
>Julian Topley

The 'vignetting' and flare are not noticeably different. Yes, there 
is some fall-off away from center with both lenses, but it is fairly 
minor considering the facts of their wide angles of view and almost 
standard (non-retrofocus) construction. The 12 does give you the 
option of adding a center filter, thereby nearly doubling the cost, 
but I don't use it except for quite critical things.

The 12 appears to have slightly higher build quality, but I'm not 
sure that that is actually true. The 12 finder is a lot bigger, 
heavier, and with a metal housing. Again, I'm not sure that it will 
last longer over the years.

Barrel distortion is unnoticeable unless you rigourously test for it 
in either lens.

Basically, the optical performance of these lenses is in line with 
Leica lenses of 25 years ago. They are not as good as the latest, but 
they don't disgrace themselves. OTOH, the real reason for getting 
either is because they are the only practical game in town.

As far as useability goes, the 15 is a lot easier to use. The 3mm 
difference translates to the same difference as between a 28mm and a 
35mm lens. Also, the area of the negative that easily shows the 
distortion of 3-dimensional objects, in particular spherical objects 
(like heads) is much greater. DO NOT place someones head in the 
corner of a 12mm shot and show it to them unless they have a very 
good sense of humour.

If you haven't ever used anything wider than a 19 or 17, get the 15 
first. Experientially, the jump from 20 to 15 feels the same as the 
jump from 15 to 12.

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    *            Henning J. Wulff
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