Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/06/17
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]><< >In summary, I think that the Heliar is a great addition to my Leica > >outfit, although it is so extreme that it will clearly see little use > >except in special situations. But for less than $500 it is a good buy, > >especially when you consider that the only other wide angle of this type > >available for Leica rangefinder, the 16mm Hologon, costs about 8 times > >as much. > >Nathan >> > >I image you're speaking of the *original* Hologon for the Leica M, as I have >seen conversions of the Contax G1/G2 Hologon in the $2500 range. I'm told >that there are different conversions and some are better than others, but in >any case the Contax Hologon seems to have a very fine reputation. Still, if >the 15mm is going to be a little-used novelty lens then $500 is about the >right price. There is that ubiquitous Japanese-made 21mm that sells for >about the same price, and I know of a number of people who've bought it for >"occasional use", fallen in love with the 21 look and ended up with a Leica >21. So, start saving your pennies. There may be a Hologon in your future. > >DT Overall performance of the Heliar is not worse than that of the 16mm Hologon, and better than that of the 15mm M-Hologon.I have used all three, and have two of the three at the moment. None perform as well as the 21ASPH, but all are wider, and the Heliar at least costs a lot less. In actual useage, the Heliar is head and shoulders above both Hologons, unless you don't mind a fixed aperture of f/16 in actual useage or f/8 if you can accept a lot of falloff, and no metering. With the introduction of the Heliar, conversion of the Contax Hologon to M mount should drop to zero, if everyone is aware of the actual performance/handling factors. * Henning J. Wulff /|\ Wulff Photography & Design /###\ mailto:henningw@archiphoto.com |[ ]| http://www.archiphoto.com