[Leica] Re: Cosina 15mm Lens

[pcb@iac.co.jp (Paul C. Brodek)]

Ken, you dog!  :-}

I rushed out this morning to see if any were in windows, and saw a few
Bessa-L bodies and 15mm Heliars but no 25mm Skopars.  Have you heard
when the Skopar will be available?

Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to fondle the Bessa-L or 15mm
today, and my photo equipment budget for the next few weeks is likely
to go towards tripods and heads. 

I saw a used Contax G-mount Hologon last month for 150,000 yen and was
thinking about getting it.  I decided not to, and soon after heard
about the Heliar.  Glad I waited.....

Let us know how your prints look!  Hope you have fun with it!

Cheers,

PB


On 1 Feb 99 14:57:14 JST, Ken Iisaka <kiisaka@netscape.net> wrote:

>The lens is here. I have one mounted on my M3, right here on my desk now. 
>
>I went to Shinjuku yesterday, and saw that it is already on sale, a day before
>the official release date of February 1. 
>
>For 61,700 yen plus 5% consumption tax, or approximately $600 US, I have a 
>nicely finished lens that is the widest ever available (at least to my 
>knowledge. Please correct me if I am wrong, Marc.) for the Leica Screw Mount. 
>
>I have the silver version, which looks very nicely finished, and matches very 
>well with my silver M3 via a L/M adaptor. Someone else who was also looking 
>at buying one mounted one on a screwmount body; however, it seemed to be a 
>better match to my M3 body, perhaps because of its integral hood, and its 
>black name plate that surrounds the front element. The silver colour is
>slightly
>yellowish compared to my M3, but is hardly noticeable at a glance.
>
>The focussing and aperture rings are finished nicely.  I have a hard time 
>determining whether it is built of plastic or aluminium.  Regardless of the
>material, it is finished very nicely and aperture clicks are firm and solid. 
>The chrome-plated mount is bolted on to its plastic body, and screwed 
>in very smoothly into the Leica L/M adaptor. 
>
>This lens is not RF-coupled, but is hardly an disadvantage, given its focal 
>length. Leave it at f8, and at 1m, and everything is in focus from 0.6m to 
>infinity. I wish there were click stops at 2m and 1m so that I would not 
>inadverdently move the focussing ring. The 25mm has this useful feature. 
>
>The viewfinder is quite a surprise. Its body is plastic, a la Leica, but 
>appears to be well made. Distortion is reasonably well controlled, though 
>some barrel distortion is visible. Contrast is excellent, and the entire 
>field can be seen by this eyeglasses wearer with little problem. I wish it 
>had an integral level indicator, or a hairline cross in the middle, like the 
>excellent Contax G finder for 21mm lens. I might just as well draw a line 
>across the middle of the field to help me keep the camera level. Oh yes, an 
>aspherical element is supposedly used in the viewfinder, too. 
>
>No, I cannot report on its performance, as it has only been 4 hours since I 
>purchased it. I stuffed the camera with a roll of Ilford XP 400 super, and 
>will lug it around Tokyo tomorrow. A sunny day is expected tomorrow, so I 
>will probably have a chance to test its flare resistence, too. 
>
>Overall, it appears to fill a very special niche that has remained unfilled, 
>except by the Contax G Hologon modified to M-mount. Its reasonably 
>economical price makes it a very potent competitor in the ultrawide market. 
>Cost cutting measures such as lack of RF coupling and (very good) use of 
>high-quality plastic will probably make it hard to keep this lens in stock. 
>Note that Ricoh GR 28/2.8 and Minolta 28/3.5 are hardly best sellers, and can 
>be found on many camera shops in Tokyo. 


Paul C. Brodek
Kobe, Japan
pcb@iac.co.jp