Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have just developed 17 rolls of B+W, about 1/3 of which were shot with the Heliar - my thanks to Joseph Yao for getting me mine. The lens is great - tiny, sharp, surprisingly low vignetting even wide open. The finder is superb - as bright as a Leica 28 (plastic) and bigger image size than either the 21 or 28 Leica finders. Very low distorsion and free from reflections. No bubble level (a la Hologon) nor bright line frame though. I have not yet used it in contrasty situations so cannot address how it handles flare and I have not got my first rolls of Velvia back so cannot comment on the colour quality of the optic. In Black and White it is very fine. I do need to meter with a hand meter since the M6 will not meter accurately with this lens (even though the arrows show up) and in general give another 1/2 stop to compensate for the darker corners (as I would with any superwide). Focusing is not a problem but as always it is better to have a primary plane of focus in mind - depth of field helps with the rest but what you focus on is always definitely sharper. I was surprised, alarmed even, to note that the lens is slightly askew when mounted on the Japanese LTM-M bayonet adaptor I got for this lens. The cut-off hood does not however seem to protrude into the picture area even at the 10 degree or so angle it veers from dead level. Looks a bit odd - I am going to see if the Leica adapters are the same this afternoon. When I used Nikons I had a 15mm and loved it, despite the bulk and tendency to flare: it just suited my way of seeing much better than anything between that length and the very practical 24mm. Delighted to get an old friend back! I suspect my Leica 21 will be underused from now on... Bests Adrian Adrian Bradshaw Editorial and Corporate Photography Shanghai, China