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Zeiss ZM 15/2.8 : any users?

Thomas73

Member
Hi all,

Do some of you use that lens (with a M9, MM or M-240)?

What is your experience with that lens ? How does it compete with the Leica WATE ?

Thanks for your feedback.
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
This lens is not a good fit for any of the M bodies because of the extreme ray angle . Performance is severely effected on the edges ...defeating the purpose of such a wide field of view. In addition you will get the “flag” effect or magenta cast on the right edge of your images .

The lens does not include range finder cams to allow RF focusing ...so you are limited to zone focus (M9,MM) or EVF (M240).

The WATE is a good choice (although expensive by comparison) and the 18/3.8 M lens is a superb alternative ...if you can live with an 18mm FOV.

Diglloyd has a test of the 15/2.8ZM on the M bodies .
 

msadat

Member
i have this lens, got it a while back, worked ok on MM, will try it on the m240 this weekend and will post some shots

Hi all,

Do some of you use that lens (with a M9, MM or M-240)?

What is your experience with that lens ? How does it compete with the Leica WATE ?

Thanks for your feedback.
 

silver92b

New member
I just ordered a CV 15f4.5 and I hope it works well with the M240... I know that the magenta fringes are a problem with the CV 25.4.5 and with other wide angle lenses as well. Not a problem with B&W, but with color it's a different story. Maybe using the lens code profile for some equivalent Leica lens might do the trick..... The lack of RF coupling should not matter with such lenses though... The depth of field with these lenses is pretty much infinite when stopped down.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
There is a Cosina 15/4.5 Mk III coming out soon, in case you have not heard, that is supposed to take care of the ills of the earlier versions.
 

silver92b

New member
There is a Cosina 15/4.5 Mk III coming out soon, in case you have not heard, that is supposed to take care of the ills of the earlier versions.
I've heard, but I decided to just buy the existing one. For B&W it should work well. When the new one arrives I might sell mine and purchase the newest one ;)
 

Woody Campbell

Workshop Member
I've had a copy of the ZM 15mm f2.8 for about a year. It's fabulous on my MM. I'll post a few examples when I get a chance. Be prepared for the fact that it's big and heavy. If size and weight are a factor consider the lovely 18mm Super-Elmar.

The ZM is better corner to corner than the WATE and unless I'm mistaken it has a bit more contrast (your take as to whether this is a plus or a minus). The ZM is also a stop faster, and a good bit wider. I've owned the WATE but sold it - good imaging but short on charisma.

I use the Voigtlander 15mm finder with the 15mm ZM. The ZM lens is easy to zone focus - there is a repeat focusing index and 1 m and 2m marks out on the barrel of the lens so that you can see through the 15mm finder. The 2m mark is hyper focused at f5.6 (to the MM's resolution), and 1m is hyper focused at f11 (ditto). I use hyper focus settings with two stops of headroom over what is marked on the lens.

I use the thumbs up with two accessory shoes so I can mount a level as well as the 15mm finder. A level is essential with a lens this wide. If you have only the shoe on the camera use a level and frame by eye, assuming that you get everything in front of the camera.

A sem-final note - I often find myself leveling in portrait orientation and cropping to square to avoid too much foreground.

I had been watching for years for a used Leica R f2.8 15mm, which can be mounted on an M body with an adapter, which is one of the mostly highly rated rectilinear super wides ever. They are now occasionally available on e-bay but are typically very expensive at $8k plus. I bought the ZM after reading an Irwin Puts article saying that the ZM 15mm outperforms the Leica R 15mm.
 
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rich_

Member
I have a VC 15mm 4.5 Mk2. As written its fine in black and white but I find it unusable with colour. The magenta cast was less so on my M9. I hope the 3rd version is an improvement on my M240.
I have never tried the Zeiss. Sounds great if it doesn't mess with the colours, but I wouldn't care for the larger size for the 2.8 aperture due to the ISO on the M240 being more than enough for me.
 
Woody, your links are not working. And it's nice to know how the ZM 15 would perform on a native platform. I believe the MM is as close as it would be to a film camera in term of lens performance. I love mine a lot in term of handling. Unfortunately, I'm shooting it on an A7s, so its sheer performance is not fully realized. Even so, I include a few favorite shots I have taken with this lens:







 

msadat

Member
are u working the purple fringing using one of the in camera setting, if so what lens, the best i found for the zeiss was the 21/2.8 1134. there are also two plugins from adobe that do the job just fine.

A couple of examples of the ZM 15mm f2.8.



And another.

 
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