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Voightlander 10, 12 or 15?

danlindberg

Well-known member
If you forget about the obvious differences in focal length, does anybody know if they are equal in 'pure' optical performance or if one of them stands out? I am most interested to know if one of them is sharp in corners at optimium aperture?

I find that most shortcomings are correctable in post but the one thing I do not like is sharpening a soft lens.
 
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Vivek

Guest
K-H has posted about the weird, bent starburst from the 10mm. It is not correctable at all.

If you forget about the obvious differences in focal length, does anybody know if they are equal in 'pure' optical performance or if one of them stands out? I am most interested to know if one of them is sharp in corners at optimium aperture?

I find that most shortcomings are correctable in post but the one thing I do not like is sharpening a soft lens.
 

ggibson

Well-known member
Never heard of anything out of the ordinary about the 10mm's starburst. I looked up a bunch of examples on flickr and didn't see anything weird. Do you have a link?

Otherwise, from my research on these, they are all pretty close (and good performers) optically. The only caveat to all that is that the 15mm at least has reports of some issues with quality control in corner performance. So if you buy that one (or maybe any) make sure you can exchange it and get a copy you're satisfied with.

Also, this comparison might be helpful:

http://mirrorlesscomparison.com/e-mount-lenses/voigtlander-10mm-vs-12mm-vs-15mm/
 

seb

Member
I own only the 12/5.6 Heliar. What I read about:
- 15 has quality issues. If you get a great copy it's still very close to the 16-35/4 which is stellar at 16mm.
- 12 has a lot of fans (including me). It's small, has a good handling and nice rendering without any quality issues.
- 10 is as wide as you can get at the moment. If you don't need it, stay with the 12 because it it has a slightly better IQ.
 

danlindberg

Well-known member
Thank you all for valuable info and links. :thumbup:

@ SEB
Do you by any chance have a levelled interiorshot with focus distance around 2-4 metres and f8? I would use this in cramped spaces, like a walk-in closet.
 

seb

Member
You'll find some pics with this lens on my flickr account. All distances are estimated. Normally I level all of my shots (with incamera level and perspective lines). None was shot with a tripod though. I'm hardly doing perspective changes in postprocessing.
According to the apperture. I'm not aware of any differences between f5.6 and f11. This is one of the things the lens makes so strong in my oppinion.

f5.6 at 1-2m distance:


f9 at 2-20m distance:


f10 at close to infinity


f6.3 at close to infinity (panorama of 10(?) pictures, full res (but also heavily processed) on flickr):


f5.6 at 2-3m distance:


f5.6 at 3m distance (cropped):

Thank you all for valuable info and links. :thumbup:

@ SEB
Do you by any chance have a levelled interiorshot with focus distance around 2-4 metres and f8? I would use this in cramped spaces, like a walk-in closet.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I assume you are using this in M mount on a Sony FF camera? Lens Rentals did a review of various W/A lenses on FF Sony and found the only one from Voightlander they'd recommend was the newer 15/4.5-III. Based on the report, I bought it for 2 paid shoots featuring wide scenes or very cramped spaces. Worked great, client loved the shots.
 

ggibson

Well-known member
Ah, from looking at that link and some fred miranda discussions it didn't seem necessarily caused by the 10mm lens particularly, more of an effect that can occur when the sunstar is in a very far corner/edge of the frame. There were some examples from the 12mm and even 16-35mm (though who knows what lens corrections were or were not applied). The 10mm is so wide that it is more obvious, I guess?
 
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Vivek

Guest
The fact remains that these distortions are uncorrectable beside being "over the top" from the 10mm lens.
 

ggibson

Well-known member
I guess my point is that it's not really a knock on the lens itself if it's something every lens will do.

Anyways, I find the sunstars on these CV's to be one of the selling points. Very nice.
 

k-hawinkler

Well-known member
All 3 Voightlander 10, 12 or 15mm lenses are affected by the curved sunrays, the 10mm the most, the 15mm the least, almost not noticeable.
One thing to pay attention to for the 15mm lens is smeared corners.
A good copy doesn't smear corners. To get a good copy may take several tries. :facesmack:
 
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