p.43 #1 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Yeah...I can live with what I get with these 2 filters stacked, all the waterfall shots I posted had these 2 filters stacked. If at some point it bothers me, I'll send it out to have the petals removed. Once I put 67mm filters on it, then it will get big in the bag (like my Batis 25).
GMPhotography wrote:
Tim why I made Choppy. Going out to 67mm just eliminates any issue .
I'm pretty sure I'll do Choppy II already got the step up and extra filter ring today . I want to test it first though before I attack with Dremel
p.43 #2 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
So someone who has a good FE mount version posted a portion of his serial number on DPReview, and it's close to mine. The guy who asked, who has a "bad" one, has a serial number that was quite a ways off from our two.
Good
0862006X
0862021X
Bad
0892039X
While the above is anecdotal, anyone else with a good FE copy? It would be interesting to see where it falls relative to the others.
p.43 #7 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Frankly, my guess is they don't really test the lens at 15mm once it's produced. Perhaps for two reasons...they don't have the equipment to test a ultra wide and/or the lens does not have real optical adjustments. They try to be careful during production but nothing is 100% perfect and it shows in a ultra wide angle. -- Especially when we are looking for problems at the very edge at 1:1.
So, they assemble the lens element by element separated by a ring spacer and once it's completed they test for obvious defects a longer focal lengths and send them for shipping. Some will have perfectly aligned elements and some won't. I don't think this is a batch issue. It's just how the lens is produced.
The reason I think it's random is because I've seen this over a long period of time and it's not only affecting the E-mount. So, for those who really love this lens, you have to try until you get a good one. It could take 10+ copies or just 1. Just odds.
p.43 #8 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
The only reason I had mentioned it was the closeness of my copy to another good copy. Given this spans M and E mount, what you say makes perfect sense.
p.43 #9 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
tsdevine wrote:
The only reason I had mentioned it was the closeness of my copy to another good copy. Given this spans M and E mount, what you say makes perfect sense.
Tim, you copy looks as good as mine. Best at f/5.6-f/8 and noticeably worse at f/11.
p.43 #13 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Actually like choppy better here. My tests on Freds copy has slipped till Monday. My newest grandson was born yesterday morning. So been busy with all that. Everyone is doing great 9lbs 12 ounces. L'il truck.
Hope to run it Monday morning. I also need to test a older model Hawk adapter and I got a Fotodiox stretch by accident. I actually cancelled the order but came anyway. So want to try them on my VC 35 1.7. Might keep both as I would not mind having a VC 75 or whatever else is out there to leave the GM 85 home on travel stuff. The only other lens outside a 28mm is maybe the Batis 18 for more reportage work but the price tag is holding me back. Would like to have a AF lens that wide for pR work and compliment the GM 24-70.
p.43 #15 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Honestly I think where the VC 15 shines is in the mid range. If you look back in this thread on the Big Bronco wall test , Choppy even wide open is amazing in the corners. Im totally comfortable shooting it at 5.6.
p.43 #17 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Choppy seems to have higher contrast--more Zeiss like than I would have expected from CV. Too bad there is not more detail in the upper left and right corners as I sometimes wonder about field curvature/depth of field and plane of focus when comparing near ground corners. Still, it does look like there is likely a bit more detail (not just contrast) in the extreme corners on choppy. Would like to see something like this comparison at infinity. The tests on the kolari mod do indicate a slight improvement in corner sharpness over a stock A7r2, so does not surprise me to see choppy win in the extreme corner especially given that it is a prime lens.
p.43 #18 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Luvwine wrote:
Choppy seems to have higher contrast--more Zeiss like than I would have expected from CV. Too bad there is not more detail in the upper left and right corners as I sometimes wonder about field curvature/depth of field and plane of focus when comparing near ground corners. Still, it does look like there is likely a bit more detail (not just contrast) in the extreme corners on choppy. Would like to see something like this comparison at infinity. The tests on the kolari mod do indicate a slight improvement in corner sharpness over a stock A7r2, so does not surprise me to see choppy win in the extreme corner especially given that it is a prime lens....Show more →
Thanks Luvwine. As far as I can tell at this moment, Choppy has the following advantages over my WATE:
* Higher contrast, micro- contrast across the entire image, sharper detail.
* Quite useable corners, (even at f/4.5) and particularly at f/5.6. WATE best be used at f/8.
* Significantly smaller geometrical distortion than the large mustache distortion of the WATE at 16-21mm.
* A factor of 6x lower new purchase price.
If others can add to this list, please be my guest, including advantages of the WATE.
p.43 #19 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
k-h.a.w wrote:
Thanks Luvwine. As far as I can tell at this moment, Choppy has the following advantages over my WATE:
* Higher contrast, micro- contrast across the entire image, sharper detail.
* Quite useable corners, (even at f/4.5) and particularly at f/5.6. WATE best be used at f/8.
* Significantly smaller geometrical distortion than the large mustache distortion of the WATE at 16-21mm.
* A factor of 6x lower new purchase price.
If others can add to this list, please be my guest, including advantages of the WATE.
Thanks again, K-H.
Hi K-H,
Of course the WATE offers 3 focal lengths and everything in between. The WATE offers the Leica look while the CV 15III may show more the Zeiss look.
By the way for the WATE have you tested the lens on a Kolari Modified A7 series camera to see if the corners will hold up at f5.6?
Also, have you used the LR adjustments for the WATE profiles for the different focal lenghts to see if there is an improvement in the moustache distortion at different focal lengths? I have never used my for architectural subject matter at this point, only for nature.
