p.65 #2 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
jhinkey wrote:
Glad you got one you are happy with, still waiting on Stephen at Camera Quest to get back to me on the infinity focus adjustment issue.
It will be interesting to know! At this point, I think it will be somewhat barely negligible to me so I guess I can live with. What matters very highly to me is the fact that the Voigtlander BEATS all the Rokinon 14mm F2.8 lenses that I tried and returned back to the seller. Rokinon pretty much ignored my concerns about bad copies of this lens. The Voigtlander is compact, centered, and VERY SHARP!
p.65 #3 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Well, Stephen reports that the first lens I sent back for the same issue didn't show issues on the colimator or his A7:
"Your returned lens lens achieves infinity on the collimator, and on my A7. "
My response back was something like:
- Your A7 is 24MP and has an AA filter compared to my A7RII at 42.5MP and no AA filter, so you might not be able to see the difference. Did you achieve a peak sharpness that fell off slightly at the infinity stop?
and
- Did you actually measure the lens flange to focal point distance on the collimator and how did that value compare to the A7RII (A7 series) specs?
p.65 #5 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
jhinkey wrote:
Oh, and he did not answer my question regarding if the 15/4.5-III E mount can be easily adjusted for infinity focus.
That is not a good sign. I don't know him, but it seems like he should be able to say that he still has not heard or what have you. Beginning to sound like it may not be adjustable. Voigtlander as a brand is not known for its service/customer service. I have ordered a 12mm voigtlander from him and am hoping it arrives well centered and without infinity stop issues. I have avoided trying the 15mm due to the reports on this forum of issues (and I missed out on the frenzy of folks interested in Choppy II)
p.65 #6 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Luvwine wrote:
That is not a good sign. I don't know him, but it seems like he should be able to say that he still has not heard or what have you. Beginning to sound like it may not be adjustable. Voigtlander as a brand is not known for its service/customer service. I have ordered a 12mm voigtlander from him and am hoping it arrives well centered and without infinity stop issues. I have avoided trying the 15mm due to the reports on this forum of issues (and I missed out on the frenzy of folks interested in Choppy II)
I'm glad I didn't pass up this lens. It's miles ahead of Rokinon's options. It's super compact and it's much cheaper than the 12mm. It makes more sense to have the 15mm and then get a wider option down the road at 10mm... But to be honest - This lens will probably fill the super wide niche for everything I need!
p.65 #7 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Price is not the main issue to me. It is just hard to know what lens might prove the best companion to a 21mm Loxia. I got a great copy of the Loxia and am spoiled and want something as good when I need wider.
p.65 #8 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Luvwine wrote:
Price is not the main issue to me. It is just hard to know what lens might prove the best companion to a 21mm Loxia. I got a great copy of the Loxia and am spoiled and want something as good when I need wider.
Honestly - after testing this lens (from Photovillage.com) I can safely say it's tack sharp and I'm very happy with it. I think most of them coming from the newest batches as of late may very well render this thread resolved concerning the older copies of the lens. some of the reviews out there are saying that this lens is sharper than both the 10mm and 12mm!
p.65 #9 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Things are not going well with CameraQuest.
I'll skip the details.
Anyways, he now says that it will take a few weeks to get an answer to my question, though I'm not sure he knows what the question is now. I thought he had already asked my simple question of can you adjust the infinity focus on this lens, but apparently not yet.
p.65 #11 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
I haven't had great luck with Cosina Japan either, apparently the lens performs as its expected according to the manufacturer.
I sent them a comparison of the Batis 18mm, trying to replicate the same corner, to show the sharpness difference, but haven't heard back from them yet.
p.65 #12 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Don't give up on trying to get a good copy. When you do it is very much worth it as this is a very nice lens. It took me three copies but the third one was the charm.
p.65 #13 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
I just want to make clear to those hesitating on this lens due to the infinity hard stop, I don't regret getting the lens even with the infinity issue. It still resolves sharp at infinity, I just prefer it to go just a hair past infinity to make sure I will always find sharpest focus when conditions are variable. But nevertheless it is fantastic!
p.65 #14 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
JDug wrote:
I just want to make clear to those hesitating on this lens due to the infinity hard stop, I don't regret getting the lens even with the infinity issue. It still resolves sharp at infinity, I just prefer it to go just a hair past infinity to make sure I will always find sharpest focus when conditions are variable. But nevertheless it is fantastic!
Sure, but I would expect the E-mount version to be just as good as my M-mount version (if not even better) and it's not.
p.65 #15 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
OK, this is a very lame technical response to infinity adjustment on my 15/4.5-III E mount:
"According to my tech, manual focus chipped E mount lenses can not have the infinity stop adjusted beyond infinity because the camera body AF mechanism is engineered not to allow a chipped lens to focus past infinity."
So you Zeiss Loxia owners out there all have your sharpest image right at the infinity stop?
p.65 #16 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
jhinkey wrote:
OK, this is a very lame technical response to infinity adjustment on my 15/4.5-III E mount:
"According to my tech, manual focus chipped E mount lenses can not have the infinity stop adjusted beyond infinity because the camera body AF mechanism is engineered not to allow a chipped lens to focus past infinity."
So you Zeiss Loxia owners out there all have your sharpest image right at the infinity stop?
The Loxia 50 I have is pretty close, but for me it is sharpest just a hair shy of the infinity stop. As for the 21, I think mine is basically sharpest at the infinity stop. That was also true for me when I had a Zeiss ZE 21/2.8 on Canon back in the day.
I think that there is something not right in the answer you have received, but I will await others with more technical knowledge than I have (almost everyone) to chime in....
p.65 #17 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
jhinkey wrote:
OK, this is a very lame technical response to infinity adjustment on my 15/4.5-III E mount:
"According to my tech, manual focus chipped E mount lenses can not have the infinity stop adjusted beyond infinity because the camera body AF mechanism is engineered not to allow a chipped lens to focus past infinity."
So you Zeiss Loxia owners out there all have your sharpest image right at the infinity stop?
My loxia 21 seems sharpest a hair before the hardstop so I don't follow that explanation.
p.65 #18 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
I've just reported some of these findings to Stephen - we'll see what he says.
Hate to have to send such an otherwise fine lens back.
To me, my VM-mount version was just acceptable for sharpness at distance and I'd really like to not take a step back just to get a chipped version.
p.65 #19 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
I just bought this lens for the Sony A7RII and the A7s. It replaces my 17-40L and I have to say that it is absoutely amazing. Sharpness is great. The size is so small. Low CA and distortion. Great for UWA uses. Definitely recommended for A7 users.
p.65 #20 · Official: Voigtlander 15mm f/4.5 III E-mount
Just tested my Zony 16-35/4 and my Batis 25/2 on my A7II. Both lenses are capable of focusing optically beyond infinity. The focus motor will drive the lenses beyond optical infinity. The camera, in magnified view, just reports "infinity" for anything beyond optical infinity. I tested this in MF mode.
I would take the explanation about chipped E mount lenses not being able to beyond infinity with some large pinches of salt. Having the capability of going slightly beyond optical infinity can sometimes be helpful regarding mount tolerances as well as accounting for effects of very cold weather contracting metal. Floating element designs will however require good calibration of mount tolerances.
At this point, I think it will be somewhat barely negligible to me so I guess I can live with. What matters very highly to me is the fact that the Voigtlander BEATS all the Rokinon 14mm F2.8 lenses that I tried and returned back to the seller. Rokinon pretty much ignored my concerns about bad copies of this lens. The Voigtlander is compact, centered, and VERY SHARP! 