Iīm looking for something wide, preferably, of course, with all the Zeiss attributes IQ wise. The few 15mm I have found on the net are >1000 Euro/USD/GBP. Does this reflect the IQ, or is it the rareness that brings the price this high? Any experiences, ideas, thoughts, comments?
For something that wide, it will be expensive as not that many are manufactured. The 15/3.5 Contax was also issued in a LeicaR mount, and some say that it is the same as the Pentax 15/3.5. It is a reasonable performer.
However, that lens is not the best 15mm out there. The two top contenders IMO are the Schneider designed Leica 15/2.8-R, and the Nikkor 14~24/2.8-G
The Contax lens is not the same as the Pentax, although the two appear closely related and were initially designed and released during a period of close co-operation between the two companies (which resulted in T* and SMC coating and the design for K mount) Pentax initially chose a slightly more exotic design for the few M42 15's as well as the very first K mount versions but modified the design early in the K run as the hybrid aspherical lens element was deemed to complex to manufacture economically and they changed the design to a spherical one closer to the Zeiss design. The Zeiss design has a floating element which IIRC the Pentax lacks in either form.
The Nikkor 15/3.5 may also be related to these two designs.
the Canon 14L's get a bad rep, but they really are fantastic lenses. Very compact and easy to handle, and take amazing pictures.
The Nikon 15's aren't as good as the modern 14-24G or Canon 14L's, but they are decent for sure. Their prices have climbed just like all the other manual Nikon stuff, thanks to the D3/700/3X. Expect to pay close to or over 1000 for a good one.
If you like the Zeiss draw, then I would avoid the Leica R 3.5. It's physically the same, but Leica put their stamp on it with the coatings. It made a big difference to my eye.
I think the prices are kept high because of the scarcity. If the general internet wisdom can be trusted, the lens didn't get a huge production run. Brand loyalty probably has something to do with it, and the exotic focal length. The lens isn't mediocre, but I don't think people are paying that much for the IQ. The going rate makes the 14L, R 19/2.8 (ver. I of both), and C/Y 18/4 look like absolute bargains.
Thanks Dan for the image. As the subject is sparkling on itīs own, itīs a catching image. But I do see some optical short comings in the corners.
I guess aspherical lenses are indispensable to provide the performance of the very wides "needed" today. As I am a believer in "Buy quality and cry once", I went for the Līs: I now have the 35, 50, 85, 135 and slow 300 and 400. Of these I find no pleasure in the 35 or 85. The 21ZE crushed and thrashed the whole L-look for me, the wider the worse. Oh well, Graal would not be that exciting if they would have found it first time around... The hunt goes on!
Thanks grasmuc, great colour and, for this focal lengths, very good sharpness. They appear a bit on the blue slightly into green side in my eyes. Is this the Leica colour or a choice of yours in post processing?
eronald, I have tracked down a Contax 35 f/1.4 to contend for the 35mm cavity in my Peli case. To calm down the worst zeissitis, I took a thorough look on my 35L shots from last summer. They are actually rather impressive optically. But they lack some of the 3D the the (my?) 50L is capable of. After that it might be up to what you replace the 35L with in my hand.
@ Z250SA
Thx & you are right: The color of the Leica (Zeiss) 15f3.5 is rather off neutral. One has to adjust the magenta-green slider in ACR raw conversion quite much to achieve a color reproduction to be more similar to other lenses.
I only discovered this effect with the Leica 15f3.5, not with other leica lenses.
I assume this color shift more comes from the internal "neutral" filter (not so much from the lens coating of the Leica version of this lens which might be different of the Zeiss version) which can not be taken out.
Christoph
EXIF: That's the adapter's EXIF - always showing 50mm f2:-)
Rate: Both the Zeiss and the Leica 15f3.5 are rather expensive at the bay. The newer Schneider f2.8 version of course is better towards the corners, but this lens is extremely expensive. And both lenses extrude so fare to the back that you only can use them on a tripod with mirror up (on 5D/5D2).
To be honest: Today if I need a super wide angle, I mainly use the Contax N 17-35 because it's so convenient and very good at 17mm qualitywise ... and if I want the absolutely best result in this focal range, I use the TSE 17 which has perfect IQ across the frame (without shift already at f8) AND is totally distortion-free which speeds up the pp. And I have to say, the colors of the newer Canon designs like TSE 24, TSE 17 and 100 L Macro are very nice too.
