Leica CL and Lens Test

[PFMcFarland]

In my never ending search for the right camera outfit, one thing that always stood out is the wide variety of lenses one can get in Leica M mount that you won't find in Nikon S. Or if you do, they are quite expensive. Voigtlander (Cosina) came out with a range of wide and super wide lenses that would solve the problem I have of finding scenes that I just can't back up far enough to get all in the frame using a 35mm lens.

And wouldn't you know it, a Leica CL outfit with the Summicron-C 2/40 and Elmar-C 4/90 came available at a price I could live with. So to make this a super outfit, I filled it in with three lenses from Voigtlander: Ultron 2/28, Color Skopar 4/21, and the Super Wide-Heliar 4.5/15, along with the 15-35mm Zoom Finder.

You might remember this scene I took with a 35mm lens where I had to stitch five frames together to make a proper panorama.


Railroad Artifacts by P F McFarland, on Flickr

Not anymore. Just one take with the Super Wide-Heliar, a little horizon fix in post process, and I've got the shot I wanted.

There are a few more photos from the test on Flickr at https://flic.kr/s/aHskzKzRTv with more to come later.

PF

[alexvaras]

Everything in place Phil, great series and this one the most I like.

[Bennybee]

Great shot, Phil. It has everything in it, diagonal lines leading the eye to the other shore, foreground markers, good tones and detail. Really great.
I had a Minolta CLE a couple of years ago. I was also looking for the perfect 'take along' camera (I still am and always will be...), and the Rokkor lenses were very good. The wide Voigtländer lenses were tempting too. After all I sold the camera on. Also I didn't like the on/off swith on the front : it was just too tiny and did not inspire much confidence as to its long-term reliability. And the 28mm Rokkor lens started developing a haze which did have an effect on the contrast of the pictures.

[Julio1fer]

Great shot and camera!

Ultrawides are very addictive.

[PFMcFarland]

Thanks, all. I could really get used to using this camera full time, if only I could find a decent lab.

PF

[PFMcFarland]

Additional photos added today. The Peak Creek bridge on the New River Trail State Park was the subject with the Voigtlander 28mm f2.


NRT Peak Creek Bridge_5 by P F McFarland, on Flickr

PF

[alexvaras]

Nice series Phil, the composition of this one is great, in my opinion the first steel girder defines all the photo, if you turn left your face looking at it and there is a steel road pretty cool.

[PFMcFarland]

Nice series Phil, the composition of this one is great, in my opinion the first steel girder defines all the photo, if you turn left your face looking at it and there is a steel road pretty cool.

Yeah, no Rule-of-Thirds used here. Thanks, Alex.

PF

[PFMcFarland]

Uploaded six more photos today, this being the last one (aren't you glad?). Three of the photos are a comparison between the Voigtlander lenses used in the test: Ultron 2/28, Color Skopar 4/21, and Super Wide-Heliar 4.5/15.


Iron Gate Industrial Water Tower by P F McFarland, on Flickr

Be sure to read the narrative on all the photos.

PF

[jamesmck]

Very nice series, Phil. "Peak Creek bridge" and "Iron Gate Industrial Water Tower" are my favorites.