SHARP! small and light amazingly inexpensive extremely well built--it looks and feels like a top quality lens. excellent, bright viewfinder.

light falloff in the corners is certainly noticable in some shots, but I don't find this at all objectionable for a 15mm lens.

I've had this lens for two weeks now and I can honestly say I've never been so satisfied with a purchase. The lens is, in a word, stunning. I have never seen such sharp and contrasty 35mm chromes and negs coming from a lens of this price. For such a wide lens, corner sharpness is astonishing. Also, distortion is quite minimal; even along the edge of the frame, straight lines are straight. The lens is simply everything I was looking for in an ultra-wide. You really have to see it to believe it. Indeed, all the great reviews of this lens are perfectly justified. It is a jewel. Another great benefit is the size. I put the body in one pocket of my photo vest, the lens in another, and I barely know they are there--I would never be able to do this with my SLR gear.

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N/A

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This is my first experience with rangefinders. Otherwise, Nikon, Canon, and Konica SLRs.

Quality - seriously! Price - you'll find nothing like it, anywhere, for any format or any camera type and within this price range! I'd give it a 10 for value if I could. Possibilities - have you ever tried taking pictures with a 118 degree angle and no distortions?

Light fallout in the edges - up to 2 stops!

Great lens. The perfect travel lense! I was used to SLR and their bulky weight, using the Bessa L and the Super Wide Heliar opened up totally new avenues to me. The quality of this lens is outstanding - I doubt there's anything one critize. It starts with the all metal cap and ends with the outstanding optic. Of course the edges will come out a bit dark but usually a slight overexposure can compensate for this (can only speak for the Bessa L measuring). The light falloff is to be expected for a lens with this angle - but up to 2 stops is a bit heavy for my taste and it's the only reason I'm not giving this lens a 5! I find the colors a bit cool (on Kodakchrome as well as Fuji) but that's just me.

Customer Service

wasn't necessary to use.

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Sigma 15-30mm Nikon 18-35mm (no primes - sorry)

Cheap Sharp Fun Fantastic viewfinfer

None - you just have to learn to use it

Great little lens although it does take some careful handling to get good results. When used for landscapes - particularly for very flat horizons - it is tough to get a level horizon when handheld. Also I find on my M6 I tend to get slightly under-exposed shots.

Optical quality, handling, price, looks - this lens has it all. Simply superb. And small with it!

I can''t fit it to my SLRs. OK, that''s not really a weakness of the lens - I just wish I could use it more.

Wow! This lens is sharp, very low in distortion, well-made (it''s worth the money just for the look and feel of it, never mind the superlative optical performance) and incredibly cheap. It also comes with a fantastic viewfinder. I would strongly recommend anyone in the market for a really wide lens to get one of these and a Bessa L - it''ll cost miles less than the equivalent SLR lens on it''s own, and you could just about buy a Bessa R and all the Voigtlander lenses for the difference in cost between this and the Leitz 15mm - and the quality of this lens is just about up there with Leitz, some say even better. A fantastic lens at any price, completely unbeatable at this price

Customer Service

N/A

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18mm Sigma for Canon EOS

Aside from the superb optics, the mechanical finish is first rate. It''s like fine jewellry.

There are none, unless you want to consider the L39 mount a weakness-I don''t.

I''m adding my two cents only because the other reviews haven''t been sufficiently effusive. Folks, this is the lens of the century. There has never before been this level of optical nirvana in a superwide for anywhere near the price. It''s actually sharper than the (Zeiss-made) 15mm Elmar-R.

Customer Service

Not yet required.

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Leica R 15mm; Canon L 14mm

remarkably small and quite even exposure. adequate aperature. great price for such a lens. works with the TTL meter of the Leica M6

really not as sharp as the Hologone in Leica mount (the 15mm) but look at the price difference.

remarkable for this price and quite adequate for its use. Need to learn to use this lens.

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15 mm Hologon

Extremely sharp. Very well-balanced in color tone (between Zeiss and Nikon). Wonderful viewfinder.

Very little distortion and 1/2 stop fall at the corners. Weaknesses presently uncancellable for this kind of lens.

As sharp as the former champion, the Hologon (2200 USD !), but much more convenient ... and cheap. I suggest this lens has to be put on a pedestal because it solves all the problems encountered on the similar lenses. The Leica Hologon (15mm) is impossible to find for less than 10.000 USD (if you can find it). The Contax Hologon (16mm) is very stressfull to use because of its fix aperture (F8) and its special filter.The Nikon 5.6/15mm has a marvellous color tone, but is not as sharp as the Heliar and, as well as the 3.5/15mm, it is much more expensive and bulky (Reflex lenses). A special Bravo for the Cosina-Voigtlander viewfinders, definitely the brightest in this industry.

Customer Service

OK

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I tried many very wide angle lenses, and compared to the Zeiss Hologon 16mmm (Contax G2) and the Nikon 5.6/15mm, the heliar 4.5/15mm is equal or better in term of sharpness, color tone, conveniency and value for money. Definitely my favorite SW lens.

Small and cheap

Little distortion, strange cap, slow

Chance to own a great wide angle lens for small amount of money. You can see a bit of linear distortion at the edges. No too fast. Icludes viewfinder. This lens is mounted on my Bessa all the time. Great for shooting landscapes and panoramas. No rangfinder coupling but it is not a problem.

Customer Service

ok

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Leica and Voightlander User

110 degrees! good for the price, samll & light.

Slow at f4.5, screw mount, lens cap does not hold on as tightly as the 25mm (same cap for both) CANT PUT ON A FILTER TO PROTECT THE LENS!!!

Great value for the $$!!. Distortion minimal but I'm farely good when it comes to using wide angle lenses. It does not appear to be as sharp as the 25mm when I took the same photo in the same position on a tripod. But where can you find a 15mm for $360 in ANY other manufacturer??? A little slow at f4.5 but... Wish Nikon had something like this at this price.

1 cross + 3 nails = 4given

Customer Service

none but called up distributor & the person did not seem too knollegeable.

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Leica, Canon & (junk) Russian cameras & lenses.

Little distortion, affordable, nice clear viewfinder, light & compact

Has to focus through a viewfinder, no pouch for viewfinder, cannot find a filter for the lens

This has got to be the most affordable super wide angle lens I can find. The SLR equivalent is heavy and bulky and costs at least 2 to 3 times more. I know a few Leica owners even bought this lens for their M6 and this shows how good the lens is. Overall, I find the image to be sharp and quite contrasty (sharpness sort of fade slightly at the edges). For those who cannot afford the 12mm /5.6, this is the lens to buy. I would recommend it for those who like to take a lot of landscape pictures. 5 stars for value.

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Leica & Contax rangefinders as well as Canon SLR