15mm vs 21mm Voigtlander lens

Both lenses are too wide for landscape, or at least for 99% of those you'll ever shoot...

What focal lengths do you own already?

For landscape it's better combining two: a normal wide (say 28) and a short tele (say 50-75)...

For wide fun, and for playing with space relationships between foreground and background, the 15 is better than the 21. And for interiors, or when there's no way to step back, the winner is the 15 too...

Cheers,

Juan
 
only the 15 does what it does: the field of view is pretty much the same as one eye's. it takes more time to get used to it and to get better shots using it, but when you do it's rewarding and it can deliver fantastic scenes. the 21 gives you more room for framing, and has less distortion and vignette.

personally, i think that using an external vf is a bit annoying, so if i'm gonna use one it better be for a good reason. the 15mm is so wide that to me it pays off the annoyance of the external vf, and in certain situations it will allow you to get the shot you want. i used to have a 15 (loved it), then a 12 (too wide on 35mm, but i used it mostly on an r-d1) and now a 21/2.8. the 21 is wide enough for the vast majority of situations, and i like the extra stop, allows me to shoot in low light and have some subject isolation.

between the 15/4.5 and the 21/4, i'd go for the 15. if it's too wide, you can always get a little closer or crop.
 
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rxmd said:
It may sit minimally diagonally, depending on where the thread exit sits. This problem can arise with LTM cameras in general, not just FEDs - it's one of the advantages of the M bayonet that there is a well-defined rotational orientation.

In practice, it's unlikely to be a problem. On all Soviet LTM cameras that I own, the offset is less than a millimeters off the center mark.
If it sat 30° off or something, the built-in "hood" would intrude into the frame, but I haven't yet seen a camera where that happens (it would happen with any lens on such a camera).
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That means I can mount the CV 15mm on my FED 2 and just don't care if it's not aligned properly? Do you know if I can encounter issues with focusing?

Many thanks for your reply,
G
 
giangio said:
Does the CV 15mm mount properly on your FED 2? I really like the lens but I read about some problems mounting it on the FED 2.
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Yes it does , remember the 15 mm Heliar lens mount can be altered to suit various off-sets. There is a thread somewhere which shows this.
 
I'm evaluating as well both lenses, 21 for close people action / landscape shots, 15 for interior architectural shots - it's said to be an excellent lens. What's your experience (and some pics, please, if you have them)?
 
I owned the 15mm years ago and found it challenging to use well. It *is* fun, but fun doesn't necessarily mean great photos. 21mm is wide enough for me, in fact I think 24-25mm is probably better for my uses.
 
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