Leica LTM 15mm Heliar on a IIIa

[colyn]

I can't imagine a parallax error as ever being a major consideration with a 15mm lens. Some people use this lens without even a finder.

Using another finder such as 50, 90, etc will give false parallax if the shoe is raised.

 

[cosmonaut]

Using another finder such as 50, 90, etc will give false parallax if the shoe is raised.

I have seen someone on here using the 21mm finder. I wonder if they have the same issue with the shutter dial? I'll shoot a test roll and see how the shim works. If it is off bad I may have it sent in for a CLA and see if the dial can be lowered. I'll post the results in a few days.

 

[MRohlfing]

2) The finder, I understand, (I may be wrong on this, but this is the info I have) is simply a 25mm finder relabeled as a "15mm".

No, that is not true. I have both the 25mm and the 15mm finder. The field of view of the 15mm is a lot wider.

 

[cosmonaut]

Well I shot my test roll and I think I can live with the shim. Still a booger to see the shutter speed when the finder is mounted. I wound up just setting the speed to 1/500th and adjusted aperature.

 

[willwright]

I would really like to start using my 15mm Heliar on my IIIa. Any tips on keeping the finder from getting in the way of the shutter dail. I thought about mounting a flash adaptor in the shoe. Would the finder still be accurate if I do this? It would set a good 3/8 inch higher on top of the camera. Or should I just set exposure with the aperature dial?

Yes, the Cosina finders prevent the shutter speed dial to be changed on the early III's (III, IIIa, and IIIb) I gently filed the plastic on the bottom of the finder till I got the clearance I needed. I used a paper nail file as it was the most available. It worked. Both my 15mm and 25mm finders work fine on the old cameras.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Interesting. I bought the 15 simply because I was tickled that an ultra-wide was available at such a comparatively reasonable price. Up until that point, my widest lens had been a 20mm Nikkor SLR lens, and while I had taken a few keepers with it, I don't really see the world in "wide" terms. Imagine my surprise when I found that the 15mm is almost always in my bag. I don't even use the finder when I have it mounted on the M8. I use it so much more than I thought I was going to, that I ultimately sprang for the 12mm as well, when one came up for sale by an RFF member. When you think that the 16mm Hologon was really the only competition for this lens 10 years ago, it is quite something. I think that the combination of a III-series SM Leica and this lens is just brilliant -- a sixty year old body with a modern lens that was undreamt-of just a decade ago. We live in amazing times.

Ben Marks

 

[cosmonaut]

Yes, the Cosina finders prevent the shutter speed dial to be changed on the early III's (III, IIIa, and IIIb) I gently filed the plastic on the bottom of the finder till I got the clearance I needed. I used a paper nail file as it was the most available. It worked. Both my 15mm and 25mm finders work fine on the old cameras.

I thought about filing the finder but feared hurting the resale value. But the shim seems to work.

 

[cosmonaut]

Interesting. I bought the 15 simply because I was tickled that an ultra-wide was available at such a comparatively reasonable price. Up until that point, my widest lens had been a 20mm Nikkor SLR lens, and while I had taken a few keepers with it, I don't really see the world in "wide" terms. Imagine my surprise when I found that the 15mm is almost always in my bag. I don't even use the finder when I have it mounted on the M8. I use it so much more than I thought I was going to, that I ultimately sprang for the 12mm as well, when one came up for sale by an RFF member. When you think that the 16mm Hologon was really the only competition for this lens 10 years ago, it is quite something. I think that the combination of a III-series SM Leica and this lens is just brilliant -- a sixty year old body with a modern lens that was undreamt-of just a decade ago. We live in amazing times.

Ben Marks

I agree. I bought the 15mm for fun but use it more and more. On a recent trip to Atlanta I used it three to one over any other lens I have. All I need now to have a well rounded collection is a 28mm.