16mm Hologon

[mrisney]

I have an opportunity to pick one of these up. Seems kind of limited at fixed f/8. I do like SW lenses. I actually use my Panasonic 7-14mm and really like that on my M/43 GH1. Would you pass on this lens at the $1K price point ? Would be interested in experiences, or images - I may add it to my lens collection for the G2, BTW love the 21mm.

Also if you had in converted for your M. Either way curious about this lens.

 

[sevo]

$1k for a clean and complete one would mean you can sell it on at a profit - and probably will eventually do, it really is a rather one-purpose lens, surpassed in most practical aspects by newer lenses. Once the novelty aspect settled, most that ever bought one for use turned towards a more practical or wider lens.

But inspect it carefully before purchase! As they tend to get traded among collectors rather than users, almost all on the market are like-new-in-box, and state is very critical - even minor wear will reduce the value significantly, a missing finder or filter will zap it for good!

 

[KHW]

1k in full set is tooooo cheap. I would like to get it as well. 16/8 is the cheapest Hologon!

I used to have one set and sold with small profit. And the other set will likely to make more profit in the coming days if I willing to sell it. Do remember to get everything, i.e. outer paper box, leather box, lens with both caps, ND filter, viewfinder and the paperwork. If possible, even the paper support for the lens when one bought it as new.

I used the one I sold some time ago. It is a very special lens and the impression is complete different from other wide angle lens.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Those who have tried both -- I haven't -- reckon that the 15/4.5 CV is actually a better lens. So a lot depends on whether you want to shoot with it, treat it as a curio, add it to a collection or sell it at a profit.

Cheers,

R.

 

[sepiareverb]

I'm a fan of the 16/8, which I find renders excellent detail well out to the corners.

 

[mrisney]

Those who have tried both -- I haven't -- reckon that the 15/4.5 CV is actually a better lens. So a lot depends on whether you want to shoot with it, treat it as a curio, add it to a collection or sell it at a profit.

Cheers,

R.

The price I can get it at, seems great. But yes a CV 15mm would be even less. I like super wides, I actually got into the G2, because of the relatively affordable 21mm. The images look good, with little distortion. Whats the focusing like ?

 

[Ted2001]

I love the lens on my G2. One of the reasons I bought the G2 over the M6. Coupled with the 21/2.8, they were among the best ultra-wide angle lenses ever made. (If you're interested, they're both part of the Ultimate G2 Kit I'm selling in classified ads.)

 

[kbg32]

This is an awesome lens. I have one for my G2 and love it. Contrast and sharpness are superb. I think it is a better lens then the 15 CV.

 

[sepiareverb]

Just be sure to keep your fingers out of the way!

 

[mrisney]

Sepiaverb, I am not the first to tell you this, but your images are excellent. How much do you use a Contax G for your portfolio ? I am very pleased with my Mamiya 6 RF, and was just about to leave 35mm behind, but thought that I would give the Contax G2 a go, before I did. It has a unique look, I almost regret selling my Leica M4-P and not getting the 15mm or the 12.5MM Voigtlander, but as a system, I felt the new Mamiya 6 gave me evreything I needed in a RF camera. I am not a gear junkie, I try to keep no more than 3 cameras at any one time, and tend to use one for weeks, or months. However, I am very into super wides at the moment, and was even considering the XPan, or Fuji 6x17 Pano's - to big. However, the G2 is discreet, I can tuck it in my fleece jacket and shoot without bringing attention myself. Something the Mamiya 6 doesn't allow. But overall it's about image quality. I really like what you have on your site. Any anecdotes or tips to pass on. You certainly have influenced me to go forward with the 16mm Hologon.

 

[sepiareverb]

Thank you mrisney.

I use the G2 with the 21 & 16mm lenses a fair bit, I tend to run lenses as you run cameras- for a few weeks I'll be all over the 16, then it swings back to the 50 and 75. That said, my main lens is the 28/2.0 ASPH. The images on the site are mostly Leica glass, but a fair bit with the G21, and 16. Mostly woods things- where I love to shoot the very wides. I think the film images stand apart from the M8 files by look.

The XPAN is a very difficult frame for me to get into- and as a result my XPAN is often on loan to a friend who makes much better use of it than I ever do, though I'm coming up with some ideas to try with it this spring.

The G2 is certainly small and discreet with the 16, but the other lenses are rather loud when focussing, and with hoods they begin to get a bit big. No bigger than their Leica counterparts except for the 35, which I never liked and no longer own. The 16 is incredibly wide; I shot a fisheye 16 AF Nikkor years back, and had nearly as much trouble keeping my feet out of the frame as I do keeping my fingers out of the frame with the Hologon- especially in the winter with gloves on. I never use the center filter on the 16, with the storefront image above there seems to be more of a falloff in contrast than density. In color the density falloff does seem more apparent, but the center filter in the woods rules out handheld work- I'm shooting at a 15th sometimes without it at f8. One of the things I really like about RF cameras is how much slower I can handhold them- I occasionally get away with an 8th if I can brace myself.

I've printed a few of the Hologon negs at 16x20 and had fine results- the 21 Biogon as well. These two lenses leave nothing to be desired in my book.

 

[Debusti Paolo]

hi I hva the biogon 21mm and I also have a super wide heliar 15/4,5 modified lens for my g2 and i have to say that it performs VERY WELL:::::::::::

 

[mrisney]

hi I hva the biogon 21mm and I also have a super wide heliar 15/4,5 modified lens for my g2 and i have to say that it performs VERY WELL:::::::::::

Very cool, does it do autofocus ? Could I see a picture of the Heliar with a G Mount ? Who does the conversion. Interesting, I wonder if I could get a 12mm.

 

[Ronald M]

As you can see from the samples, there is significant vignetting. There was a supplied center filter that makes this a F16 lens.

I just use my CV 15.

 

[nonot]

I keep seeing them around 1500-2400 and I can't justify it, but at 1k I'd personally jump on it. I don't collect camera gear, nor am I a prospector for reselling either, so that price seems awesome even if it's a bit "used"...which it should be. The thought of a great lens sitting in someone's curio as Roger put it makes me a bit sad.

Buy it, if you don't like it you're welcome to contact me!

 

[Debusti Paolo]

no autofocus and you really doesn't need it!minimun focusing distance 30cm,conversion made by ZOERK and I think there was also a 12mm lens.unfourtunately I do not have a scanner but photo are amazing...

 

[ZeissFan]

I think of the Hologon as a specialist lens. Not something that you would use often, especially with the fixed f/8 aperture.

I have this as the 15mm version of the old Contarex Hologon Ultrawide. One of the nice things about this lens is that geometric distortion is very well controlled. But you have to be careful about the horizontal and vertical planes -- perspective distortion is easy to induce.

With the Contarex version, you only need the centre-spot filter for transparency film. For color print and black and white, it's not necessary, according to the manual. In my own experience, that seems to be roughly true, although I did have some vignetting in certain situations.

And the Contarex version has no ability to focus. Depth of field is 19 1/2 inches (0.5 meters) to infinity. Really, just point and shoot. Exposure is controlled by changing the shutter speed.

 

[mrisney]

It seems as if there is quite a bit of anecdotal history around Hologon lenses in general, It appears to be a cult lens the more research I have done. I bought the lenes BTW, and am awaiting delivery, in the meantime, I have read some about the legacy of the Hologon design. There was a large format 110 Holgon for 8x10, the Zeiss Holgon superwide rangefinder. Interesting, I didn't realize that the G2 model., is just one descendant of a long line of superwides under the Hologon design. Sounds like a very cool lens.