Viewfinder for 12 and 15 Heliar is the same?

maxx9photo

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Guys,

I'm a superwide freak, eventhough I just bought another member's CV 15 and now I've been thinking to get another wide which is ultra wide CV 12 and my question is it the same viewfinder they're using? thanks!.
 
No, they're completely different. The 15mm is plastic-bodied, and the same size as the other wide-angle (21mm, 25mm) finders; the 12mm is (I exaggerate slightly here) huge, heavy, metal-bodied, and beautiful.

If you like wides, you'll love the 12mm.

(Edit: I'm talking about using these lenses on 35mm film. Not sure which finders are appropriate for the Epson)
 
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I think the 15 VF does not actually show the entire field of the 15, but more like the 25, at least that is how it seems with mine, and I thought I read or heard somewhere the finders are the same.

Since I just got a 25 Skopar, I will do a side by side comparison.

Yes, the 12mm finder is radically different from the 15 and all others.
 
The 15mm finder shows a lot more than a 21mm finder, if that means anything. I'm not sure how accurate the framing is though. The lens sits deeply into the camera body and throws the image underneath and beyond the cutout in the camera, making negatives that are larger than you get with a 35mm or longer lens. The 15 is a fun lens and I get some great shots with it.
 
I just pulled out the 25 and 15 finders and there is a difference, not as great as the 25 vs 15 angles of view might actually be, but maybe 20% or so more on the 15mm.

I have always felt the 15 finder did not truly represent the actual field of the lens, and that may dramatically increase the cost. But at least now I have had a chance to do a side by side comparison.
 
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