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Voigtlander 15mm or A12 28mm?

itsKalan

New Member
Hi all,
I upgraded from the GRIII to the GXR w/ M Mount a few months ago. I recently sold my GRIII to a friend who was in need a point in shoot. This leaves me with my GXR and a Carl Zeiss 35mm (52mm equivalent) and now I'm ready to fill in the wide angle void. The only problem is, I can't decide whether to purchase the A12 28mm module or buy a Voigtlander 15 (or maybe even 21mm) lens. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

(below are a few photos taken with my Ricoh GRIII, some with the wide angle attachement, to give you an idea of what type of photography I'm into)

0021859-edit.jpg
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austinxdasrascist-79-edit.jpg

austinxdasrascist-23-edit.jpg

daytona-2-edit.jpg
 
Hi @ItsKalan,

welcome here on board!

For this type of photography (available light, concerts etc.) I would recommend the 28mm module despite it's short length, but better low light capabilities.
With the wider 12, 15 and 21mm VC lenses you start at f4 which is too slow for dim light shots.
To get faster lenses you have to buy Leica's Summiluxes in 21 or 24mm - at very high prices......

Outdoor shooting is ok when you accept a bigger DOF due to the APS-C sensor and the slower f-stops.
The 28mm module is of phantastic quality and.......autofocus....... :roll:

Here a crop-shot with the 28mm module:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N ... hotostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36573929@N ... otostream/

The AF-speed is ok, not so fast compare to a Oly E-P3 and Nikon V1 but it's possible to work around and accept it.
 
Hi itsKalan and welcome here! Nice intro. Are you on Flickr or somewhere else, wehere we can see more of your work?

As for your second question, yes, the A12 28mm accepts filters (with somewhat uncommon 40.5mm thread). Since you are accustomed to manual focus, somewhat slower (but not particularly slow) A12 28 AF should not be a problem for you. And there is always a hope Ricoh will introduce new GXR body with external AF sensor, which would speed up the AF of all existing GXR modules ;)

Enjoy the forum!
 
@odklizec I do have a blog that contains mixture of my daily life snapshots and some of my more serious work. Hope you like it!

itskalan.com

And I'll keep my fingers crossed for that new body and perhaps a built in VF.
 
Hey! It seems your life is one big party and nice looking models willing to stay in front of your lens? ;) There are some great party shots. Especially those made with the M mount have a pretty distinctive look and colors. Well done!
 
Looking at how you see and work, I think the 28 would be the smart move. Using snap or AF will secure the "Moment" seen in your stuff. The lens is very nice and fast enough in both speed and AF.

It's nice to use the M module and it's a nice novelty for many, not all but the percentage of keepers cant be matched compared to the 28 & 50.
Just my opinion....don
 
@odklizec haha thanks! Well I try to live to keep myself entertained.

You've all convinced me on the A12 28mm. I'll be buying it first thing next month :)
 
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