ZEISS HOLOGON
Zeiss Hologon 15mm f/8 on
Leica M4-P
Modern lens design
techniques have presented us with a relatively large number of super wide angle
lenses of 15, 13 and even 12mm focal length.
All of them are very complicated, multi element designs in order to avoid
visible distortion and lack of sharpness due to under corrected optical
aberrations. These lenses have become
actually quite common, and few photographers even remember the super wide lens
which started it all.
For many years, 21 and
20mm lenses were the maximum 35mm photography had to offer. Anything with a wider angle of coverage had
to be of a fish eye design with all the draw backs of pronounced barrel
distortion. All of this was changed with
the introduction of the Zeiss Hologon 15mm f/8 in the early 1970s. This was unusual in many respects. Not only was the Hologon the first lens to
achieve the unheard of angle of coverage of 110° without the usual fish eye
effect, it was also the first post-war marriage between Leica cameras and Zeiss
lenses.
Cross section of the three
lens elements and the lens position inside the Zeizz Hologon camera body
Note the extreme proximity
of the rear lens element to the film plane
The Hologon was initially
developed for the Zeiss Hologon camera, which was part of the Zeiss Contarex
system. At the time it was thought
impractical to offer the Hologon as an interchangeable lens, even with mirror
lock up in the reflex Contarex. Instead,
Zeiss opted for a separate camera body, based on the Contarex with the mirror box
removed and with the lens permanently installed. It was their claim that extremely precise
registration and centering was necessary for the lens to perform
satisfactorily.
The Leica M cameras also
met these criteria and the lens was made available in the Leica M mount
also. It was sold with a special 15mm
viewfinder included. The 15mm Hologon
with its undistorted 110° diagonal angle of view is probably one of the most
interesting lens designs ever.
Conventional lens design theories would indicate that a lens with such
specifications would have to be of a multi-element design. Computer aided research of wide angle lenses
for aerial photography was conducted.
The normal concept of using many thin elements in wide angle lenses was
actually revealed as unnecessary. In
fact, only three thick elements proved necessary to assure good performance of
the lens. Subsequently, the Hologon is
of a triplet design, although bizarrely shaped.
Thus we have an example of an optical design which would not have been
created by using conventional methods.
Furthermore, it is safe to say that manual computations for this design
would have literally taken years to complete.
Construction of the lens
made the installation of a diaphragm virtually impossible without compromising
overall performance. It was also
impossible to offer a speed faster than f/8 for the same reasons, even though some
of the modern optical glasses available today might offer the possibility to
increase the speed of the Hologon.
It was felt that the
restriction of a fixed aperture of f/8 would not pose any great
disadvantage. Besides, a graduated
neutral density filter, offering perfectly even illumination across the entire
image area, would effectively render a speed equivalent of f/16. This could also be used in situations where
the standard f/8 aperture would lead to overexposure.
Since the Hologon lens
renders virtually distortion free images, the camera should be used perfectly
level, to avoid excessively converging lines on verticals. For that reason the 15mm viewfinder had a
built-in spirit level, which helped the photographer keep the camera level,
especially when shooting hand held.
The ability of an
extremely wide angle lens to render virtually distortion free images allow the
photographer to shoot many photographs where it is impossible to tell that an
extremely wide angle lens was used. But
this is only one of the advantages of such a lens. The other is that it produces photographs
with a rather different perspective. It
is important to pay special attention to the foreground since the extreme angle
of coverage will show a considerable amount of foreground when the camera is
held level, even when used horizontally.
It is also important to hold a camera with such a lens very
carefully. It is quite easy for the lens
to pick up ones knuckles.
The Hologon was designed
to render optimum performance at f/8 across the entire image area. Due to the optical glasses available at the
time of its design, the lens did not quite show the high contrast level
typically associated with the high quality optics from Zeiss. In practical terms, this will result in perfectly
sharp enlargement up to 8x10 inches.
Bigger enlargements might show a certain lack of crispness when
inspected very closely. Projection of
transparencies, on the other hand, will show no adverse effects, because the
projected images usually are not inspected very close up. The same is true with big enlargements when
viewed from a more “normal” viewing distance.
The Hologon allowed
focusing from 8 inches to infinity.
Considering the great depth of field rendered by such a short focal
length, one might initially think focusing to be superfluous. But it was proven that the overall
performance of the Hologon could be improved if the lens was focused properly.
Minneapolis IDS Center
15mm Hologon
15mm field of view
Please note: The 15mm
field of view images in this article are not separately taken photographs, they
were cropped form the original Hologon negatives to present the view of a 50mm
lens in conjunction with full frame camera
Newer, more sophisticated
lens designs have improved the speed of super wide angle lenses and even allow
for reflex viewing. Subsequently, the
Hologon has long been discontinued. But
it deserves credit for having been the first of the super wides, and its
unusual design will always give it a special place in the history of lenses for
35mm cameras. Those who own a Hologon
can consider themselves lucky indeed.
Minneapolis Lumber
Exchange Building
15mm Hologon
50mm field of view
Minneapolis IDS Center
Crystal Court
15mm Hologon
50mm field of view
Minneapolis Lumber
Exchange Building
15mm Hologon
50mm field of view
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I wonder if this lens would work on the current Leica digital cameras?
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good question. I have never seen any images from this lens on a digital camera. For one thing, it is doubtful that the micro lens would be able to eliminate any vignetting toward the edges and corners of the image. I am reasonable certain that the graduated filter might be a necessity. But considering the extreme proximity of the rear element to the focal plane, the relative thickness of the sensor might not leave enough room to mount the lens in the first place.
DeleteI find it incredible that a lens with this wide an angle of coverage could be made virtually without distortion with just three elements.
ReplyDeleteThe people at Zeiss do know what they are doing, obviously.
DeleteNot that it matters, but I am curious, what Leica M camera did you use the lens on?
ReplyDeleteNo Leica M, I used a Zeiss Hologon camera for these shots.
DeleteShouldn't that have been mentioned in the article? After all, this is a LEICA blog.
DeleteWhat other manufacturers did apply the same tolerances?
DeleteTo my knowledge, the only other cameras that were made to the same tight tolerances as Leitz/Leica and Zeiss were the Alpa cameras made in Switzerland.
Delete