Voigtländer Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 II

The Voigtländer Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 II is a M-mount lens for Leica rangefinder cameras. Leica price index ↗

Reference maintained by Thomas Boots

Focal Length: 15mm

Aperture: 𝑓/4.5

Release Year (from): 2009

Diameter: 59 mm

Length: 38 mm

Minimum Focus Distance: 0.5m

Elements in Groups: 8/6

Aperture Blades: 10

Mount: M

Rangefinder Blockage: true

Material Weight: Aluminum, 156g

Colors: Black

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Voigtländer Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 II

What sets this lens apart is how much ultra-wide coverage Cosina packed into so little space: at roughly 38 mm long, 59 mm in diameter, and about 156 g, the Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 II remains one of the smallest 15 mm lenses ever made for full-frame use [1]. It was the version that finally brought a true Leica M bayonet and rangefinder coupling to a design that had previously existed only in screw mount, and that change, rather than any optical revision, is the headline of the second generation [2]. Sold under the full retail name Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 Aspherical II (Cosina model code BA212M), it covers an extremely wide angle of view and uses a single aspherical element in its layout [3].

Optically the lens keeps the symmetrical, near-pancake formula of the original, an eight-element, six-group arrangement that is unchanged from the first M39 version [2]. The barrel is all metal with engraved, paint-filled markings and even a red mounting index in the manner of Leica lenses; the focus ring carries a tab and rotates about 90 degrees from the 0.5 m minimum focus distance to infinity, while the aperture ring runs in half-stop clicks from f/4.5 to f/22 across roughly 80 degrees [1]. A built-in, non-removable hood is part of the front of the lens, and unlike the screw-mount original this version adds a 52 mm filter thread and the rangefinder coupling, though a 15 mm field this wide still falls outside any built-in rangefinder finder and needs an external viewfinder for accurate framing [1][2]. The minimum focusing distance was lengthened to 0.5 m, longer than the 0.3 m of the first version [2].

The second generation is easy to place within the family. The first lens was screw mount (M39 / LTM) with no rangefinder coupling, no filter thread, a tiny built-in hood, and a 0.3 m close-focus distance; the II reviewed here is the M-mount, rangefinder-coupled model with the 52 mm filter thread and larger built-in hood; and the later III moved to an 11-element, 9-group design with a 58 mm filter thread that was optimized for digital sensors and grew noticeably in size [2]. Because the II is optically identical to the original and was discontinued when the III arrived, it is now found mainly on the used market [1][2]. It was introduced in 2009, roughly a decade after the original screw-mount lens, which dates to the early years after Cosina licensed the Voigtländer name in 1999 [4][3].

Optical qualities

Rendering The II carries over the rendering of the symmetrical original, so its behavior is well documented through testing of this exact optical formula. It is praised for a strong balance of size, image quality, and price among ultra-wide rangefinder lenses [5][2].

Sharpness Center sharpness and contrast are high from f/4.5, while mid-frame and corners benefit from stopping down to about f/8 to f/11 [2]. Performance depends heavily on the camera: on a sensor with a thick filter stack the lens shows pronounced field curvature and weaker corners, whereas on the thinner-stack Leica M10 the mid-frame nearly matches the center and the corners are usable wide open, with peak across-frame results near f/8 [2].

Distortion and vignetting Distortion is only minor, though slightly wavy, and a software profile corrects it reasonably well [2]. Vignetting is heavy and changes little on stopping down, a known trait of compact symmetrical wide-angle designs; corner light falloff is roughly 3.8 EV wide open on one tested 42 MP sensor [2]. The original screw-mount version was noted for low distortion and, in the M-mount era, relatively low color shift compared with earlier ultra-wides [5].

Flare resistance Flare control is reasonable for an ultra-wide; contrast holds up with the sun in or near the frame, but large, noticeable ghosts can appear, particularly in frames with dark areas [2].

Digital use On digital bodies the lens can show color cast from its near-symmetrical, short back-focus design, typically a green cast in the corners on some sensors and an asymmetric magenta cast on others, both correctable in post [2]. The thinner filter stack of the Leica M10 suits it well, and some reviewers find it good enough there to question paying for the larger III [2]. Coma is described as acceptable but better stopped down for night and cityscape work [2].

History

Development and Launch The Super Wide-Heliar lineage began in the screw-mount Cosina-Voigtländer era that followed Cosina's licensing of the Voigtländer brand in 1999, and the 15mm quickly became a favorite among Leica M shooters seeking an affordable, compact ultra-wide [4]. The second version, launched in 2009, kept the optics intact but reworked the housing to add the native M bayonet, rangefinder coupling, a filter thread, and improved ergonomics, addressing the main limitations of the adapter-dependent screw-mount original [6][2].

Production Evolution Across its life the design changed mount and barrel rather than glass. The move from the first to the second version brought the M mount and rangefinder coupling, a larger built-in hood, the 52 mm filter thread, and a longer 0.5 m minimum focus distance, while the eight-element, six-group formula stayed the same [2]. The optical recomputation came only with the III, which adopted an 11-element, 9-group layout tailored to digital sensors and a 58 mm filter thread [2].

Collector Notes Identification is straightforward from the barrel: the II carries M-mount bayonet, the 52 mm filter thread, and the larger built-in hood, distinguishing it from the screw-mount original and from the larger 58 mm-thread III [2]. The built-in hood is not removable, which limits filter and square-filter use and has led some owners to have it professionally shaved down [2]. Because a 15 mm angle of view is too wide for any rangefinder's built-in frame lines, a matching external optical finder is a key accessory to verify when buying, and on digital M bodies buyers should be prepared to manage color cast in post-processing [1][2].