15MM BAYONET MOUNT LENSES


A Leica camera with a lens, a viewfinder, and a protective filter, placed in front of a box that has red text indicating it's made in Germany.

15mm f/8 Hologon 

Zeiss Hologon

The Zeiss 15mm f/8 Hologon was a lens designed by Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen, Germany, and was first introduced in 1968, permanently affixed to a modified Zeiss Ikon Contarex Hologon camera body360. This lens consisted of three elements and was highly corrected, featuring fully hemispherical rear and front elements, with the central element functioning as the iris360. The Zeiss 15mm f/8 Hologon offered an exceptionally wide 110-degree coverage, requiring a special graduated neutral density filter that was darker in the center360. This design helped counteract the fall-off at the edges360. When using the filter, the lens aperture was effectively reduced to f/16360. Without the filter, at f/8, the coverage became uneven360.


Leitz Hologon Prototypes from 259XXXX series

Only a few lenses in 259XXXX serial number range existed and were all marked as "Muster" (Sample) in Zeiss delivery records386. Known prototype lenses included:

  • 2593021 featured in brochure of 1974183
  • 2594308 auctioned off on April 21, 2007 at Auction Team Breker
  • 2594310 auctioned off at the 37th Leitz Photographica Auction386


Leitz Hologon Serial Production

The Leica 15mm f/8 Hologon was introduced at the 1972 Photokina and entered the Leitz catalogue in 1973 under catalogue number 11003183. There was an agreement in place that Carl Zeiss would supply the 15mm f/8 Hologon in Leica M-mount for sale by Ernst Leitz, Incorporated51. The lens was sold alongside a special clip-on 15mm viewfinder360 and a graduated neutral density filter (catalogue number 13002)183. A fitted leather case (catalogue number 98281) was also available183. 

Unlike the Zeiss version, the Leica 15mm f/8 Hologon, which was not rangefinder-coupled, could focus down360 to 0.2032 meters183. The angle of view of the lens was 110 degrees183. The lens had 3 elements and was supplied without a lens hood183. 

The rear elements of the 15mm f/8 Hologon lens extended significantly into the camera body, which partially obstructed the metering cell235. This lens could be easily used with any M camera, including the Leica M5, which required the meter cell to be locked up, as the lens did not permit through-the-lens metering with this camera183. Additionally, the metering cell for flash exposure control on the  Leica M6 TTL was also obscured235. In this case, the flash unit should be switched to 'A' instead of 'TTL' to use the flashgun’s independent metering cell235.

Between 1972 and 1976, three batches of lenses were produced, totalling only 350 units, making the Leica 15mm f/8 Hologon quite rare360. The serial number range assigned by Zeiss was 5735851-5736300183. 

Poor sales and high production costs led to the Leica 15mm f/8 Hologon’s removal from the Leitz catalogue by 1975542 (or 1976183). According to James L. Lager, the production run was "so brief that E. Leitz, Inc. Rockleigh, New Jersey received Hologon literature in English on the same day that the discontinuation memo was issued"542.