p.12 #2 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I can't help with portrait / people samples as I don't shoot portraits very often and I don't post my family photos online. I did shoot many Japanese festival events (especially in the summers) while such events were happening but Covid-19 killed all those events for the last 1.5 years, so no opportunities to take people shots in any public event in the near future either...
Hopefully others who get the lens will post more of those people shots soon
Juha,
I noticed you have or had a copy of the Voigtländer Heliar classic 50/2 "anniversary edition".
In your estimation, how does the new Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 classic compare with the older one?
I'm aware of the differences in optical design, mfd, etc but am more interested in your - or anyone else's - opinion
in terms of rendering, sharpness and contrast, etc. Is it worth having both in that they are different
enough? Or would the new one be a redundant addition, regardless of cost?
Thanks for any help.
Joe D
p.12 #3 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
tunisia wrote:
Juha,
I noticed you have or had a copy of the Voigtländer Heliar classic 50/2 "anniversary edition".
In your estimation, how does the new Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 classic compare with the older one?
I'm aware of the differences in optical design, mfd, etc but am more interested in your - or anyone else's - opinion
in terms of rendering, sharpness and contrast, etc. Is it worth having both in that they are different
enough? Or would the new one be a redundant addition, regardless of cost?
Thanks for any help.
Joe D
Yes I have the 2006 black version (250 year anniversary edition) of the 50/2 Heliar classic. I got it in 2019 2nd hand. It's not so easy to find these days, but in Japan the prices haven't climbed up that much so occasionally it's possible to find one for around $700-$900 in fine condition as a stand-alone. I would never sell it since it's a limited edition and sort of collectible and unique. When sold together with Bessa cameras that they were originally bundled with they tend to be relatively more expensive. The later and more limited Nickel Heliar 50/2 with same optics is getting gradually more expensive in the 2nd hand market and seems to now cost around $1300-$1500 or so in fine condition when available.
I haven't shot the 50/2 classic and 50/1.5 classic side by side and haven't really done any comparisons of the images so far but I feel that they are different enough to make them both worth having. 50/2 can only focus to 1m and the new 50/1.5 can focus to 0.5m. That 1m minimum focus distance is the only thing I don't really like with the 50/2. I don't usually like to use helicoid adapters and I'd prefer to have closer focusing options natively on the lens.
I think 50/2 does not have so many aberrations and it is a better as an infinity / corner-to-corner sharpness lens even on mirrorless where I've found it to perform fine at f5.6 for those type of shots. 50/2 is also more compact especially when collapsed. I also really like the 50/1.5 and the classic properties of it and at f1.5 it's renders in ways the 50/2 can't match at any focus distance. I will try to shoot some comparison samples side by side in the coming days, perhaps using one of them on my A7C and the other on my Sigma fp so that I don't need to swap the lenses frequently. Then I should be able to compare them better...
p.12 #4 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
I agree. F4.-5.6-8.0 great. Has a slight shift of focus to F2. Very plastic for 2.8. I like it because it gives me a 3D POP. Generally always cool bokeh. Beautiful family photos come out. Minimal sharpening down to 1m is sometimes a problem, but I always use 50mm outside. My favorite. I'm still looking for the holy grail, but I like the Heliar Classic from 15 years ago. I bought a brand new one many years ago. ZM Planar F2 is too sharp for me above 2.8.
p.12 #5 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
Thanks so much for your answer. In looking at the images shot with the new Voigtlander and reading about how it mainly
seems optimized for close-focus shooting, and after seeing photos taken with the "anniversary" version, I thought that might be the case. As you say, it seems the older lens may be more useful for distance shooting than the new one.
It is very helpful to see your opinion on this as I was hoping they were different enough to justify buying the older one as well.
Yes, I'm a bit insane, but I love the rendering I've seen of the heliar classic 50/2 but also like to have a close-focus option that is similar. I'd be using both on the leica m10 mono.
When you are able, yes, I'd love to see photos taken with each side by side. Thanks again.
Joe D
p.12 #8 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
fsiagian wrote:
A little bit more sharpness on the plane of focus with that rendering and it may become one of my favorite lenses.
If you are judging by those dog images posted above, I think it should be noted that the actual plane of focus may be slightly in front of the dog in many of the shots. The actual plane of focus itself looks acceptably sharp to me.
p.12 #10 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
1bwana1 wrote:
If you are judging by those dog images posted above, I think it should be noted that the actual plane of focus may be slightly in front of the dog in many of the shots. The actual plane of focus itself looks acceptably sharp to me.
Yes, the dog pictures and also Fred’s pictures. I think Fred’s portrait is totally fine for normal view, but once it was magnified, you can see that the eyes are not that sharp, which is intentional for the lens.
p.12 #11 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
I’ve been using mine for a few weeks now and wanted to add my feelings. In short I really enjoy this lens.
At first I was not very impressed, I thought about returning it. It is quite soft wide open and not so great stopped down…. I wasn’t sure what it was good for. It has been said that it is stronger for close range work and I don’t really do that much of that…
However this softness is amazing! It is soft but with detail. It’s not like an old lens with haze. It handles light in a gentle manner. The front and rear broken is lovely. To me it is such a good lens. I’ve been mostly shooting it wide open with an ND filter on it. The pic Fred posted of the pier shows what I enjoy about this lens. Whilst it may not be a mainstream lens it is a very good lens indeed.
I'm really digging how this lens looks at dusk with all the smooth, reflective surfaces of the buildings. How much did you typically stop down for the farther distance cityscapes? Sure, if you zoom in to 100% and look in the image periphery you can see some sharpness falloff, but when images are viewed normally, it's not noticeable. The near distance wide open images at night have a really pleasing feeling to them. Kind of vintage. Kind of sentimental. Not punchy and sterile.
I feel like this lens was made for the Japanese B&W street photography genre. It would be wild if Cosina released a 35/1.5 with the same characteristics. It might tame my lust for the 35 Lux pre-ASPH.
p.12 #16 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
rscheffler wrote:
I'm really digging how this lens looks at dusk with all the smooth, reflective surfaces of the buildings. How much did you typically stop down for the farther distance cityscapes? Sure, if you zoom in to 100% and look in the image periphery you can see some sharpness falloff, but when images are viewed normally, it's not noticeable. The near distance wide open images at night have a really pleasing feeling to them. Kind of vintage. Kind of sentimental. Not punchy and sterile.
I feel like this lens was made for the Japanese B&W street photography genre. It would be wild if Cosina released a 35/1.5 with the same characteristics. It might tame my lust for the 35 Lux pre-ASPH....Show more →
Thanks Ron! I typically stop down to f5.6 for infinity shots with this lens (basically never more than that) and I use hard infinity (with my Rayqual adapters that are very spec-accurate for thickness) as the edges and corners are definitely at their best at hard infinity. I agree that the corners look pretty good in normal viewing (though not perfect when examined at 100%) which is perfectly fine for me and I can enjoy using this lens for many types of shots, including these infinity city shots. For some infinity shots in pretty low light I only stop down to f4 or f2.8 to avoid having to use higher ISO. I like to stick to ISO 100 as long as there is sufficient light and then I stick to ISO 640 as next step as long as it works (with help from IBIS) since it's the "2nd base ISO" on my A7C.
I also like the wide open look with the lens a lot in the close range up to a few meters. Works great for some low light shop front images as well.
I'd definitely buy it if Cosina decided to make a 35mm lens with very similar characteristics & rendering. This 50/1.5 Heliar classic has been a very good seller in Japan and is still difficult to find in most shops as it's been constantly sold out and backordered. I think Cosina might be motivated by that to bring out more lenses with similar characteristics at different focal lengths later on.
p.12 #17 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I'd definitely buy it if Cosina decided to make a 35mm lens with very similar characteristics & rendering. This 50/1.5 Heliar classic has been a very good seller in Japan and is still difficult to find in most shops as it's been constantly sold out and backordered. I think Cosina might be motivated by that to bring out more lenses with similar characteristics at different focal lengths later on.
I would like one as well! But I have been using my CV 35 1.4 SC as a wide for the Heliar...
p.12 #18 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
Juha Kannisto wrote:
...
I also like the wide open look with the lens a lot in the close range up to a few meters. Works great for some low light shop front images as well.
...
I've seen it described as a Summitar with modern coatings. To crib Steve Macfarlane (via RFF), it's a lens "with aesthetically meaningful flaws, and modern coatings."
(I think I'd alter that to "aesthetically meaningful aberrations" ; - )
p.12 #19 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I'd definitely buy it if Cosina decided to make a 35mm lens with very similar characteristics & rendering. This 50/1.5 Heliar classic has been a very good seller in Japan and is still difficult to find in most shops as it's been constantly sold out and backordered. I think Cosina might be motivated by that to bring out more lenses with similar characteristics at different focal lengths later on.
tri_fin wrote:
I would like one as well! But I have been using my CV 35 1.4 SC as a wide for the Heliar...
I have the 40/1.4 MC and maybe should take it out again to re-familiarize myself with it. But recollection is it's not as edge-glowy as the Heliar.
p.12 #20 · Official: Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM
I’m not very good at understanding how or why a lens behaves but I think one of the many good characteristics of the Heliar is the single coating. I don’t think it relates to the glow but I do think it deals with light in a sensitive manner. I bought the 35 1.4 SC after using the Heliar. I had previously used the MC version but so far the SC seems a reasonable partner to the Heliar. I believe the 35 1.4 SC sold well in Japan as the Heliar is doing…
It’s quite interesting to see how lens design and coatings effect pictures…
As far as I could tell there aren’t any wide triplet lenses.
Also the kistar 45mm 2.4 is quite like the Heliar but I think it might be MC. I believe it was designed to glow.
I’m looking at a trioplan 100mm 2.8 as a long lens…
.
zz wrote: