That’s quite interesting, I was not familiar with the Heliar 75mm 1.8 and I must admit, I like its rendering better, more structure in the bokeh as you said.
I own the 75mm 1.9 and am very pleased with it, it does have some elements of a classic look, I think it may surpass the Heliar in that area in certain scenarios if you play with the S.C. Version of the Ultron, it can give a veil that is not washed ugly but renders the light beautifully and you can cast some circular colored flares also, it can add some classic to its more modern look.
A smaller Heliar pushed to 1.5 with Single Coating would win it all in my book.
If I stumble upon a 75mm 1.8 Heliar, I might just give it a try, thanks for that comparison Fred.
I got a like new copy of this lens from MPB, took it for a spin at the Asheville tailgate market this morning. Bottom line: I love it, it's focal length is perfect for candid street portraits, it's plenty of sharp for my street shooting purposes, and size/weight are minimal. Here are a few shots.
@highdesertmesa@
Lamp shade shot is my favourite, but wish it was parallel (the lamp shade), and with a bit more aperture to show the path.
Regardless still tells the story.
Paul.S wrote:
@highdesertmesa@@
Lamp shade shot is my favourite, but wish it was parallel (the lamp shade), and with a bit more aperture to show the path.
Regardless still tells the story.
Thanks. That lamp is really annoying — I’m constantly having to straighten the shade because our cat’s big tail keeps hitting it when he jumps up there. I laughed when I went to take the photo and left it like that.
I didn’t think to try it stopped down a little, but I did take one focused on the path and one near infinity — might have been better as all three together from a storytelling perspective.
LEICA SL3Unknown Lens lens75mmf/1.71/250s100 ISO-3.0 EV
The focus point is spot on and the aptomsphere on the the lamp shade covey a sense of mood, on the first shot.
The path leads the eye through the photo to the secondary scene, the sun set. I don't want that part in focus, but enough detail to draw me into exploring the out of focus areas more.
Colours from the red for lamp, blue/greyish for path, culminating with the orange sunset, I find the colors complementary providing the eye to wonder through the sense, creating great atmosphere and intriguing.
Me too, I like very much the lamp picture, just love the chromatique displayed. Not sure about the EXIF data shown - f/1.4.
And also I'd like a bit more detail in the OOF part (generally speaking, and also particulary into your picture) - I'm less and less inclined to completely "blur-off" the backgrounds these days....
catacore wrote:
Me too, I like very much the lamp picture, just love the chromatique displayed. Not sure about the EXIF data shown - f/1.4.
And also I'd like a bit more detail in the OOF part (generally speaking, and also particulary into your picture) - I'm less and less inclined to completely "blur-off" the backgrounds these days....
Aperture setting recorded to EXIF for non-electronically connected lenses is estimated by the camera just like with an M body. It’s rarely accurate, and I wish Leica would stop including it in EXIF. I don’t see the value in doing so (pun).
Sonnar-7 wrote:
That’s quite interesting, I was not familiar with the Heliar 75mm 1.8 and I must admit, I like its rendering better, more structure in the bokeh as you said.
I own the 75mm 1.9 and am very pleased with it, it does have some elements of a classic look, I think it may surpass the Heliar in that area in certain scenarios if you play with the S.C. Version of the Ultron, it can give a veil that is not washed ugly but renders the light beautifully and you can cast some circular colored flares also, it can add some classic to its more modern look.
A smaller Heliar pushed to 1.5 with Single Coating would win it all in my book.
If I stumble upon a 75mm 1.8 Heliar, I might just give it a try, thanks for that comparison Fred....Show more →
I think you would really enjoy the 75mm f/1.8 Heliar. It is slightly longer and about 100 grams heavier than the latest 75mm f/1.9 Ultron, but I prefer its handling and the design of its focusing ring. The aperture ring has a satisfying click, reminiscent of classic Leica lenses. Its rendering has a timeless character that you might appreciate, and in real-world images, it is just as sharp as the Ultron.
Cosina includes 'Classic' in the front markings, just like on the CV 50mm f/1.5 Heliar. For some, the main drawback is its longer 0.9m MFD.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I think you would really enjoy the 75mm f/1.8 Heliar. It is slightly longer and about 100 grams heavier than the latest 75mm f/1.9 Ultron, but I prefer its handling and the design of its focusing ring. The aperture ring has a satisfying click, reminiscent of classic Leica lenses. Its rendering has a timeless character that you might appreciate, and in real-world images, it is just as sharp as the Ultron.
Cosina includes 'Classic' in the front markings, just like on the CV 50mm f/1.5 Heliar. For some, the main drawback is its longer 0.9m MFD.
I have looked at its rendering, it is indeed right up my alley, it’s quite beautiful, classic but not overdone. The Ultron is great for its size and the sheer originality factor of the Single Coated option that I wish Cosina would do for each lens(or more often). I bet they could benefit more from that differentiation if it was even more pronounced(like with the 35mm 1.4) and if they marketed it a bit more also, it’s quite on the confusing side when it is on the table.
I might trade my Ultron for an Heliar.
Sonnar-7 wrote:
I have looked at its rendering, it is indeed right up my alley, it’s quite beautiful, classic but not overdone. The Ultron is great for its size and the sheer originality factor of the Single Coated option that I wish Cosina would do for each lens(or more often). I bet they could benefit more from that differentiation if it was even more pronounced(like with the 35mm 1.4) and if they marketed it a bit more also, it’s quite on the confusing side when it is on the table.
I might trade my Ultron for an Heliar.
Personally, I prefer the rendering of the 75mm f/1.8 Heliar, but I usually grab the MS Optics 73mm f/1.5 Sonnetar instead because it's much smaller. I'm considering selling my Heliar for this reason, but I can't quite make up my mind.
Fred Miranda wrote:
Personally, I prefer the rendering of the 75mm f/1.8 Heliar, but I usually grab the MS Optics 73mm f/1.5 Sonnetar instead because it's much smaller. I'm considering selling my Heliar for this reason, but I can't quite make up my mind.
Haha! I tried so hard to put my hands on that Sonnetar 73mm 1.5 but when I had the opportunity, I went for the Sonnetar 50mm 1.3. I don’t regret it, the Sonnetar 50mm is something special and 50mm is really my focal length, I just can’t get used to anything else.
I talked before about Voigtlander making a 35mm Heliar but as you pointed out it would be the Nokton 35mm 1.4 or so close it can’t be justified but updating their 75mm 1.8 could make sense, furthermore if they manage to get it to go 1.5.
Sonnar-7 wrote:
That’s odd, what a short run for one of their better lenses.
Yes, it was discontinued only about 2 years and 4 months after launch... I suspect it didn't sell well enough in Japan for some reason. Also the 75/1.5 hasn't been impressing much in the Japanese sales rankings. I've been very happy with the 75/1.9 VM personally.
Now I have a rather wide range of 75mm options from CV with 75/1.9 VM, 75/2.5 LTM, 75/1.5 E, 75/1.8 E and 50/1.2 X (75mm FF equivalent).
Juha Kannisto wrote:
Yes, it was discontinued only about 2 years and 4 months after launch... I suspect it didn't sell well enough in Japan for some reason. Also the 75/1.5 hasn't been impressing much in the Japanese sales rankings. I've been very happy with the 75/1.9 VM personally.
Now I have a rather wide range of 75mm options from CV with 75/1.9 VM, 75/2.5 LTM, 75/1.5 E, 75/1.8 E and 50/1.2 X (75mm FF equivalent).
I hope they will fill the gap of that Ultron with adapting the new Heliar 75mm to other mounts, M included, they could have a winner on their hands.
On a separate note, surely off-topic, I’m contemplating buying an a7c type of camera, do M-mount lenses perform globally ok in the center and mid-frame in the 35-50mm ballpark of focal lengths?
Sonnar-7 wrote:
I hope they will fill the gap of that Ultron with adapting the new Heliar 75mm to other mounts, M included, they could have a winner on their hands.
On a separate note, surely off-topic, I’m contemplating buying an a7c type of camera, do M-mount lenses perform globally ok in the center and mid-frame in the 35-50mm ballpark of focal lengths?
I've been a happy user of A7CII and A7C after a number of bigger Sony E-mount bodies (A9, A7II, A7R). In general I would say that M-mount lenses that are 50mm or longer usually work pretty well across the frame but there are few exceptions. Also, any M-mount lenses should work fine in the center. 35mm lenses are typically fine up until the mid-frame but edges could be affected with additional sensor stack induced "field curvature" and 28mm and wider will be generally affected more. How much there is impact depends a lot on each lens.
I find all MS-Optics lenses that I have to work very well on Sony sensor stack (probably equally well to digital M) and they are typically better to focus on EVF in my opinion. Such small and light lenses are also a good fit with the relatively small and light bodies.
I think more "character oriented" lenses will usually perform without noticeably negative impact on Sony sensor stack. I'd avoid buying APO lenses optimized for digital M to adapt to Sony in most cases as those will probably be impacted to noticeable extent, but CV APO 50/3.5 is an exception and that one works really well. CV 35/2 and 50.2 APO VM versions have been found to be problematic but there are of course native E-mount versions available and those will work perfectly.
