Heliar 50/2 compared to other 50mm lenses?

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Prosaic

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Short question: If someone has the Nokton 50/1.5, would there be a photographic reason to own a 50/2 Heliar as well?

Thanks
 
Not really! The Heliar 50f2 falls in that "special" lens category. It is a bit soft at f2 (which makes it an excellent portrait lens) and sharp from 2.8 on. It is physically smaller than the Nokton 50f1.5, not much lighter though. The Nokton 50f1.5 is an extremely good lens all around - a bit bigger, but worth it in my mind. The collapsible feature of the Heliar is a marginal benefit - more of a cute feature than a practical one.
I would be tempted to try to source a Heliar 50f3.5 or even the VC 50f2.5 as an alternate to the Heliar f2!
If you want truly compact - look for a Elmar 50f2.8 or 3.5 as an alternate. Vintage look to the image, but good performance - particularly in the M-mount 50f3.5 guise.
 
I got the Heliar 50mm 3.5 as my most recent 50mm lens. I thought a lot before deciding between between a Heliar 50/2 and a 50/3.5.

I also like Tom's suggestion to go for an Elmar 50/2.8.
 
Tom A said:
If you want truly compact - look for a Elmar 50f2.8 or 3.5 as an alternate. Vintage look to the image, but good performance - particularly in the M-mount 50f3.5 guise.
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Do not forget the Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8. Extremely good modern performance yet compact.

Erik.
 
What about the Hexanon 50/2.4? How would that one compare?

Also - how it is with the close focus ability of the collapsible 50mm lenses when compared to the non-collapsible ones?
 
The Hexanon 50f2.4 is similar to the latest version of the Elmar 50f2.8. A bit better at f2.8 - but not by much. I had one, liked it, but did not use it much so it was passed on to a "collapsible collector" some years ago. It also lacked the smoothness in focus and aperture ring of the Elmar 50f2.8 II - but that could have been just my sample.
 
Prosaic said:
Any other reason to prefer this lens, except for being collapsible? (I dont know what this will help with photography anyway...)
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The collabsible feature is not a good reason to buy a Heliar 50/2, but I personally think it has a unique look and I like it a lot. Check out the flickr group. I think the best way you can decide if it's for you is to look at some images made with it.

Paul
 
The Heliar 50mm f/2 collapses just a little, so that feature can be ignored. I had one for a few days but sold it when I found that it offered not much more than my Jupiter 3. If you have a Nokton f/1.5, you probably do not need it. It is unusually well constructed, though.
 
only photographic reason for heliar is to have a new lens which put old school look in your photos. also if you like lens designs - there is something i like at tessar and its derivatives like heliar - i dont know how to explain - but they have some type of sharpness that is really appealing to me.
 
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