Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5

[Erik van Straten]

One of the first shots by me with the new lens.

gelatin silver print (heliar classic 50mm f1.5) leica mp

Erik.

 

[Evergreen States]

That's quite nice, Erik. Have you noticed any focus shift?

 

[Erik van Straten]

Thanks! No focus shift. The only thing is some barrel vault distortion. It is not a lens for architecture. I think it is great for portraits and nudes. The shot above is @ f1.5.

Erik.

 

[lukx]

Ah, finally a thread about this lens. Thanks for starting one, Erik. And nice first shot. The only thing that has more character than the lens is the snakeskin tabletop. I am looking forward to seeing more examples, especially on film.

 

[BWF]

These are all from a Sony FF with the Heliar 50/1.5. SOOC Jpg files.

 

[robert blu]

Nice rendering on film Erik. Is this the version called "1.5 Heliar Classic VM" ? I'm sometimes confused among the various versions of the VC lenses!

 

[Erik van Straten]

Thanks everyone. No, it is called Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5. I will try to make another print tonight. The snakeskin is real, that is, real plastic!

BWF, nice shots. For this kind of pictures the lens is perfect.

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (heliar classic 50mm f1.5) leica mp

This was shot at full aperture.

Erik.

 

[wpb]

Very well seen.

 

[Evergreen States]

[..........]

As usual your pictures are a delight

 

[gavinlg]

gelatin silver print (heliar classic 50mm f1.5) leica mp

This was shot at full aperture.

Erik.

Wow, that is really quite beautiful.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Thanks all! I hope I find the time to take some more pictures soon. The covid has flared up again. It is a lovely lens for sure.

Erik.

 

[jmilkins]

Oooh I'm going to look forward to your images and impressions and others' too Erik..

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (heliar 50mm f1.5) leica mp (for all pictures)

at full aperture

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

 

[xayraa33]

gelatin silver print (heliar 50mm f1.5) leica mp

at full aperture

Erik.

I know the Heliar is not a Sonnar design but a lot of the images look like what you get when using a Jupiter 3 lens at full bore.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Yes, I have to experiment still a bit, I also want to see the effect in sharp electric lightning. I see lots of spherical aberration, as espected. I guess that the lens at full aperture is at its best for portraits.

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (heliar classic 50mm f1.5) leica mp

full aperture

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (heliar classic 50mm f1.5) leica mp

Erik.

 

[Timmyjoe]

As always Erik, lovely images. Do you find the lens to be lower contrast? It seems from the literature that Voigtlander was striving for the vintage/classic look, so I wonder if you find it rendering lower contrast.

Also, looking at the image above, the stanchion with the little arm and the DaVinci figure in the white circle, how that is rendered very softly, reminds me of the way the Nikkor-SC 5cm f1.4 rangefinder lens renders the corners when shot wide open.

Best,
-Tim