First shots with the 75mm Heliar f1.8
First shots with the 75mm Heliar f1.8
I took my first roll of film with the new 75mm Heliar f1.8, and I was delighted by the unique personality this lens has. We are told that it is noticeably softer wide open and that the highlights are supposed to glow. Shooting classic cars seemed like a perfect test for both claims. I have to say, it is more than acceptably sharp wide open, not modern Leica Apo sharp, but comparable to Mandler era glass in my opinion, my favorite level of sharpness which I much prefer to the clinical sharpness of many modern lenses. And the glow is there! Very nice effect when photographing shinny things. It was sharper than I expected. A wonderful surprise. Even though I own a 75mm f1.4 the Heliar has a different enough signature wide open that I will definitely be using both.