Fifty: Six to Five or Six to Four. Three Planar formula lenses compared.

[TenEleven]

I had that 50/1.9 Hexanon as my "starting lens" for my rangefinder. I liked its rendition a lot, especially in black and white where it was sharp but never harsh or unpleasant. However it had quite considerable amounts of barrel distortion. So I ended up selling it...

This in my experience, having tried other "Hexanon" lenses seems to generally be Konishirokus (later Konica) MO.
They prioritize other Seidel aberrations over distortion.

 

[TenEleven]

I went through my old negatives and found some examples so that its not just me jawing off. I did not shoot color in that period, so all of these are Tri-X in D76 at 400 speed. Thus, most of the night shots are the Hexanon 50/1.9 wide open.

Distortion aside I think it performs commendably.

 

[das]

I don't think that's an incredible or picture-ruining amount of barrel distortion. Here is a recent shot with the Hex at a normal aperture. I don't see it.

 

[TenEleven]

Of course, tolerance to distortion is a matter of personal preference. For me, since I wet print, I prefer lenses to have vices that I can realistically correct in the darkroom without the magic of computers or software.

That said, I have found that like other "Hexanon" lenses the distortion seems to vary depending on focal distance. In far away subjects it is less visible.