New Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Heliar

That lens would have been the ideal lens to photograph Emperor Hirohito, as he preferred the Heliar lens for taking his portrait over any other lens design.
 
Certainly is easy on the eyes! CV really does have it down when it comes to cosmetics, not to mention optical quality. Not in the market, since my Nokton is my idea of perfection, but if I were, this lens might be worth a look.
 
Cosina's latest M-mount offerings have been extremely impressive. Within the past two years:

21mm f/1.4 Nokton
28mm f/2 Ultron II
35mm f/1.2 Nokton III
35mm f/1.4 Nokton II
35mm f/2 Ultron II
35mm f/2 APO-Lanthar
50mm f/1.5 Nokton II
50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar
75mm f/1.5 Nokton

And now this very cool Heliar lens. My only complaint is very biased, I wish they would release a small batch of lenses for Nikon S-mount again. Just do another 250 copies of one lens like this Heliar. It would definitely sell out, there are enough collectors and users. It's been 13 years since the last S-mount lens was produced (C-Sonnar 50mm). Throw us a bone, LOL!
 
Finally a non chrome ring. I hope it has similar characteristics to the f3.5 which is stellar. A f1.5 version would be awesome
 
If that's a "true" Heliar optical formula, 5 elements in 3 groups, 2/1/2, like the f/3.5 and f/2 50's, then it's an amazing accomplishment to get such speed. Or it could be fudged like the Heliar 1.8/75mm with 6 elements in 3 groups, 2/2/2 like a Hektor 73mm...
 
Cosina's latest M-mount offerings have been extremely impressive. Within the past two years:

21mm f/1.4 Nokton
28mm f/2 Ultron II
35mm f/1.2 Nokton III
35mm f/1.4 Nokton II
35mm f/2 Ultron II
35mm f/2 APO-Lanthar
50mm f/1.5 Nokton II
50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar
75mm f/1.5 Nokton
Also the new 21mm F/3.5 COLOR-SKOPAR Aspherical
 
IMO cosina voigtlander is the most interesting lens manufacturer in operation in the world. Every lens is a cracker, and all have unique properties.
 
From the sample images it looks soft at f1.5. Also the bokeh looks busy but pleasant. Im not liking the harsh oof bokeh rings though...quite distracting imo. I hope future samples / reviews be will be favourable. Always in the hunt for a fast fifty
 
Interesting to see another yet compact 50/1.5 from Cosina/Voigtländer.
Design-wise, it looks like the (now discontinued) 75/1.8, which was actually a Hektor (2-2-2) more than a true Heliar, which is 5-elements (2-1-2).
Leica did it not faster than f/2.5 in the 1930's and left the route later - with a reason, probably.
The sample images looking rather impressionistic. How will it look with landscapes?
 
So, it's technically a Triplet-derived Hektor, or a Heliar of which the middle group consists of not one but two glued elements. Pretty legit for the Heliar name IMO, in the same fashion of the VM Color-Heliar 75/1.8, which is a good performer. Expect very similar signature too.
 
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