Steve Bellayr
Veteran
I purchased this lens recently and have it on my M6. I find it an excellent lens. There is very little information on it and no reviews. Has anyone experienced using this lens? How does it compare to the new Voiglander Heliar 50mm f3.5?
Steve Bellayr
Veteran
FYI: Just to close out this post. I did manage to locate some information/review of this lens on richardhaw.com It is a Zeiss Tesser designed lens.
@jonmanjiro posted about this lens a while back, if I'm not mistaken. I'll see if I can find the thread...
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
The rigid version is not very common...it is later made than the collapsible version.
Some Nicca cameras had that lens as the standard offering in the mid to late 1950s.. more of the ones sold in Japan and Hong-Kong and Micronesia as the more affordable standard lens than the LTM 50mm Nikkor f2 or the luxurious speed lens, the fantastic Nikkor 50mm f1.4 .
Some Nicca cameras had that lens as the standard offering in the mid to late 1950s.. more of the ones sold in Japan and Hong-Kong and Micronesia as the more affordable standard lens than the LTM 50mm Nikkor f2 or the luxurious speed lens, the fantastic Nikkor 50mm f1.4 .
Corran
Well-known
So if you read through my thread, you'll find some info that the aperture position is actually different between the collapsible and rigid.
I haven't got a rigid, just the collapsible, and yes it is a pretty good lens. The aperture can be more easily moved than the Leica equivalent...
I had a collapsible, they are rare. It's now in the hands of another RFFer. 
I'd like to try the rigid...
I'd like to try the rigid...
awilder
Alan Wilder
While the Tessar designs are decent performers and similar to the coated Elmar, I expect the Heliar to have noticeably higher contrast especially wide open given it's more advanced optical design along with modern glass and coating. Erwin Puts once reviewed the Heliar and said it was slightly better than the re-formulated 50/3.5 Elmar outfitted on Leica "O" released a while back.
jcb4718
Well-known
I had the Nikkor 50mm f3.5 rigid a few years ago. It's fine, a typical Tessar. The images sharpen up nicely using Photoshop. I found it slightly prone to flare by which I mean light from a bright sky spilling onto the landscape below. I also had a Voigtlander Vito B fitted with a 50mm f2.8 Color-Skopar (also a Tessar) and this effect did not seem to be so evident. I did not compare the lenses systematically. The Tessar lens assembly is quite compact and is basically mounted on a tube to get the right lens-film distance. Maybe it matters how well the walls of the tube absorb stray light?? I don't know. Eventually I sold the Nikkor because its compactness was not important to me and I decided there were better lenses to attach to a screw mount camera. The Vito B I have a soft spot for so I kept it (and still use it).