The Prettiest CV Lens? the Nickel 50/2 Heliar

Couple of shots from the black bayonet-mount 2/50 Heliar (on M8)... I like it so much I bought one of those pretty nickel ones too. 😀

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Well my Heliar 50/2 arrived this afternoon, albeit the black M mount version attached to a new Bessa R2m. Gee, it is a tiny little thing... I keep trying to find the focussing tab. This joins my 50/3.5 (Nickel version) and the stunning Hex 50/2.4 collapsible. I know I'll just have to get the modern Elmar 50/2.8 now.
 
Take a good look at my 50mm lens comparisons which Roland has expertly arranged and displayed at his smugmug website.
 
leicashot said:
Been considering this lens. How does it compare to the Zeiss in signature, more so the bokeh? Only focuses to 1m right?
Click to expand...

I'm an early owner and have used these lenses a pretty long time, but unfortunately I do not scan nor post.

The 50/3.5 is amazingly sharp and detailed, but only has moderate contrast and is very flare resistent. A Zeiss lens IMHO has a lot more contast. BTW I only shoot B&W. The close focus is only one meter, but I love the half clicks for the F-stops. The narrow diameter of the barrel makes for a fast focus and makes this 50 good for shooting street. The aperture has 11-blades one more than my 50 Rigid cron.

The 50/2.0 has soft corners wide open like my 50 Rigid Cron V.1, but does not have the center punch effect of the Rigid Cron. The OOF is creamy like my 50 Rigid but more diffused in a painterly kind of way. This is a great-great lens for doing portraits. Mistakenly people say that this lens is not sharp, but what throws them is this diffused smoothness of the OOF that is the signature. Also has 11-blade aperture, 1 meter close focus, half stop detents and only moderate contrast with flare resistence. Very smooth bokeh. It would kill if I could focus to 0.7meter. Also love that there is no VF blockage even when using the hood. This is a tiny 50.

I agree with John about the flat focus edge-to-edge performance of the 50/3.5. Tom Abramson stated there are three lenses that represent the "apex" in 50mm: the 50 Lux ASPH; the 50/1.4 Millenium; and the 50/3.5 Nickel Heliar. It is an amazingly sharp lens that offers performance for basically no money.

The 50/2.0 Nickel Heliar is a totally different signature that kinda complements the 50/3.5. If you are lucky you own both. In a way the OOF is smoother than my 50 Rigid Cron because of its diffussion.

Also looks hot on my Wetzlar M6 that has an engraved Ti top plate.

Cal
 
I just wanted to give people a heads up. The 50mm 3.5 on the M9 has a lot of purple fringing. It's still a cool lens, but one that is better used with film for it to be 100% reliable. However, most of the exotic CV lenses do this on digital Ms from what I've seen.
 
Not sure I've noticed this, but it doesn't seem to be restricted to exotic CV lenses. Some have noticed this w/some of the new Leica lenses, too (e.g., 50/1.4 ASPH.).

For those who haven't seen it, here's a good explanation of chromatic aberrations (the main component of fringing):

http://toothwalker.org/optics/chromatic.html

jsrockit said:
I just wanted to give people a heads up. The 50mm 3.5 on the M9 has a lot of purple fringing. It's still a cool lens, but one that is better used with film for it to be 100% reliable. However, most of the exotic CV lenses do this on digital Ms from what I've seen.
Click to expand...
 
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