Voigtlander 50mm lenses

Voigtlander 50mm lenses

  • - COLOR-SKOPAR 50mm F2.5

    Votes: 36 14.9%

  • - COLOR-HELIAR 50mm F2

    Votes: 65 26.9%

  • - NOKTON 50mm F1.5

    Votes: 141 58.3%
  • Total voters
    242
I have to agree about the Nokton. It's a great lens.
Katie&Sophia2.jpg
 
Very keen to try the 2.5/50, the size looks great and it is supposedly one of the best built cv's, brass construction rather than aluminium, so i hear. I also look forward to the new 2.5/50 summarit, for the same reasons, and wouldn't mind having a look at the compact 1.5/50 zm.
 
I have both the nokton and the color skopar. The nokton is an excellent
lens, as has already been said, and I use it a lot. But the skopar is so
small and heavy.... It is really delightfull. Furthermore, although I have
not developed a critical enough eye, I found that the images I get from
the skopar are interesting. Here you have a couple of examples with
the skopar, at full aperture:

attachment.php


attachment.php


It's only drawback is its speed. But it is really small, smaller than a summicron
and much smaller than the nokton. I do not know if this clarifies anything,
but, do you really want other people to take your decisions? ;-)

Pau
 
Last edited:
I'm pretty much a novice in these matters. I got the Heliar with an R3M via this forum and find it's a good workhorse that gives pleasing results.
 

Attachments

  • thau portrait resize.jpg
    thau portrait resize.jpg
    216.8 KB · Views: 0
I've not been a fan of the 50mm, preferring 35/40, but I became curious about the 50 Skopar and found a used one; my first 50 for RF. I was delighted at the view of the 50mm framelines in my old M2, and though I had to keep backing up to get the subject within the frames, I've been pleased with the photos.

Now I have the 50 Heliar Classic and C-Sonnar ZM as well. Each of these 50's is special in some way, and it might be smart for me to have a more conventionally 'respectable' 50 too like the Planar or Summicron.

I'm a little surprised to see so many 50 Skopars mentioned in this thread, as it's had a controversial market introduction, with an apparent misunderstanding spread about it's not being sharp. Of course it is sharp, just not in that wire-hard way, a gentler sharpness if you will. I understand it is popular in Japan.

I've had the other two a shorter time, so I'm still getting to know them. Here's one with the f2 Heliar at about f2.8...

attachment.php
 
Confession: I sometimes lurk sharpness / bokeh threads here, even though I've been off of new 35mm gear in favor of large format for over a year. Even more guiltily, I already have a 50mm I'm absolutely pleased with -- the zeiss planar. But looking at the example photos people have posted here reminds me of the joy of playing with optical gear, and even, dare I say it, my secret, forgotten pleasure of one-hour photo!
 
Here are some examples of what I meant when I said I had some shots I loved that I wouldn't have gotten if not for the "speed" of the Nokton:

The first is from a back pew at the 2nd Baptist Church of L.A. The second is a good noodles joint in Taipei. Both are wide open @1/30s on Tri-X rated at EI250.
 

Attachments

  • church_small02.jpg
    church_small02.jpg
    68.4 KB · Views: 0
  • post_pasta2.jpg
    post_pasta2.jpg
    74.5 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
I have a Nokton, I bought it becuase it came in at a great price and I had th emoney and intended to flog it again, but 6 months later I still have it. I pitched it against a PreASPH 50 Summilux and was very surprised to find out that it improves on it for general photography, matches it in lowlight and a slightly behind -not noticeable- on actual tests fr color rendidtion and shrpness wide open. Stop it down to f4 and the Nokton nudges ahead. Its a nice lens, very smooth feel, short throw, lighter then the Summilux, but not skimping on the finesse.
I believe that the Ultron 28, 35 and this Nokton are the best lenses CV have, both in terms of design, build and result. Nice oof areas with 11 diaphragm blades.

Id really like to try a colapsable heliar for the sheer hell of it, I love that Leica varsion but its a little slow for my tastes.
 
irq506 said:
Id really like to try a colapsable heliar for the sheer hell of it, I love that Leica varsion but its a little slow for my tastes.
Click to expand...
It's a bit confusing, but there are two different collapsible 50mm Heliars. There's the original f3.5 that came in the limited set with the Bessa T, and then there's the current/recent f2.0 Heliar Classic model that also first came with a commemorative set but became available separately.
 
Doug said:
then there's the current/recent f2.0 Heliar Classic model that also first came with a commemorative set but became available separately.
Click to expand...

How much will it cost for one current/recent 50mm f2.0 Heliar Classic model? What is the market rate? I have one. Might want to sell it as i only use 35mm PII
 
Doug said:
It's a bit confusing, but there are two different collapsible 50mm Heliars. There's the original f3.5 that came in the limited set with the Bessa T, and then there's the current/recent f2.0 Heliar Classic model that also first came with a commemorative set but became available separately.
Click to expand...

Oh!
I only knew of the f2 version, which is the slowest acceptable 50mm speed for me.
 
I have the 1.5 Nokton and the 2.0 Heliar. The Heliar I particularly like for its slightly soft rendering at f2:

68751807.jpg


The restaurant background was a nightmare for bokeh, so don't jump to conclusions. Epson RD1 at ISO 1600. Each lens has its strengths.

Cheers,
Kirk
 
I love the original Nokton that came with the Prominent. When I did the 50mm lens tests, I received a LTM Nokton (Prominent) and I really liked the results. Accordingly, I went out and got one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom