Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5

[Disappointed_Horse]

How is the viewfinder blockage with this lens?

 

[Erik van Straten]

How is the viewfinder blockage with this lens?

Without shade there is no blockage until 1m (3ft). The shade that comes with the lens cuts off the image firmly, even at infinity. I use an old German conical screw in shade (49mm) that is slightly better.

Erik.

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

Without shade there is no blockage until 1m (3ft). The shade that comes with the lens cuts off the image firmly, even at infinity. I use an old German conical screw in shade (49mm) that is slightly better.

Erik.

Thanks for the reply Erik. About what I would have thought.

 

[Bingley]

I can’t begin to achieve the results that Erik has shown with his film images and this lens. But folks interested in this lens may want to know what it’s like on a digital camera. The following posts are with the Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5 on a Leica M-E Type 240. I have not made any adjustments to the images so… no post processing, even when I did not nail the exposure. These are not particularly “good” photos, but I think they show some aspects of this lens on a digital sensor…

Starting off with one of my favorite subject, my granddaughter…

at f1.5:

Heliar Classic Test Shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

at f2.0:

Heliar Classic Test Shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

at f2.8:

Heliar Classic Test Shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

In my opinion, f2.8 may be a sweet spot for close-up portraits…

 

[Bingley]

Some landscape-type photos, taken at Waterfront Park in Martinez, CA, next to the Carquinez Strait….


1/4000 at f4.0:

Voigtlander Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

1/500 at f.11:

Voigtlander Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

1/500 at f5.6:

Voigtlander Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Notice that the background in the last photo is slightly out of focus… I’m seeing that this lens has a shallower depth of focus than I usually associate with 50mm lenses…

 

[Bingley]

Another of my favorite models… my granddog Biscuit, the mini-aussie…

1/4000 at f4.0:

Voigtlander Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

1/2000 at f4.0:

Voigtlander Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[Bingley]

A couple more black and white…

1/500 at f.8:

Voigtlander Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

1/500 at f5.6:

Voigtlander Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[Bingley]

Homage to Post #1… Leica M-E Type 240, Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5, taken at f1.5:

Heliar Classic test shot by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[Erik van Straten]

Great shots, Steve! Stopped down the lens produces a very fine bokeh. I'll make some stopped down pictures too.

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (heliar classic 50mm f1.5) leica mp

Erik.

 

[Bingley]

Thanks, Erik! I will post three more shots from yesterday, taken on the M-E 240:

Stopped down, about f.11 or so:

Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

At around f2.0. The bokeh balls in the upper left are lights from a Christmas tree. The rest of the bokeh looks smooth to me.

Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Another shot with the lens stopped down, probably around f.8:

Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

 

[raid]

Thank you for posting your fine looking images here, Steve.
Have you by any chance used a Heliar 50/2 CV? I wonder if the Heliar 50/1.5 is "very different" or not.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Thanks, Erik! I will post three more shots from yesterday, taken on the M-E 240:



At around f2.0. The bokeh balls in the upper left are lights from a Christmas tree. The rest of the bokeh looks smooth to me.

Heliar Classic test shots by Steve Macfarlane, on Flickr

Remarkable that the bokeh-balls in this shot - lovely little girl - are smooth with the lens stopped down. Usually bokeh-balls reflect the form of the exit pupil.

Erik.

 

[raid]

Is then the bokeh the main difference between Heliar 50/2 and 50/1.5, other than the max apertute?

 

[Bingley]

Thank you for posting your fine looking images here, Steve.
Have you by any chance used a Heliar 50/2 CV? I wonder if the Heliar 50/1.5 is "very different" or not.

Thank you, Raid! I have not used the CV Heliar 50mm f2.0 lens, so I can’t comment on how it compares with the Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Is then the bokeh the main difference between Heliar 50/2 and 50/1.5, other than the max aperture?

Both lenses, f/2 and f/1.5, have ten slats, quite a lot for a modern lens. The original Hektor 73mm f/1.9 (same design as the Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5) has 15 slats. I will make some tests to see how my Heliar f/1.5 behaves stopped down. The diaphragm of the Hektor 73mm f/1.9 gives a perfect circle in every position. Heliars made by Leitz were called "Hektor".

Btw. the Hektor 73mm f/1.9 was made from 1932 and was used mainly by professional photographers to make passport photos of citizens who needed from 1933 a new "Ausweis" (passport). That is the reason these lenses are not really rare.

Erik.

 

[raid]

The Hektor 135/4 is dirt cheap. Why? It is a Heliar design. Right?

 

[Erik van Straten]

The Hektor 135/4 is dirt cheap. Why? It is a Heliar design. Right?

Yes, it is, it is a triplet, but the middle element is a doublet (two elements glued together); that is why it is a Heliar. There was also an Elmar 135/4, that lens has a doublet rear element, just like the Elmar 50mm f/3.5.

The price has nothing to do with the type of lens. The price only reflects what a collector is prepared to pay for it.

Erik.

 

[raid]

The 135mm lens is too long in RF for most users. The lens is built very well, though.

 

[Erik van Straten]

The 135mm lens is too long in RF for most users. The lens is built very well, though.

In the 1930's 135mm lenses were used mainly on large format cameras. 35mm cameras were practically unknown. The first 135mm lenses for the Leica were in fact large-format lenses mounted in mounts to fit the Leica. It was only much later that Leitz themselves designed 135mm lenses for the Leica.

Erik.