Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5

Okay, so maybe I do need another 50mm ... but do I want this Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Heliar Classic VM (currently $699 at CameraQuest or B&H) or a Thypoch Eureka 50mm f/2 Lens ($579 in aluminum, $859 in brass) ...? Or just wait and see if a Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1.2 or f/1.0 shows up somewhere at something under $6000+ within my lifetime?? I'm getting old ... !!! :ROFLMAO:

G
 
Godfrey said:
Okay, so maybe I do need another 50mm ... but do I want this Voigtlander 50mm f/1.5 Heliar Classic VM (currently $699 at CameraQuest or B&H) or a Thypoch Eureka 50mm f/2 Lens ($579 in aluminum, $859 in brass) ...? Or just wait and see if a Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1.2 or f/1.0 shows up somewhere at something under $6000+ within my lifetime?? I'm getting old ... !!! :ROFLMAO:

G
Click to expand...
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Leica Noctilux M50mm F1.2 ASPH. Black Reproduction -Near Mint- #246 for sale online | eBay

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Leica 50mm f/1.2 Noctilux-M - Good Condition | eBay

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Under $6K...

I have more 50mm lenses than Hans Solo can imagine.
 
Yup. The chance of there being one also has to coincide with the chance of my having $6000 worth of 'mad money' not already committed to other things, of course. ;)

G

late at night, poking around ...
Given the cost differential between an old Noctilux and new Heliar Classic VM plus Thypoch Eureka 50mm lenses taken together, I'd probably buy both of the 'cheap' ones and play with them. Then again, I already have Summicron-M, Summicron-R, Color-Skopar, and Elmar (LTM) 50mm lenses, and all of them do very well indeed anyway.
 
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Ultimately, I bought the Heliar Classic 50/1.5 VM and a yellow-green filter. Did a day's test shooting with the M10-M and a roll of film with the new-to-me M6TTL... It is a lovely lens, with the same kind of aperture-dependent rendering control as my Summilux 35 v2! Truly enjoyable to work with, and rather different from either the Color Skopar 50/2.5 or Summicron-M 50/2.

I haven't spent much time finishing photos with it yet. Perhaps a couple later today.

G
 
Here's one from my first roll with the Heliar:


Tree 102622 - Santa Clara 2024
Leica M6TTL 0.85x + Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5 VM, green filter
Ilford HP5 @ EI 320

That was made at about f/2-2.8, if I recall correctly. To play with this lens wide open in daylight, I'm going to have to load up a precious roll of my Agfa APX25 .. or invest in a couple of ND filters! :)

G
 
Fun with the Voigtländer 50mm f1.5 Heliar lens
DSC06419.jpg
Sony A7III camera
Voigtländer 50mm f1.5 Heliar Classic SC VM lens
December 2024 - Yokohama City, Japan​
 
Fun with the Voigtländer 50mm f1.5 Heliar lens
DSC06444.jpg
Sony A7III camera
Voigtländer 50mm f1.5 Heliar Classic SC VM lens
December 2024 - Yokohama City, Japan​
 
Really nice photos, Mike. And I really love the look that lens has. Makes me...nah, don't do it. But, maybe....
 
Dammit, dammit, dammit! It's Mike's fault. And Erik's. And all you other enablers. I couldn't control myself. The tonality of the B&Ws is too good. The subtle highlights, the smooth transition. Dammit! Do I really need another 50mm lens? No...I have the Zeiss Planar 50/2 ZM and the recently purchased TTArtisan 50/1.4 Aspherical and the Jupiter 8. They all do beautifully on my Nikon Z5 (that has become my most used camera lately). Do I really need another 50mm lens? No. But I need this lens. Dammit.

So it goes.








......................
 
Okay, Dogman, you've got GAS real bad so let me see if I can talk you down off the ledge.

First of all, if I could only have one 50mm lens, the Voigtländer 50mm f1.5 Heliar Classic SC VM lens would be the one! I love it!

Secondly, this lens is magical... it makes mediocre photographers better and it turns good photographers into great photographers.

Lastly, this lens is the coolest looking lens ever made; no kidding!

So, if you're not over your need to have this lens by now maybe you should read this information from the Cosina website; it should help cool your jets :

The lens is made up of six elements in three groups based on the Heliar type, achieving a large aperture of F1.5. In pursuit of a classical image not found in modern lenses, the optical design deliberately produces various aberrations. In addition to the timeless bokeh that is not a flashy weapon, the remaining coma flare and the single coating finish on the lens provide extremely unique wide-open image quality. This tendency is reduced by narrowing the aperture, and from an aperture of F4 onwards, the lens performs on a par with other Voigtlander VM-mount 50mm lenses.

Single coating adopted:
A single coating is intentionally used on the surface of the spherical lens, recreating the classic color tones that existed before multi-coating became commonplace.

Classical appearance:
The all-metal focus ring is knurled with a diamond pattern using a special cutting tool. In addition to its beautiful appearance, it is designed to be non-slip both in the rotation and optical axis direction, improving operability.

Added bonus! It comes with a hood! (y)

Good luck resisting you buyers impulse! :)
Mike
 
You didn't help one bit, Mike.

Credit card armed. Detonation button pushed. Incoming missile likely next week. I expect a loud bang on my overall credit score. If I don't survive the onslaught at least I'll die with a bunch of nice lenses.
 
Yokosuka Mike said:
Dogman, you better not look at the Voigtländer 28mm f1.5 Nokton Vintage Line lens thread; it might be harmful to your credit card.

All the best,
Mike
Click to expand...


While I can withstand anything but temptation, I'm safe when it comes to the 28mm Nokton. I'm just not a big fan of 28mm focal length. Not that I don't own a few, it's just that I like jumping from a 35mm to a 24mm or 25mm. Today my favorite is the lovely Zeiss 25/2.8 Biogon ZM. Mmm-mmm, good.
 
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