Voigtlander Heliar S 50mm f3.5

[Palaeoboy]

I have had this lens for a while now as it came at a great price and wanted to try the f3.5 Heliar having heard of its excellent reputation. I dont hear much from users of this lens in Nikon S mount so thought I would start a thread.

I was having a quick peak at the Camerquest site and noticed that the lens is still available on its own. This caught my eye as with its unique (and somewhat quirky) style and its quite small production numbers and the collector nature of Nikon Rangefinder enthusiasts I cant understand why they haven't all be snapped up? I understand as part of the whole kit with the Bessa 2S that there would be a hesitance for Nikon devotees to try the Heliar as they really didn't want the camera but with the kits split up and the cameras all sold the lens is still available which is a surprise.

It has one of the highest resolutions in the 50mm focal length for Nikon Rangefinder so for the price its a bargain. I have always preferred the fit and finish of the SC lenses from Voigtlander over their regular offerings but this one is even a cut above the others. It really is all heavy brass construction with great finish and fine chroming reminiscent of the standards of old of the 50's and 60's. I have an old chrome Zeiss Ikon Stuttgart UV filter on mine and you would swear it was made for the lens it matches so well.

The lens has been criticised for its odd design but I quite like its stand out uniqueness. In a time of totally conformity of design within systems its great to see something different, the lens is unmistakable from anything else if you were to see it on the shelf. My only criticisms of the lens probably would be the lack of click stops and how difficult is it to read the aperture settings with the fine numbering on a shiny chrome finish.

So any users of the S version please post your thoughts or a pic if you so desire. Almost certainly everyone that has this lens probably has a Nikon 50mm that they have compared it to. I have heard previously it compares favourably to the updated 50mm limited edition Millennium 50's too.

Sorry for the poor photos supplied my only digital these days is a old camera phone not conducive to hand held close-ups inside. In case anyone is wondering the rear cap is an after-market one only available in Japan for Nikon S but it is a perfect match for the hood and cap it could pass as a factory rear cap.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I have a copy of this lens and it is indeed super sharp. I "tested" it against my 50 Summilux Asph and it was about as sharp, with a caveat. The caveat of course is that almost all clean modern 50mm lenses produce very sharp images at f:4, which is what this one is.

Here's the full image:

100% crop with the Summilux wide open (pretty damn impressive):

And here is the Helier wide open (also no slouch):

Note similar degree of blooming/flare off of the glare on the cup. Note the similar degree rendering of detail. In these pix I give the sliiight edge to the Summilux Asph -- look at the blown-out area on the cup handle. Blooming/flare is sliiightly better suppressed with the Summilux. But it is pretty damn close.

At $499 from Cameraquest this is a pretty sweet level of performance, if you can live with the slow lens speed.

 

[thompsonks]

If the goal is to take the sharpest possible picture with your S3, then the Heliar seems to be a wise choice of lenses. In fact it's embarrassing to Leica folks that in Benjamin's test, the Heliar has much less CA!

My guess is that the Heliars haven't sold out at CameraQuest because Nikon RF folks tend to be enamored (as I am) with the 50mm 1.4 Nikkors belonging to the same era as the camera bodies. The drawing and bokeh of elderly Nikkors and Sonnars trump maximum resolution and are a kind of "ol' time religion."

Kirk

 

[Benjamin Marks]

In fact it's embarrassing to Leica folks that in Benjamin's test, the Heliar has much less CA!"
Kirk

In fairness, the pics above compare the same scene wide open for both lenses. So f:1.4 to f:3.5 -- not exactly apples-to-apples. But if you were to stop down the Summilux to F:4 (or 3.5), you'd find almost no CA and less, in any event, than the Heliar. My only point was that 90% of the performance at 10% of the price (which seems to be C/V's goal) is a pretty good deal.

Ben

 

[migtex]

I have this lens and the half of dozen of 5cm 1.4 Nikkor. Of course at 3.5 they are all sharp but the Nikkor's have less contrast or what I call less micro-contrast. They have a different age compared with the Heliar of course, the new coatings do make difference.

On a sunny day is just great! Oh, avoid portraits unless your subjects are babies or young people.. otherwise you will need heavy post treatment. 😉

 

[KoNickon]

Sorry, but what is "CA"?

 

[raid]

This lens does very well on the M8 too. I like using it.

 

[ljsegil]

I have the VC Heliar 50/3.5 in S mount and think it can do some very nice things, producing images quite different in appearance than any of the Sonnars or the Millenium (all of the above are the Heliar, the last is actually a daylight photo. My readily available scanned shots from the Millenium are all color and not directly comparable so not shown). So I guess it comes down to how you like the look of the lens's imaging, and can you live with almost 3 stops less aperture. The lack of click stops on the S version is an annoyance, but doesn't prevent one from taking pictures.
LJS

 

[goliathus]

It also makes great bokeh 🙂

You can check the comparison test of Heliar 50mm F3.5 with another two standard lenses for Nikon S series, Millenium Nikkor, C Sonnar 50mm F1.5S, please check below link.


http://sangin1122.tistory.com/entry/Comparison-Zeiss-C-Sonnar-50mm-f15-S-Mount-CV-Heliar-S-50mm-F35

 

[ray*j*gun]

I'm sorry as hell that I sold mine!!!!!

 

[maitani]

just when I thought i was cured of gas

 

[Tom A]

Heliar 50mm f3.5 (this one is on a Bessa T101), Acros 100 in Beutler 7 min. Probably either at f3.5 or 4 as the light in the Transylvanian bakery was pretty low.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Tom. great use of the lens. It is also quite small, which makes it good for travel. I have both the "S" version (Nikon) and the collapsible version in LTM mount.

 

[raid]

Heliar 50/3.5 at 4.0:

Large image to illustrate OOF and resolution (at 4.0)

http://raid.smugmug.com/Photography/Heliar-Lenses/i-9jZ69hS/0/O/289888-R1-05-6.jpg

 

[zeissguy]

50mm F3.5 Heliar n "S" Mount Still only $499.00

50mm F3.5 Heliar n "S" Mount Still only $499.00

At $499 from Cameraquest this is a pretty sweet level of performance, if you can live with the slow lens speed.

I just bought this lens, brand new, from Stephen Gandy of Camera Quest fame. His site still has it listed and still at only $499.00. I have no idea how many more of these NOS lenses he has. Apparently, only 600 of these lenses were made in "S" mount.

Link to Voigtlander 50mm F3.5 Nikon Rangefinder "S" Mount Lens

Thanks everyone,