zeiss 50mm f/2 Planar vs. Voigtlander Heliar 50mm f/2

[nicoy3k]

How do these lenses match up in terms of image quality, build quality, and comfort?

Finding a decent Heliar f/2 review is practically impossible..

Thanks

 

[kshapero]

I owned the Heliar 50mm. A sweet lens for sure, but I often took shots with the lens collapsed. Not good. Cause? BPIOO.
Below Par Intelliegence Of Operater.

 

[nicoy3k]

haha, why did you get rid of it?

 

[kshapero]

haha, why did you get rid of it?

GAS ATTACK

 

[Avotius]

I would say the planar is a better lens myself, not a big fan of the heliar, the character of the lens just didnt sit well with me. Very pleased with the planar though, cant go wrong there.

 

[John Noble]

I have the Heliar but not the Planar.

The Planar is probably a sharper lens, especially at wider apertures, but the Heliar has a vintage signature (and amazing bokeh) that I like a lot. It's a matter of taste.

Do a search on Flickr for "Heliar Classic" (without the quotes) if you want a sample of the Heliar's "look".

 

[Doug]

I like the Heliar Classic quite a lot, as it's compact, very well made, and I like the smooth look. But then I also like the 50 Skopar and C-Sonnar, all three somewhat offbeat lenses. The 50 Planar is a more "respectable" mainstream lens.

 

[goo0h]

I have both. Not an expert, but I think I personally lean more towards the ZM. The Heliar is fairly soft wide open, and doesn't get sharp until it is stopped down pretty far. On the plus side, the Heliar has very smooth out-of-focus character that is really nice. There's a good review of the Heliar here: http://400tx.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

Really, totally different lenses with different rendering. In the end I think I'm liking the bite of the ZM a bit better. Though, I haven't decided to sell my Heliar because there are times when sometimes you want less bite. I suppose if I ever get the Sonnar 50/F1.5, then I might get rid of the Heliar, but we'll see. I'm pretty happy with my 50/F2 ZM for now. For me right now it would be better to spend money on film.

 

[photophorous]

I have the Heliar, but I have not used the Planar. I agree with much of what has been said already. Out of focus areas are nice and smooth, but it isn't real sharp wide open. However I think it is very sharp by f2.8 and sharpness is not degraded (as much as I would expect) by small apertures...it's still very sharp at f16. Build quality and handling are great. It also handles flare very well.

 

[shadowfox]

GAS ATTACK

It won't be long until we see this in 'bay auction descriptions as the "excuse" for selling camera stuff.

 

[kshapero]

Been comparing my newly bought CV Heliar Classic 50/2 with my last version Non APO 'Cron 50/2 on my M9.

CV

'cron