Voigtländer 40mm f2.8 Heliar lens (VM & LTM) - Images

jja said:
I am in the market for a modern LTM lens for my Leica IIIg and I'm wondering if those of you with experience with the 40mm f/2.8 Heliar have compared it with the 50mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar. The Heliar can be bought new while the C-S can only be bought used, but setting availability/price aside, which do you prefer and why? Thanks all for these wonderful samples.
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I've had both....& still have the Color-Skopar. The downside of the Heliar on the lllG is the 40mm lens/50mm viewfinder. I used my Heliar on a CL so it was perfect. Both are quality, sharp lenses. The only other slight downside of the Heliar is getting 34mm filters....
 
Thanks. I was planning to make do with the 50mm frame lines on the IIIg, but they are tight in the viewfinder. You no longer have the Heliar?
 
jja said:
I am in the market for a modern LTM lens for my Leica IIIg and I'm wondering if those of you with experience with the 40mm f/2.8 Heliar have compared it with the 50mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar. The Heliar can be bought new while the C-S can only be bought used, but setting availability/price aside, which do you prefer and why? Thanks all for these wonderful samples.
Click to expand...
I have both of these lenses. I think it comes down to your preference as to focal length. The Color Skopar 50mm f2.5 is a highly valued and appreciated lens on this forum, as it is sharp, well made, flare resistant, small, largely distortion free, and handles well. The Color Skopar takes 39mm filters, if that's important to you. The Heliar 40mm is tiny, takes 34mm filters, and is also well made. I have been impressed by the resolving power of the little Heliar, but I haven't attempted a head to head comparison w/ the Color Skopar 50mm in that regard. You say you're intending to use the new lens on a Leica IIIg; do you have an auxiliary VF in 40mm? I'm not familiar w/ the vf on the IIIg; on a Leica M3, the entire vf field approximates a 40mm focal length, and then you've also got the 50mm frame lines. I often shoot 40mm lenses on my M3 by framing w/ the entire vf. I don't know if that works on the IIIg.

Note: I have a number of 40mm lenses. I think of the 40mm focal length in 35mm format as a slightly tighter version of a 35mm focal length lens. That's why I don't think it's redundant to take a 50mm AND a 40mm lens on an outing. YMMV.

If you're neutral about preference for 50mm or 40mm focal lengths, then I'd base my decision on the condition of the particular lens. That might tip the scales toward the Heliar 40mm, as it's new, but you might want to take a look at the thread devoted to photos from the Color Skopar 50mm. Bottom line: you can't go wrong with either lens, assuming the lens is in good condition.
 
jja said:
I am in the market for a modern LTM lens for my Leica IIIg and I'm wondering if those of you with experience with the 40mm f/2.8 Heliar have compared it with the 50mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar. The Heliar can be bought new while the C-S can only be bought used, but setting availability/price aside, which do you prefer and why? Thanks all for these wonderful samples.
Click to expand...

While I don't own the Color-Skopar; I do use the 40mm Heliar which I use mostly on a Typ 262. It has resolution and sharpness aplenty from wide open and produces very clean/clear images and colour with what I can only describe as a feeling of transparency if that makes any sense to you. Definitely a modern look, capable of producing 3-D pop. I've noticed a little bit of barrel distortion at closer focus distances <2m. Bokeh can be a bit messy at times and there is probably some vignetting but I've not really noticed anything distracting. Flare control is great. Overall it has a very modern sharp look with image quality hard to fault. Mike has plenty of examples of the lenses capabilities above.

Of more interest to you might be how the lens handles. I would describe it as delicate, light and a bit finnicky; mostly as a result of it's compact size. The aperture ring is very thin and light to move although click stops are positive: markings naturally, are very small. The barrel rotates when changing focus and the aperture ring and markings rotate with it - there is a duplicate set of aperture markings at 180 degrees to the first set so as one set of markings rotates out of view, the other set rotates in to view (I hope that makes sense to you!). Aperture depth of field markings are etched onto the lens barrel and are visible when looking down from above the camera, however the actual distances (in metres) they relate to are etched on the lens mounting flange and are not visible when looking down from the top of the camera, you need to tilt the camera up towards your face a little to see distance the lens is focussed at and to read the depth of field markings properly. Focus can also move when you change aperture and to resolve this I have the habit of holding the infinity stop in place when I move click stops. This explanation probably makes things sound more complicated than they are in reality (I seem to manage OK) Probably it handles like early collapsible Elmars and thing like that. In all respects, however, I feel the Color-Skopar would be the more conventional and better handling lens.

Hope this helps. Regards.
 
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40mm Heliar mounted on Typ 262. Processed in Exposure X7 to taste. (Hmmm.... looks to have a much higher cyan cast when uploaded than on my home PC... "shrugs").
 
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Girl​
U69954.1707822803.0.JPG

Sony A7III camera
Voigtländer 40mm f2.8 Heliar Aspherical VM lens
February 2024 - Yokohama, Japan​
 
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