New Classic Collection Nickel 50/3.5 and 50/2 Heliars

wlewisiii said:
If I had the money, I'll admit that I'd love one of the 50/3.5's as a counterpoint for my Summitar. It certainly would look pretty on a IIIf :) Not anytime soon, though...

William
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Will, exactly my thoughts too! :)

Unfortunately my wife would kill me if I spent that kind of money on yet another lens.....
 
Tom A said:
Robin, CV Limited Editions are quite nice. They are modestly priced compared to Leica, they do fill a niche - and they are truly limited - 600 of each is rather modest. I never buy lenses or cameras as an "investment" just for using. However, I am quite happy that I bought my 28f3.5's when i did. The prices are going up now as is lenses like the 35f2.5 in Nikkor mount as demand outstrips supply.
I dont "need" another 50f2 Heliar or a 50f3.5 Heliar - but they are different looking and as I like them for their image quality - I will probably buy them - particularly as the 2 of them cost less than another Summicron 50!! Not a rational reason, but why not.
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Dear Tom,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the topic. Cosina voigtlander makes great lens at great price, no one doubts it. But for a limited edition aiming at a special group of people, I think people will care about the value of they hold and maintain even though the price of Limited edition of voigtlander is quite reasonable.

Voightlander lens are great for shooter. Meanwhile they loose their value in used market very fast as I observed at least in Asia. I even saw a Heliar 50/2 sold for less than 300USD in local. Though it's a single case, I think people don't think the brand could hold the value.

That's why I am curious to see the market reaction to these Limited Edition Voigtlander lens.
 
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wlewisiii said:
If I had the money, I'll admit that I'd love one of the 50/3.5's as a counterpoint for my Summitar. It certainly would look pretty on a IIIf :) Not anytime soon, though...

William
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William, I also have a Summitar (and a IIIf RD). I'm curious as to how the 50/3.5 would counterpoint the Summitar. Are you suggesting it would produce a different look/signature than the Summitar? I don't know anything about these new lenses, but I'm just wondering if the 50/3.5 would offer any practical difference.

Thank you.
 
Yes, I think there would be a different signature due to the fact that the Summitar is a planar derived symetrical design while the Helliar is an asymetrical design like the Tessar & Sonnar, though I don't know for certain as I have not used it.

I like collapsible lenses - especially the ones that do collapse enough to matter like the 50/3.5 - and I like the challenge of shooting with the slower lens.

But practical difference? Nah, not really. There is so very little practical difference in modern lenses with rare exceptions like the ZM 50/1.5 Sonnar C. Perhaps the Heliars are as well, perhaps Raid with he recent test can speak to that?

Myself, I'll be paying for a VC 35/2.5 Color Skopar this week & shortly after that, I'll get a nice 90/4 Elmar I know about. Beyond those, I really don't need anymore glass. A Heliar 50/3.5 would be fun, but for entierly impractical reasons.

Hope this makes some sense.

William
 
one of these two lens will be nice on my Bessa R...black and silver, why not ?
Not sure I can find them in Italy...
robert
 
10/27/09

The New Voigtlander 50/3.5 Nickel Heliars are in transit and will arrive at CameraQuest late next week. USA price is $699.

Stephen
 
Too cool!! Anyone want to be my secret santa? :angel:

William
 
Less than a month after introduction, both the 50/2 and 50/3.5 Voigtlander Nickel Heliars are sold out at the factory!

Get them while you can!

Stephen
 
Oy! Now that is officially droolworthy. Very beautifull.

William
 
Heliar 50/2 is not collapsible

Heliar 50/2 is not collapsible

The new 50/2 looks like it is a collapsible lens, but it is not. Its proportions on the camera are quite beautiful. :)
 
Even the lens looked great, I have returned it. The performance wasn't like I expected. I took a role of Kodak Ektar and scanned it. My 40 years old Olympus Pen lenses did sharper results, also a Olympus OM4 film I scanned parallel. It needed a lot of color adjustment, and contrast wasn't impressive as well. It wasn't unsharp but no "peak performer" worth the amount of money. No "pleasent look" either. Maybe the lens was out of tolerance, so I returned it with no questions asked by the dealer.

Some of the shots were on a scenario that can be repeated. I will do it with other 50's when I find the time, an do a detailed comparison.
 
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I've been thinking about getting a Leica IIIf and really like the look of the Heliar 50/2. My only worry is that it might intrude on the IIIf's viewfinder, is this a problem Jamie?
 
Nice lenses, for sure. I don't think that the Voigtlander lens names of yesterday (German Voigtlander) bear any resemblance to today's lenses of the same name.
 
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