As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, this lens is pretty impressive — beginning wide open @ f/2.5.
For my own comparison purposes, I shot this test scene to evaluate central sharpness.
Focus is on the leaves inside the red box:
[Note: these are DNG files converted directly to JPG using Aperture 3, with no sharpening added.]
(please click on the image to view)
↑Leica M9 and Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM.
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Here is the 100% crop of the above @ f/2.5:
(please click on the image to view)
↑Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM @ f/2.5 (100% crop, no sharpening).
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And here is the 100% crop @ f/4:
(please click on the image to view)
↑Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM @ f/4 (100% crop, no sharpening).
Amazingly sharp, don’t you think?
—Peter.
Very interesting! I was tempted by this lens myself a while ago but then decided to save up a bit more and maybe invest in a Summarit – do you still have yours to do a wider-ranging comparison?
Best,
George
Thanks! The 75mm Summarit would outperform this lens in all respects (but not by a huge margin).
So, Peter, bearing in mind that some people don’t appreciate facial clarity, which do you consider the better portrait lens, the (barely available) Color Heliar or the Summarit?
I believe that the new Voigtlander 75/1.8, with its soft central rendering, is touted as a portrait lens. Heavier than either the Color Heliar or the Summarit, it is about 40% the cost of a Summarit.
Hi John. It really depends on the portrait. For more “forgiving” portraits, I believe I would pick this lens. But, I’m not convinced of that… not sure it has the “magic” to it of some of the lenses I’ve used (including many non-Leica ones). I need more time to get acquainted with it to tell for certain.
As for the 75/1.8, I don’t have any experience with it and it is a much larger lens (I picked up the Color-Heliar because I was looking for a light-weight and inexpensive travel lens).
[...] beginning to see some magic from this Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar… I may have to revise my opinion that the Leica 75mm Summarit bests [...]
Agree, Peter. Small, light, wonderful. Love this lens. Some CA wide open – but it’s easily corrected and that’s my only complaint. Amazing for portraits. A gem.
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