Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM (test crops).

2012, Inspiration, Teaching point, Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM

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.

9 thoughts on “Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM (test crops).”

  1. George's avatar

    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

  2. John Parkyn's avatar

    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.

    1. Peter | Prosophos's avatar

      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).

  3. Pingback: Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM (hmmm….). « P r o s o p h o s
    1. jparriott's avatar

      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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  5. mikemcfoto's avatar

    Hi Peter!

    Thanks to you and your posts on the Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4…I bought the 40mm. Which soon led into their 21mm f/4, and now I’m looking for the 75mm f/2.5. 🙂 Are you willing to part with yours? I’d very much like to buy it from you.

    And I’m in the CCD camp.

    Cheers!

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