I’m 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 it.
If this lens is even close to its Leica equivalent, I would call it a remarkable achievement at 25% of the price.
It’s a shame it’s discontinued.
—Peter.
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.]
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↑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:
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↑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:
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↑Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM @ f/4 (100% crop, no sharpening).
Amazingly sharp, don’t you think?
—Peter.
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The test image below marks the debut of my Voigtländer 75mm f/2.5 Color Heliar LTM.
The lens was discontinued a while ago, but I was fortunate enough to find a “new-old stock” one, which arrived yesterday.
Over the years, I’ve read quite a bit about this lens and how it compares quite favourably to the Leica 75mm Summarit (a wonderful lens in its own right — please see my user report here).
What piqued my interest was the reported performance-to-size ratio — I’m always looking for small and lightweight lenses that are capable of powerhouse performance (which, as far as I’m concerned, represents the ethos of the Leica M system).
Having now seen it, I can definitely state that the Color Heliar is indeed incredibly light and and incredibly small. Some performance trade-off must have been made in order to achieve this state of airiness, but in my limited time with it, I just don’t see it.*
In a word, the Color Heliar’s performance @ f/2.5 is impressive.
I’ll try and post another test shot — including 100% crops — tomorrow.**
—Peter.
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↑Leica M9 and Voigtländer 75mm Color Heliar @ f/2.5.
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*More often than not, the more sought after — and more expensive — Leica counterpart lenses will excel in the areas of build quality, micro-contrast, flare resistance, sharpness wide open, corner performance, etc… but sometimes the differences are very subtle and some of those qualities, for my type of shooting, are not critical.
**Please note that I have no intention of writing a review, I’m just sharing the information I gather during my evaluation of this lens.
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↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/2.8.
Sometimes, the smallest moments really are the most memorable.
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↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.
If you’re interested in improving your photography, but can’t attend one of my 1-on-1 teaching sessions, I’m now offering an email-based Photo Critiquing Service.
Please see here for more information.
Thank you,
—Peter.
Some simply exude warmth.
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↑Leica M9 and Leica 35mm Summilux FLE @ f/1.4.
Monochrome floral.
Incidentally, this image was processed in Lightroom 4, because my copy of Aperture 3 crashed and wouldn’t re-start when I was processing images for a client. It’s the first time I’ve used LR4 (the first image I processed with it was this one) and the experience has been positive.
My copy of Aperture is finally back up and running, but Lightroom has earned a permanent place in my post-processing toolbox.
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↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.
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↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.
If you see her, say “Hello”…
—John Mayer, Queen of California.
On the cusp of starting over.
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↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.
I’m of course referencing the ring of light found in religious and literary iconography.
The dramatic halo effect in this image is courtesy of the optical “flaw” known as lens flare — something I’ve harnessed in the past to convey my view of life as a dream.
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↑Leica M9 and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.
This is the final image of the series.
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↑Leica M9 and Zeiss ZM 21mm @ f/2.8.
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↑Leica M9 and Zeiss ZM 21mm @ f/2.8.
What appeals to me in this image is the composition, the wide angle perspective, the operator caught in mid-step, and the girl’s intent gaze.
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↑Leica M9 and Zeiss ZM 21mm @ f/2.8.
Currently, my favourite lens, for both digital and film.
I’ve previously criticized it as being too perfect, but after years of both embracing and neglecting it, I’m beginning to realize that it’s just perfectly balanced.
To see all of the images I’ve captured with this lens, please see here.
—Peter.
To see a world, in a grain of sand…
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand..
—William Blake, Auguries of Innocence.
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To hold it all, and then let it go…
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↑Leica M3, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.
iPhone 3Guys.
Second last day of school, and the boys have other priorities.
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↑Leica M3, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH @ f/1.4.
Honey, on film.
↑Leica M3, Kodak Tri-X 400, and Voigtländer Nokton 40mm @ f/1.4.
Prosophos 