Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5 – Back to the Roots

The new Voigtlander Heliar lens with a standard focal length of 50 mm is designed as a deliberate counterpart to today’s high-performance lenses in such a way that, with the aperture open, it shows a creative, classic image through an intentionally left aberration.

Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5 VM lens consists of six elements in three groups and interprets the original Heliar type. Particularly with the aperture of F1.5, a bokeh effect should appear, in which spherical aberrations and coma occur at the edges of the image, which were difficult to create with digital processing. This effect diminishes with an increasingly smaller aperture, and from aperture F4, the new Heliar Classic 50 mm F1.5 VM is largely free of optical defects. The overall effect of the picture can be described as picturesque and velvety.

This deliberately created form of the image should give the user an extremely wide spectrum of creative leeway and the waiver of multi-layer coating ensures atmospheric results, especially in backlit situations.

The lens barrel is made of aluminum, the focusing ring is made of brass and, like the aperture ring, is characterized by a fine diamond pattern. The closest focus is 50 cm. A precise range finder coupling is available. A lens hood is included in the scope of delivery.

The new Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50 mm F1.5 VM is a creative tool and developed exclusively for the Leica M mount. It confidently stands by its “aberrations” and delivers a unique look. It is particularly interesting for photographers and artists who work outside of perfectionism and mainstream and who appreciate a warm, soft and analog image effect.

With an adapter, the Heliar lens can also be used with Sony E-mount, Fujifilm X-mount, and Nikon Z-mount cameras.

Price and availability

The recommended retail price is likely to be around $999 and is already available to pre-order on the Bhphotovide.com website.

Voigtlander Heliar Classic 50mm f1.5 Specifications

• Focal Length: 50mm
• Maximum Aperture: f/1.5
• Minimum Aperture: f/16
• Lens Mount: Leica M
• Format Compatibility: Full-Frame
• Angle of View: 45.9°
• Minimum Focus Distance: 50 cm
• Optical Design: 6 Elements in 3 Groups
• Diaphragm Blades: 10
• Format coverage: 36 x 24 mm
• Near limit: 0.5 m
• E-knife coupling: ∞ ~ 0.7 m (depending on the camera)
• Focus Type: Manual Focus
• Image Stabilization: No
• Front Filter Size: 49 mm
• Dimensions (ø x L): 56.8 x 41.9 mm
• Weight: 9 oz / 255 g

Recently, Voigtländer has also presented its first X mount lens: Nokton 35mm f1.2 X for Fuji cameras. The focal length of 35 mm on Fujifilm’s APS-C cameras corresponds to about 53 mm in full format 35 mm. The light intensity of 1: 1.2 offers great potential for exposure with the possibility of a particularly three-dimensional reproduction of details as well as a smooth bokeh, and is priced at $649.