Photos at Chatswood Train Station with the Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm/1:1.5 and Leica M10

This is part of a series of articles showcasing pictures taken on the Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm/1:1.5. These pictures were taken at Chatswood station and show the performance of the lens wide open (f1.5) vs f4.

The Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm F1.5 VM is a unique lens that is designed to show a shaping-classic image at open aperture by intentionally leaving aberration. In particular, at the F1.5 aperture, a bokeh effect is apparent, creating spherical and chromatic aberrations at the edges of the image that would be difficult to create through digital processing.

The second photo, taken at f4, shows how the lens performs at f4. It's a perfectly acceptable, but perhaps not the most exciting, image. Spherical distortion is minimal, and resolution is acceptable. The lens renders the scene slightly dark compared to say a Summicron.

The first photo, taken at f1.5 (maximum aperture), shows the special characteristics of the lens. Both spherical and chromatic aberrations are clearly present, creating a somewhat dreamy look and overly bright look to the scene. I must admit, I was somewhat shocked when I first took the picture, and started thinking perhaps something was wrong with the camera or the lens. It was only later I realised this is intentional (one could argue Voigtländer are perhaps trying to turn a "problem" into a "feature" through marketing, but at least they are honest that it is not meant to be an "accurate" lens at that aperture).

Please click on any photo to view in a lightbox. Use arrow keys or swipe to navigate.

Victoria Mall f1.5 (Leica Camera AG LEICA M10 Summilux-M 1:1.4/50 [50mm,f1.4,1/4000s,ISO200])

Victoria Mall f4 (Leica Camera AG LEICA M10 Summilux-M 1:1.4/50 [50mm,f2.8,1/3000s,ISO200])

Here are two photos of two different trains arriving at Chatswood Station, both taken at maximum aperture. As you can see, the rather dreamy quality of the images persists. Whether you like it or not is ultimately going to be a personal preference. If you do not like this kind of look I would advise against buying this lens.

Please click on any photo to view in a lightbox. Use arrow keys or swipe to navigate.

Metro train (Leica Camera AG LEICA M10 Summilux-M 1:1.4/50 [50mm,f1.4,1/4000s,ISO200])

T1 train at Wynyard (Leica Camera AG LEICA M10 Summicron-M 1:2/28 ASPH. [28mm,f2,1/500s,ISO16000])

For more information on the Heliar Classic 50mm lens, check out my initial impressions article and other articles in the series.