Voigtländer Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5 VM

The Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5 VM is a deliberate counterpoint to the high-performance lenses of today. It is designed to provide a creative, classic image at wide open aperture, showcasing intentionally retained aberrations. The lens configuration consists of six elements in three groups and interprets the original Heliar type. Particularly at the aperture of f/1.5, a bokeh effect is evident, where spherical and comatic aberrations occur at the edges of the image, which are difficult to replicate through digital editing. This effect diminishes with increasingly smaller apertures, and from f/4 onwards, the Heliar behaves largely distortion-free. The overall image effect can be described as painterly and velvety.

This intentionally induced imaging representation offers an extremely wide range of creative possibilities, and the absence of multi-coating results in atmospheric outcomes, especially in backlight situations (the lens features a single coating). The lens barrel is made of aluminum, and the focus ring is crafted from brass, both adorned with a fine diamond pattern. An absolute eye-catcher. The minimum focusing distance is 50 cm, and it includes a highly precise rangefinder coupling, along with a lens hood in the package. The Heliar Classic 50mm f/1.5 VM is a true creative tool, developed exclusively for the Leica M mount. It confidently embraces its "imperfections" and delivers a unique look. It is particularly interesting for photographers and artists who work outside of perfectionism and mainstream trends, and who appreciate a warm, soft, and analog image effect.