Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 on Sony NEX - Review / Test Report - Sample Images & Verdict
Lens Reviews - Sony NEX
Article Index
Introduction
Analysis
Sample Images & Verdict

Page 3 of 3

Sample Images

Here're some RAW-converted images taken with the Sony NEX 7. Please note that no EXIF data has been recorded due to the lack of electronic coupling.

Click on a thumbnail to view the original file (opens in a separate window). Please note that the originals are FULL SIZE samples (=several megabytes) thus requiring a significant amount of bandwidth so please take care of the limited resources here.

Make SONY
Model NEX-7
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length
Aperture: f/
Exposure 1/4000s
Make SONY
Model NEX-7
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length
Aperture: f/
Exposure 1/4000s
Make SONY
Model NEX-7
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length
Aperture: f/
Exposure 1/640s
Make SONY
Model NEX-7
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length
Aperture: f/
Exposure 1/320s
Make SONY
Model NEX-7
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length
Aperture: f/
Exposure 1/4000s
Make SONY
Model NEX-7
ISO Speed 100
Focal Length
Aperture: f/
Exposure 1/4000s

Verdict

The Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 VM is a fine little Leica M mount lens. On Sony NEX (APS-C) the full format lens delivers pretty good results from a user perspective. At large apertures the center performance is fine, and that's where it counts here, whereas the border performance is rather soft. It is interesting that it is capable of delivering very good results across the image frame at medium aperture settings though - we haven't seen this often on the NEX 7 so far. Lateral CAs are minimal which contributes to the subjective sharpness perception. The level of distortion is low and vignetting is usually nothing to worry about either. The quality of the bokeh is decent with a relatively smooth focus transition zone and good highlight rendition. Bokeh fringing is a more pronounced issue though.

Typical for Voigtlander lenses there's nothing to complain about on the mechanical side. The Heliar is an all-metal body construction with a dampened focus ring and a dedicate aperture control ring. You have to use adapters when using it on modern mirrorless systems so you have to live without electronic coupling (thus without camera controlled aperture) and without AF. If this is not an issue from your perspective it'll be an attractive offering - especially because the price tag is rather moderate.

Optical Quality:
Mechanical Quality:
Price/Performance:
      
   What does this mean ?

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