Help: Heliar vs. Verito vs. Collinear

[SteveKarr]

This is for the Lens Guru's out there. (Please keep in mind I only shoot people & love the romance in the image.)

I own a 11.5" Verito & have on loan (maybe buy) a f6.7 Collinear of about the same length.

My question is I have seen this photo here ( I disrespectfully forgot the photographer, I'm sorry, it is a Super Great Image) and LOVE the look. I do remember he shot it at F5.6 (1 stop down on this lens)

300mm Heliar, I love this ...
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/4486/8x10fromheliar300mm5619.jpg (http://img297.imageshack.us/i/8x10fromheliar300mm5619.jpg/)

So I love that. My question is, is the look to those who know the same as the Collinear? My experience with that lens is it is pretty sharp'ish and avarage looking. A good look when you need it, but doesn't look like the photo above. I also have an Apo Nikkor 420mm for when I need sharp.

I was wondering if the Heliar 300mm is giving that great focus fall-off by its signature, or what? To get something like this from the Verito I need to stop down to F11 or f16. too Slooow to be any good to me.

Sorry to talk in circles, but I can barely afford to play with glass in this economy, and any advice would save more than time.

So what do yea think?

Thanks~
Steve

My Collinear
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9229/collinearwideopenf67.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/i/collinearwideopenf67.jpg/)

My Verito
f/8
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/3126/veritof8.jpg (http://img522.imageshack.us/i/veritof8.jpg/)

f11
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2138/veritof11.jpg (http://img245.imageshack.us/i/veritof11.jpg/)

[CarstenW]

To my eyes, the Collinear comes closer to the look in the portrait you have shown, given the very good sharpness at the focus plane. However, your test images would not show that, because the light is so different and the relationship between foreground and background are also very different. Try making a test shot indoors close to a window, and set up a chair instead of a person, and test that way.

[Ken Lee]

"I also have an Apo Nikkor 420mm for when I need sharp."

Have you tried your APO Nikkor at wider apertures ? You might like the blur rendition too :)

Heliars are very sharp too. Their extra blur goes away when stopped down past f/8.



http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/forum/img040aa.jpg
Amaryllis, January 2010
Sinar P, 360mm APO Nikkor
5x7 FP4+, Pyrocat HD


http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/larger/4.jpg
Cheyanne, 2008
Sinar P, 210mm Braunschweig Heliar
4x5 TMY, Pyrocat HD

[Mark Sawyer]

Very lovely photos, Ken, the portrait of Cheyanne, especially so. The Heliar fits it well, but I think it would be wonderful with almost any lens...

[Lynn Jones]

Hi Steve,

The Voigtlander Collinear (1895) is a symmetrical double anastigmat virtually identical with the Steinheil Orthostigmat (1893), according to Dr. Rudolph Kingslake. These lenses have excellent reputations.

The Heliar is a normal angle, 5 element from Voigtlander is similar to the Dallmeyer Pentac (always a battle as to which of the two actually was first). Kodak made the best Heliar/Pentac lens designs including the Medalist lens, a couple of the fine Ektar enlarging lenses, and several of the Apo graphic arts lenses.

If I remember correctly, the Veritos were Wollensak portrait lenses, I seem to remember shooting with Verito lenses in the mid 1950's.

Lynn