Voigtlander Heliar 360mm f4.5 Lens

 Background:

Features:                       

Derived from a triplet design, both the Heliar and Universal Heliar lenses offers 5 elements in 3 groups.  The latter possesses an adjustment

for the central element operating as a Soft Focus control.   In any case, at wide apertures, lateral aberrations, especially coma, contribute to a distorted swirling peripheral field with better central sharpness than lantern petzval lenses.

A hefty lens, the 360mm Heliar offers a superlatively bright illumination for whole plate format for the die-hard enthusiast willing to go the extra 

mile to firstly mount the lens and then work out a shutter control system.  The 360mm Heliar requires substantial work for stable mounting onto a Sinar lens board.  Unless a Sinar Autoshutter is used, as is common for larger 8x10" format, there are few shutter options available for the user of this type of Heliar lens.  Silens type front mounted shutters are too small to cover the front of the lens (as are 95mm filters).  Alternative German 

front mounted shutter system work well offering one instantaneous shutter speed of 1/15th of a second along with B and T settings however are infrequently found and rarely accompany the large 360mm Heliar.  Even the largest American Ilex, Acme or Betax shutters won't accommodate the heft of the 360mm design without compromise.

Flare:                     Flare control against a Tessar design of a comparable focal length is very poor and against an old design such as the 

                               Ross Extra-Symmetrical with uncoated lens elements, it still seems below par.   The front recess of the lens design might at 

                               first glance seem to be useful however it offers little protection against adventitious flare.

Lenshood:             Approximately 98mm push on filter type.  This obviates the simultaneous use of a front-mounted shutter.

Filters:                   Due to the complexity and challenges of both lens hood and front-mounted shutter vying for front mounting of the lens, rear 

                               filter mounting is possible using a reverse 105mm filter adapter of 0.75x pitch embedding the male thread into the lens thread 

                               with silicon rubber to bind securely.  This set up enables the female thread of a 105mm filter to attach itself to the rear of the 

                               lens.  Then focussing must be undertaken with the filter in situ due to the added refraction of the optical pathway.  This is not 

                               an issue due to the fast aperture of the lens.

Coverage:             Extensive movements on whole plate possible with a narrow covering power approximately the inverse of the focal length 

                               being offered.

Summary:

An interesting lens which offers a rather unusually wide and shallow depth of field for whole plate format.  Image contrast is low compared to 

modern lenses with a soft tonal transition and modulation of out of focus highlights.   It does not offer the critical high definition of modern 

lenses however draws light with a classical rendition for still life or portraiture work in a very characteristic manner.  Size, weight, shutter difficults and flare control tend to dissuade the modern whole plate photographer from use, not lest, the relative difficulty in finding a specimen with excellent optical properties.

Acknowledgements:  Camera Eccentric for making the original Voigtlander brochures available on line.

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Comments, revisions and suggestions welcome.