Voigtländer Hyper Wide-Heliar 10 mm f/ 5.6 Aspherical Lens Manual
Additional info about the APO-LANTHAR
The history of the APO-LANTHAR begins with the HELIAR invented by Hans Harting in 1900.
Despite its simple optical configuration of five elements in three groups, the HELIAR was a lens
with superb depictive performance. As an example of the HELIAR optical formula still being valid
in the present day, it is used in the currently available HELIAR Vintage Line 50mm F3.5, a lens
known for its superb depictive performance.
Furthermore, a HELIAR is recorded as being the lens used to take imperial portraits of Emperor
Showa, and it is said the HELIAR lens was extremely highly regarded for its beautiful depictive
performance and even treated as a family treasure by portrait photography businesses during the
Showa period.
Moving forward about half a century from the birth of the HELIAR to 1954, Albrecht Wilhelm Tron-
nier developed a lens using the same five-elements-three-groups configuration as the HELIAR
utilizing new glass types to achieve performance that exceeded the HELIAR. That lens was the
APO-LANTHAR. The APO in APO-LANTHAR indicates an apochromatic optical design. The main
characteristic of such a lens is that longitudinal chromatic aberrations caused by the different
wavelengths (frequencies) of the three primary colors (RGB) of light are reduced to practically zero
to achieve high-level color reproduction. Color film slowly gained popularity after its release in
1935, and one reason why the APO-LANTHAR was developed was to address a growing need to
capture light more faithfully than possible with monochrome film.
The first camera to be fitted with an APO-LANTHAR lens was the 6 x 9 roll film rangefinder camera
representative of post-war Voigtlander, the Bessa II. There were three different lens variations of
this camera: APO-LANTHAR 4.5/100, COLOR-HELIAR 3.5/105, and COLOR-SKOPAR 3.5/105. The
APO-LANTHAR 4.5/100 variation has red, green, and blue (RGB) rings indicating the apochromatic
optical design engraved around the front of the lens barrel to differentiate it from the other
versions as a special lens. Due to the rarity and high performance of the Bessa II fitted with
APO-LANTHAR lens, this camera has become a legendary camera traded on the used market at
high prices and the envy of camera collectors.
As homage to the RGB colors that differentiate the APO-LANTHAR from other lenses beginning
with the BESSA II, the MACRO APO-LANTHAR 65mm F2 Aspherical also features three colored
dashes indicating the RGB colors at the front edge of the lens barrel.
Despite its simple optical configuration of five elements in three groups, the HELIAR was a lens
with superb depictive performance. As an example of the HELIAR optical formula still being valid
in the present day, it is used in the currently available HELIAR Vintage Line 50mm F3.5, a lens
known for its superb depictive performance.
Furthermore, a HELIAR is recorded as being the lens used to take imperial portraits of Emperor
Showa, and it is said the HELIAR lens was extremely highly regarded for its beautiful depictive
performance and even treated as a family treasure by portrait photography businesses during the
Showa period.
Moving forward about half a century from the birth of the HELIAR to 1954, Albrecht Wilhelm Tron-
nier developed a lens using the same five-elements-three-groups configuration as the HELIAR
utilizing new glass types to achieve performance that exceeded the HELIAR. That lens was the
APO-LANTHAR. The APO in APO-LANTHAR indicates an apochromatic optical design. The main
characteristic of such a lens is that longitudinal chromatic aberrations caused by the different
wavelengths (frequencies) of the three primary colors (RGB) of light are reduced to practically zero
to achieve high-level color reproduction. Color film slowly gained popularity after its release in
1935, and one reason why the APO-LANTHAR was developed was to address a growing need to
capture light more faithfully than possible with monochrome film.
The first camera to be fitted with an APO-LANTHAR lens was the 6 x 9 roll film rangefinder camera
representative of post-war Voigtlander, the Bessa II. There were three different lens variations of
this camera: APO-LANTHAR 4.5/100, COLOR-HELIAR 3.5/105, and COLOR-SKOPAR 3.5/105. The
APO-LANTHAR 4.5/100 variation has red, green, and blue (RGB) rings indicating the apochromatic
optical design engraved around the front of the lens barrel to differentiate it from the other
versions as a special lens. Due to the rarity and high performance of the Bessa II fitted with
APO-LANTHAR lens, this camera has become a legendary camera traded on the used market at
high prices and the envy of camera collectors.
As homage to the RGB colors that differentiate the APO-LANTHAR from other lenses beginning
with the BESSA II, the MACRO APO-LANTHAR 65mm F2 Aspherical also features three colored
dashes indicating the RGB colors at the front edge of the lens barrel.