Voigtlander claimed "their famous delicate definition" for the Heliar, and that "every detail is reproduced - and that is important - not with that searing sharpness which shows up every wrinkle and pore".
That mirrors what you are saying @momus. It's also why Dallmeyer's Portrait lenses essentially corrected Petzvals remained in production for nearly 80 years, and why the Cooke triplet portrait lenses has been around for longer (although a later design)
In suggesting older designs the OP needs to remember that with a 210mm lens on a 5x4 camera you are using the central part of the image circle so consequentially there would not be anything like the same degree of fall off in terms of sharpness that you'd see with a 150mm or135mm lens.
Those Voigtlander comments about the Heliar (from their 1961 lens brochure) don't mean the lenses aren't sharp, rather that they don't have the harsh micro contrasts of some lenses. You can say the same about the Dagor, as well.
Ian
That mirrors what you are saying @momus. It's also why Dallmeyer's Portrait lenses essentially corrected Petzvals remained in production for nearly 80 years, and why the Cooke triplet portrait lenses has been around for longer (although a later design)
In suggesting older designs the OP needs to remember that with a 210mm lens on a 5x4 camera you are using the central part of the image circle so consequentially there would not be anything like the same degree of fall off in terms of sharpness that you'd see with a 150mm or135mm lens.
Those Voigtlander comments about the Heliar (from their 1961 lens brochure) don't mean the lenses aren't sharp, rather that they don't have the harsh micro contrasts of some lenses. You can say the same about the Dagor, as well.
Ian