What do you think of the Vaskar?

darinwc · Mar 29, 2017

What do you think of the Vaskar lens used in the Voigtlander Bessa I and Perkeo I cameras?
Is it really inferior to the skopar?
If you have any examples, that would be great.

BMbikerider · Mar 29, 2017

The Vaskar is a much earlier design than the Skopar and from my experience with a Skopar whilst it is only a 4 element lens it is up among the best of them. probably on par with the Minolta Rokkor fitted to the Autocord.

Chris Livsey · Mar 29, 2017

By reputation it is inferior, being noticeably soft in the corners. At the time it was the least expensive option and those paying more were probably expecting a better lens and probably got one. Time may have been kind to some examples though which may now outperform other names like the Skopar of similar vintage that have suffered more. That is the problem now, what was a good lens from new may now have deteriorated and vice versa so individual comparisons from others are largely irrelevant it is the lens you have at hand that matters. Note how there is still, see "lens rentals" reviews, very considerable sample variation in modern, very expensive lenses, how much more in the earlier hand built glass? Unless the reporter has experience of several samples opinions can be taken with a pinch of salt, even this one.

R.Gould · Mar 29, 2017

The vasker is a triplet design, stopped down to 8 or 11 it is fine but lke most triplets wide open it can be a bit soft, personally I kind of lke the lens in my Perkeo 1 camera, it works fine stipped down

macfred · Mar 29, 2017

Those Vaskar lenses are quite great. My father in law had a Perkeo I with Vaskar 80mm f/4.5 (it was kind of an economic version in that Perkeo range).
Here are a few photographs (from an other thread) he and his father took decades ago (I found the negatives while cleaning up his house and scanned them for him) :

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

ransel · Mar 29, 2017

Perkeo I

thuggins · Mar 29, 2017

I compared my Bessa I with the Vaskar to the Medalist II with its fancy Ektar. It certainly held its own. Jurgen over at Certo 6 also has high praise for the lens.

shutterfinger · Mar 30, 2017

From "A Lens Collectors Vade Mecum"
Vaskar This was an f4.5 triplet made in 75, 80, 105mm (Layout V 032) for sale after WW2 and was coated
and possibly redesigned. It was used on budget priced TLR and folders such as the 6x6cm Perkeo noted in
B.J.A. 1953, p252. The definition was described as "good and the negatives ...more than adequately sharp".

light travels the direction of the arrow.

Go ask your copy if its up to the pedigree, it will tell you without a wimpier.

wjlapier · Mar 30, 2017

More than adequate for my needs:

John Wiegerink · Mar 30, 2017

Stopped down, a well corrected/built triplet is every bit as good as most Tessars. It's just that the Tessar is better at larger apertures. I said the Tessar is better, but still not perfect wide-open. Some of the old Zeiss triplets stopped down to f11-16 would knock your socks off, but wide-open were best for portraits. Not a bad combination to have.

JPD · Mar 31, 2017

BMbikerider said:
The Vaskar is a much earlier design than the Skopar

The Vaskar is an improved post-war triplet design. Voigtländers pre-war front cell focusing triplet was the Voigtar. If I remember correctly, the Skopar was also improved on after the war.

BMbikerider · Mar 31, 2017

The Skopar, at least the later versions made around 1960 and later, incorporated Lanthanum glass which improved the colour correctio n and the sharpness as well.

DWThomas · Mar 31, 2017

With my Perkeo II, I admit to having gone for the Color Skopar based on reputation, but when one thinks about it, many families have treasured records of activities in the 1940s and 50s taken with a simple meniscus lens in a box camera -- it's all relative! I would expect a three element design stopped down a bit to give a decent account of itself.

darinwc · Mar 31, 2017

Well thank you all for your replies!
From the examples posted, I am impressed.
In fact I would not hesitate to say they are fantastic. But that probably had as much to do with the photographer as the lens. (Great job guys!)
Though I think all the examples were on 6x6. I wonder how they would fare on 6x9. -guess I will have to find out!

The prices of the Vaskar equipped cameras are much less than those with a Skopar.

darinwc · Mar 31, 2017

Macfred:. I had forgotten I had seen your post before. Your father had a great eye! That is really something special that you have those images. Thanks again for sharing!

Nick Merritt · Mar 31, 2017

As the posted pictures show, you should have no hesitation whatsover in getting a camera fitted with a Vaskar. One thing to keep in mind is that very often, the cameras with which it's fitted (like the Bessa I and Perkeo) are zone focus, so you'll likely be using smaller apertures anyway to compensate for guessing distance. And as the others have pointed out, good triplet designs perform quite well when stopped down.

wjlapier · Apr 12, 2017

My photos were from the Bessa I which is a 6x9 camera. I use it this last week while on spring break and have four rolls to develop. I'm happy with the lens and the compactness of the camera. I have one 6x6 folder and several 645 folders, but with various issues each. Not a single issue with the Bessa I. Zone focus is fine with me. I prefer to shoot daylight and the sunnier the better.

baachitraka · Apr 12, 2017

I am happy with Triotar from Rolleicord and that said triplets are great. Corner softness is a bless in most cases.

You may try and shoot a close-up portraits and the results will never dissapoint you.

flavio81 · Apr 12, 2017

darinwc said:
What do you think of the Vaskar lens used in the Voigtlander Bessa I and Perkeo I cameras?
Is it really inferior to the skopar?
If you have any examples, that would be great.

Vaskar is 3 element
Skopar is 4 elements

They are contemporary (when used on the Bessa cameras).

Probably the film flatness on the Bessa I is not so good so as to warrant better performance from a Skopar.

I've read on a forum that a person tested some folders, one with Skopar other with Vaskar and found the one with the Vaskar performing better, both after alignment. This should mean that film flatness is not good enough for taking advantage of a Skopar.

As mentioned, a good triplet can be very sharp!

tessar · Apr 18, 2017

I have a pre-war Bessa 66 with a mystery lens -- the swing-out yellow filter that contains the information got torn off sometime during its lifetime. According to my research this camera came with a choice of three lenses, going upward in quality a Voigtar, Vaskar or Skopar. Stopped down to f/8 or f/11 the image quality is quite similar to ransel's posts so who knows? might be a Vaskar. In any case I'm happy with the camera ($20 at a flea market). Can't beat it as far as being compact goes!

baachitraka · Apr 19, 2017

There is also Miss. Heliar, not sharp but very unique.

What do you think of the Vaskar?

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