Well what should i say about this lens? There is alot said about the Heliar lens itself, as it was probably the most famous portrait lens of the 20th century. Some famous people and politicians strictly forbid photographers to shoot portraits of them with a different lens then the Universal Heliar.

This specimen is special though. It is the very rare 420mm F4.5 Universal version. The main difference to the standard Heliar is that this version features a Soft Focus adjustment. That means you can shoot it super sharp at '0' position, but you also can apply a soft focus to it starting from '1' to '5'. Soft focus in this case means not that the image gets allover softer (like the Verito or other soft focus lenses), it was manufactured in such a way, that the outlines of the objects still remain quite sharp, while the filling spaces look softer and more pleasant to the eye.  A very nice feature especially if you work with flash lights (which usually make a 'hard' rendering).

I had a couple of 360mm F4.5 Universal Heliars in my life, but this is only the fourth 420mm version in 8 years so far.

If youre thinking about buying it, be rather quick, the last one was sold on the very first day of listing it.

Its been tested by me up to 12" x 15" plates. Wonderfull portrait lens, if you want you can ask me for pictures of the plates, i can send them to you.


The condition of this specimen is really nice. The lens is in absolute 100% working condition: the aperture mooves smoothly forth and back, so does the soft focus control. The pins are original!  The black laquere is original as far as i can tell and shows only very minimal signs of use. The glass is in an stunning! condition, there are very few cleaning marks here. I rarely seen a Heliar with a clearer glass then that. There is no fungus, haze or any chips there. The image on the groundglass is outstanding.



The lens comes with a fitting flange and the original leather lenscap!





height: 13cm
width: 12cm
weight: 4800gr

Insured and tracked shipping cost:

Germany - 20 eur
EU* - 60 eur
Worldwide - 150 eur

*(the site offers only 2 shipping variations, DE and worldwide. buyers from EU please either contact me beforehand for a reduced EU cost, or after buying so i can send a refund over the difference)