Our frequent coverage of lenses and cameras from the former Soviet Union might make us seem like ardent fans of the subgenre, but I can assure you it’s not the case (true at least for the members of the CP writing staff who aren’t named Jeb). I’ve come to the conclusion that despite their internet reputations for being amazing dark horses, most of these lenses are just sub-par copies of German ones. But there’s one lens in my collection that quietly and consistently reminds me that I don’t know it all, and that lens is the Helios 44M 58mm f/2. Helios ( Russian: Ге́лиос) was a type of camera lenses, made in the USSR. They were usually supplied with Zenit cameras and thus usable with other M42 lens mount cameras such as the Pentax Spotmatic. Some later Helios models were built also for the Pentax K mount. [cite 1] But most people will tell that the saving grace of many less-than-stellarly-built Soviet lenses is their overall image quality in relation to their cost. This is an assertion that has time and again proved to be wildly exaggerated, if not flat out wrong. After having been sufficiently disappointed by the performance of a couple of other Soviet “sleeper” lenses I really wasn’t expecting much from the Helios 44M.

For this shot I was at about the minimum focus distance from my daughter in her car seat, focusing on her eyelids. I was somewhere around f5.6. The filter size for Helios 44-2 is 49 mm. Itis cool because you can use the same filters as Sony 50mm 1.8 and Canon 50mm 1.8 STM (post about this lens will come) Soviet lenses Facebook group Helios 44-2 for Sony E mount. Because of the short flange distance on mirrorless cameras – the adapter is slightly larger.Helios-44-2 is a fast lens. Not prohibitively fast for such a phased array, but f2 is quite enough for 99% of subjects. In my opinion, the aperture control system implemented in version 44-2 (and in just 44) is the most convenient for use on digital cameras of all 44s.

This is not the sharpest lens in the world. The wild sample variation definitely brings the average sharpness down but don't expect razors even from the best copy. That is not to say that the lens is soft. In the center it's sharp. It's when moving towards the edges and corners is where issues creep in. Optics transferred from the M39 mount to the M42 began to be marked by adding the ending “-2″after the main numeric index. The Cine Helios 44-2 VLFV is a new lens from Iron Glass that rehouses the cult classic 58mm Helios swirly-bokeh vintage lens.

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In practice, just the smooth part of the ring falls under the fingers, and you need to reach for the corrugation. It would be possible to make the grooved part a little wider. I received this lens as a gift. The lens is in great optical and mechanical condition. On a cropped sensor it makes beautiful portraits and flower shots with impressionistic bokeh and pastel colours. Is it sharp? Surprisingly, yes! Wide open the centre of the frame is sharp enough for portraits and the corners become decent at F8. There aren't any chromatic aberrations to speak of. If I shoot a scene a few meters away from me – I can focus reasonably fast. When I shoot a tight portrait – it is quite a challenge, a slight movement can get a person’s eye out of focus. Here the subject moved just a bit, and the nearest eye got a little out of focus. You can see it when the image is on a full screen, but it isn’t noticeable on a tablet or a phone. In 1969, Helios-44-2 was mastered in Valdai. In design and appearance, the lens repeated the previous KMZ sample, but there was a decrease in build quality. I carry a full-frame DSLR + lenses and I hate the idea of adding more weight. Helios 44 is compact, weighs around 200 grams and fits in any bag.

The main attraction for Helios-44 is the out of focus area. Otherwise known as BOKEH! Helios-44 will swirl the BOKEH when getting closer to the corners. In certain situations it will look like the in-focus subject of the photo is in a sort-of tunnel. Anyway, enough jabbering about the joys of spending the summer in France armed with my camera and lenses. Here are some architecture photography examples taken with the wonderful Helios 44-2 58mm lens. Is the Helios Lens good for Wildlife Photography? On micro 4/3.I haven’t seen any good examples of swirly bokeh on micro 4/3. But despite that, I saw many people adapting Helios. Helios 44-2 filter size However, the flaring and iconic swirly bokeh come together to create just such a lovely and unique look.very flare-prone, contra-light performance, corner softness, corner CA, soft at close distances, eight blades, two-ring preset aperture Everyone has their own way of traveling, but I think your gear has to be ready for a sudden rain and has dust resistance (imagine going to a beach).This is a simple manual focus lens, although it is not splash resistant – there isn’t much that can go wrong, there are no electronics. Helios 44-2 is not dust resistant, so be really careful, the sand can easily get into the mechanism. The Helios 44-2 58mm is one of the most mass produced lenses ever made and can be acquired rather cheaply. It’s far from being a perfect lens but wow what bokeh. The Biotar formula creates a swirling bokeh that is just stunning. This is why it’s called the “ Bokeh Monster“.

I’ve come to really love the Helios 44 lenses. They can be easy to dismiss for being common, cheap, and over-hyped, but they really are superb, and regularly outshine my expectations. While it is a bit over-hyped at this point, the bokeh in particular really is pretty special. There have been a few times where I’ve been shooting with far more expensive lenses (such as the Canon 50mm f0.95), and not quite getting the results I wanted, only to switch to the Helios 44 and instantly find that added sparkle. I do wish that the lenses didn’t need such a large adaptor to use on the Sony A7, as on their own they are pretty compact.. but to be fair this is more just a practical limitation of the A7, and not a problem that is unique to the Helios 44. However, it does mean that they end up being far ‘longer’ than they really should be. Spotmatic F with Helios 44 and shoe-mount digital light meter. Optically speaking, this lens performs okay. Sharpness is good in the centre at all apertures, though it is somewhat soft wide-open when doing close-up photography (spherical aberrations at play). When stopped down, this lens becomes very sharp in the centre. The corners are not sharp at any aperture, though that is not a problem, so long as you don't use this as a landscape lens. My copy of this lens is probably one of the better ones, as at medium distances to infinity, it is quite sharp in the centre, on par with my Helios 77m-4. Today, he defends Soviet lenses (although he admits he doesn’t use them) simply because they were copies of superior German designs. Then he wallows in primitive anti-americanism. Superior Germans are as bitter as Kuemmerling liquor towards Americans since the 1940s, for some reason. I like to do these diffraction tests because they always help to find the sweet spot of the lens. Typically diffraction is influenced by the pixel pitch of the camera sensor, but – sometimes some lenses still perform better than others.

If you want the potted history of the Helios 44, this is not the article. Google it and you’ll find plenty of comprehensive information.