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There are certain requirements that have to be fulfilled to summon the mythical creature that is the swirly BOKEH. I've seen that the Carl Zeiss Biotar has more of a "pop" but it hasn't translated to this soviet copy. If you live in a former Soviet Union country then you might find this lens given away as paper-weight. A friend convinced me that having small-form, full frame camera would be an entire different way of shooting. checked your piece on the industar 61 l/d, and it’s the same text more or less, with the lens name changed.
Bokeh is more noticeable on film than digital, probably because the 35mm negative size is much bigger than the digital sensor.Instead this is about my own experience with perhaps 25 or more Helios 44 lenses, and which one you should look out for. Helios 44 which is the first version of the Helios it came in M39 mount with 13 aperture blades a funky purple looking lens coating and just generally a bit more exotic (read expensive) and looks uber cool in silver. Today, he defends Soviet lenses (although he admits he doesn’t use them) simply because they were copies of superior German designs. is a significant improvement over f2, then between f4 and f8, the lens seems to give the sharpest results. there are 3 sub-versions of the silver Helios-44 M39, the earliest one with 13 aperture blades and the aperture range 2-22, then the one that you reviewed, with the aperture range 2-16 and the last one with 8 aperture blades.
The formula reappeared post-war in the East German-controlled Carl Zeiss Jena plant as the Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm f/2, and was eventually rebranded by the Soviet Union as the Helios 44M we know today. But you can definitely put it to the test when passing animals that are a little less weary of human presence. This is one of the rare Soviet lenses whose optical quality gets very close to the standard set by its forebears. As you and others may know this can be a risky business but even if you get a dud you have at least contributed to a worthwhile cause.
I would keep it simple and stick with the M42 versions as they are the most available and the most affordable. I’ve also done this with great success on other old M42 lenses, like Auto Chinons and Yashicas for example. Probably needs a regrease but after the second fix gave me a migraine I refuse to take it apart again. The Helios 44 underwent numerous revisions and upgrades, upgrades that signifciantly impact sharpness.
I definitely felt that with the Helios 44-2 / HP5 shots with Danni that the shots were more crisp and sharp where they needed to be - obviously film and development/scanning is a factor here too folks so these are just my thoughts but I do feel like in this completely subjective and unscientific test I have to give this round to the 44-2! Anyway, enough jabbering about the joys of spending the summer in France armed with my camera and lenses. It was really only after I went into a panic after I thought Id accidentally got rid of it that I realised how much I loved it. Combined with its super smooth, super long focus throw and you have a winning recipe for a handy lens for videos. I personally own the 44M, 44-2, and 44-4, all built with the goal of emulating the Zeiss Biotar lens.
Travel photographers have a lot of freedom in selecting the tools, compared to photographers specializing in one thing.
This time I would like to review an all-time personal favorite vintage lens of mine, the incredible Helios 44-2 58m f/2.I believe that there were about 3 million made, and yes it is a crap shoot getting a good one, but they are still relatively cheap. i have read hundreds of articles like yours over the past 10-15 years, and as noted above, it’s always some dude from the usa with the same predictable formular: soviet union products generally shite, but for 2 bucks, they’re a passable option. Note that this is not an issue if you are shooting on something like a Sony A7 – but it will impact the way you set the aperture on the lens.
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