[malenisjaj]

Hi to all.
Today I received Helios 44M (44-3 is on it's way here ) and was astonished by this accidental discovery. Until now, the only 50mm lens that I had was SMC-A 50/1.7 and I did notice that it has "purple problem" when you shoot at night at full aperture. I went this evening to the local market with Helios mounted on K-5 II and was amazed that I couldn't see this problem.
I decided to compare it with SMC-A when I get home and here it is.
Also, with Helios I received the Industar 50-2/3.5, so I included it in the second shoot/test. First test was around twilight and the second one when it was already night.
All lenses were at its full aperture and settings were the same, except, ofcourse, lenses.

IMGP7256.JPG - HELIOS 44M 58/2 @ f2
IMGP7257.JPG - SMC-A 50/1.7 @ f1.7
IMGP7259.JPG - SMC-A 50/1.7 @ f2


https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0ByeW6kWG57WwS3RDbXZhUVNlQVU&usp=sharing

P.S. I did notice same "purple problem" (btw, is it the same as PF?) with SMC-A 28/2 @ f2. Is this some kind of common problem with SMC lenses?

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Last edited by malenisjaj; 12-22-2014 at 12:17 PM. Reason: Added one more picture.

[misomosi]

To me it looks like the camera is set on Auto White Balance. It is just a guess and does not explain why you get the purple colors only with the Pentax lens.

A bit off-topic but related to Helios 44-2: I have a K 55 f1.8 and a Helios 44-2 58 f2. I found the K mounted on a Zenit camera which belonged to someone from my family. The Helios is in really bad condition cosmetically and it has lots of touch marks and dust and some scratches on the lens. Even so it is much better to my eye than the K55. The sharpness is better and the colors are warmer. Flare is bad but it is bad in my K55 as well. Maybe my k55 copy is bad or something but I was amazed at the quality and character of the 44-2. I will clean it and see how it performs then.

[stevebrot]

Maybe my k55 copy is bad or something but I was amazed at the quality and character of the 44-2. I will clean it and see how it performs then.

I would say that your K 55/1.8 is probably not so good.* The Helios variants (44-2, 44-3, 44M, 44M-n) on the other hand have some rather nice properties inherited from the Zeiss Biotar on which they are all based. One is a tendency to real nice bokeh. The other is consistent center sharpness at all apertures. Corner sharpness sort of sucks, but we can ignore that

Back to the OP and the blue tint. No that is not Purple Fringing (PF). It looks a lot like a possible white balance issue, possibly compounded by a difference in exposure between the first and the other two shots.


Steve

* I own both the Pentax-K 55/1.8 and the Helios 44M 58/2 and the K 55/1.8 is consistently a much better lens. I have gotten better photos with the Helios, however.

[malenisjaj]

To me it looks like the camera is set on Auto White Balance. It is just a guess and does not explain why you get the purple colors only with the Pentax lens.

I just photographed with both lenses on "AWB" and "Daylight" and the problem, for SMC-A, is still there - purple lamps @ f1.7, until f/2.2 - see here.
I'm getting Super Takumar 55/1.8 soon and will test it with this lenses.

[Dave's clichés]

I had the industar 50/3.5 all manual, came with the Zenith 3M, camera and lens new for £13 19 shillings and sixpence, probably the cheapest SLR ever on the planet! It was the early version 39mm Leica thread, it doubled as my enlarger lens and easily beat my Wray enlarger lens, decently sharp stopped down a bit!

[Na Horuk]

Those lenses are very different in design. The Industar is Tessar style, which gives great sharpness in the centre, a very compact lens, no CA, but it has its downsides - the lens has a slow aperture. (The DA limited pancakes are modern variants of Tessar, which is why they are pancakes, with sharp, even frames, but relatively slow aperture). The Helios and Industar are both Zeiss designs, so they are both pretty great lenses, at least in the centre of the frame, stopped down. It doesn't mean the A 50mm is bad, just means the other two are really good bargains. The fringing you see is often associated with very sharp lenses on digital sensors, especially if they have older lens coatings (made for film, not the digital sensors).

Here are some things you can do:
- avoid high contrast scenes, like light sources in dark environments, or dark branches against bright sky
- underexpose instead of overexpose
- shoot raw and use de-fringing functions. You can also try just desaturation and darkening the purple colour channel. You should also adjust CA, while you are at it.
- shoot raw and adjust WB. A good WB can minimize how strong the CA and PF appear.
- using a lens hood is a good idea with older lenses. You can use a very tight lens hood ("equivalent" FoV, so 50*1,5 in this case).
- some say that a strong UV filter can help against purple fringing, though I don't think this has been conclusively (dis)proven.
- don't obsess much over this, as most viewers won't really care about such fringing. It is one of those things that really bother you, the photographer, but are rarely worth any grief

Anyway, thanks for the test. Good luck.

[redcat]

the Helios 44 58/2 is a great lens, when I found that one, I rarely look at other 50mm lens ^^ Helios bokeh is legendary at wide open, I ony shoot portrait so the corner blurness is not a problem, it's even better cause it makes the subject pop

[malenisjaj]

About Helios 44M. Just want to add that sharpness of the image in the corners is low (center is very good). It gets better with higher apertures and at f8 it's good. It seems lens is made for bokeh.

[micromacro]

I found out that many of my old lenses with K5IIs produce fringing and they are not good for night shooting because of ghosting. I think it's the camera, not lenses since I have not had that problem with K200D. Not to that extend at least. Every old lens which has rear glass too close to the camera is out for night shooting with K5IIs to me. Helios is the one of them.

[stevewong]

I would say that your K 55/1.8 is probably not so good.* The Helios variants (44-2, 44-3, 44M, 44M-n) on the other hand have some rather nice properties inherited from the Zeiss Biotar on which they are all based. One is a tendency to real nice bokeh. The other is consistent center sharpness at all apertures. Corner sharpness sort of sucks, but we can ignore that

Back to the OP and the blue tint. No that is not Purple Fringing (PF). It looks a lot like a possible white balance issue, possibly compounded by a difference in exposure between the first and the other two shots.


Steve

* I own both the Pentax-K 55/1.8 and the Helios 44M 58/2 and the K 55/1.8 is consistently a much better lens. I have gotten better photos with the Helios, however.

Hello Steve,
I received Helios 44 -2 ,2/58 yesterday. I mount it on 42 to Pentax K mount Adapter to my K-10D. It has a little movement compare to pentax 42 lens.
Is it normal for Helio 44-2 to has a little place ?.
In the front of the len has 2 -16 is that the F stop ? in the Back of the len has A Ring mark 20 infinity to M is it a Focus ring ?. I am new to 42 mount, especialy Russian 42 mount len .
Please help
Thanks
steve

[boriscleto]

Hello Steve,
I received Helios 44 -2 ,2/58 yesterday. I mount it on 42 to Pentax K mount Adapter to my K-10D. It has a little movement compare to pentax 42 lens.
Is it normal for Helio 44-2 to has a little place ?.
In the front of the len has 2 -16 is that the F stop ? in the Back of the len has A Ring mark 20 infinity to M is it a Focus ring ?. I am new to 42 mount, especialy Russian 42 mount len .
Please help
Thanks
steve

The 44-2 is a pre-set lens. The front ring marked 2-16 is the aperture ring. The second ring on the front of the lens opens and closes the diaphragm. This way you can set the aperture, focus the lens with the diaphragm open, then close the diaphragm without having to count the clicks.

It is also normal for the lens to wobble a bit. The base is very narrow compared to the 44m or a Takumar.

[stevewong]

The 44-2 is a pre-set lens. The front ring marked 2-16 is the aperture ring. The second ring on the front of the lens opens and closes the diaphragm. This way you can set the aperture, focus the lens with the diaphragm open, then close the diaphragm without having to count the clicks.

It is also normal for the lens to wobble a bit. The base is very narrow compared to the 44m or a Takumar.

Thanks Boriscleto,
That is a lot of helps with 44-2 mount len.
Steve