Originally posted by Goslett Yah, I seem to be between a 50mm 1.4 and an 1.7. I'm also looking at a Helios 58mm f/2
I love my Helios 44M, but am not sure that I would use it for portraits over my Pentax-A or M 50/1.7 lenses. The issue is not the bokeh, it is the general clumsiness of shooting with a fully manual aperture on an adapted M42 lens. This is particularly true considering that stiff controls are a virtual hallmark of most FSU lenses.
So for bottom-feeding in the fast 50 category for portraits, I would recommend the Pentax-M 50/1.7 as the value leader.
Steve
(Try as I might, I don't get the weird bokeh with my Helios. Perhaps I should try busier backgrounds?)