Old syle Helios-44-2 bokeh

Voe · 06-15-2008, 06:12 AM

Today I went shopping in Victoria Market in Melbourne and I decided to take my camera with me in order to test my newly acquired Helios-44-2.

Here some of the shots I got with this lens made somewhere in the 1960's. All the shots are taken at the maximum aperture of the lens f/2.

And this is a 100% crop of the above image:

This lens shares the same optical design as Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2.

I used to have modern Helios-44M-4 version of this lens but found the old one sharper.

For such an old design I am surprised how sharp this lens is.

The bokeh is nothing to boast but this lens provide a different, old time look that we cannot get from a modern lens.

Zewrak · 06-16-2008, 04:39 AM

My Helios-44-2 contribution. Notice the shadows of the small hairs.

AML · 06-16-2008, 05:09 AM

Voe, thanks for posting this thread on the Helios. I found it very interesting seeing these pics, i don't have the 44-2, but do have the 44-4 in the mail. It will be my first Russian lens, so i'm very curious to see how it performs.

I love the vibrant colours in your first two pics. Is it me, or does the Bokeh look a little unusual in pics 2? Voe, i think it's my monitor, but in the girl portrait shot her skin tone looks like it has a greenish cast to it.

Zewrak, Wow! That certain is a great shot. It's hairs look so soft and cuddly hehe!! Love the detail.

ftpaddict · 06-16-2008, 05:36 AM

Aw maaan, now I'm sorry I sold my copy.

Voe · 06-16-2008, 05:44 AM

Originally posted by AML

Voe, thanks for posting this thread on the Helios. I found it very interesting seeing these pics, i don't have the 44-2, but do have the 44-4 in the mail. It will be my first Russian lens, so i'm very curious to see how it performs.

I love the vibrant colours in your first two pics. Is it me, or does the Bokeh look a little unusual in pics 2? Voe, i think it's my monitor, but in the girl portrait shot her skin tone looks like it has a greenish cast to it.

Zewrak, Wow! That certain is a great shot. It's hairs look so soft and cuddly hehe!! Love the detail.

Hi Ane,

The bokeh from this lens is a little bit unusual yes, actually it is much different than what I used to get from the Helios-44M-4 that I used to have. This one is not nessesary bad or good, it's just different. Just like with paint brushes it is always better to have some variety and I find that this particular lens "paints" the bokeh quite differently than anything I have seen.

The skin on the girl might be affected by the mixture between daylight and tungsteen lighting and maybe the Auto white balance of my K10D got perplexed. I did not touch these images except slightly adjusting contrast and brightness.

Taken into account that this lens is a copy of Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 made by most likely german machinery and german workers taken by the russians after WWII, like most Zeiss lenses this lens gives the cold (maybe bluish) rendering.

I am glad that there is someone else on this forum interested in old russian lenses

Hi Zewrak,

Can you post some more pics made with this lens that shows its bokeh?
I noticed that in some situation this lens brings a beautiful bokeh and in others not as standard as we are used to see.

Thanks.

Dan, this mistake is very easy and cheap to fix

I saw some beautiful close focus photos when you add an extension tube.
Cheers,

Buddha Jones · 06-16-2008, 06:20 AM

The bokeh looks a lot like the K mounts that people have been posting, not to my fancy, but aside from that, the images have an awesome 3D affect with brilliant colors and contrast. The silhouetted woman at the market is just awsomely sharp, I feel like I am looking at a real person.

Zewrak · 06-16-2008, 08:52 AM

Originally posted by Voe

Hi Ane,
Hi Zewrak,

Can you post some more pics made with this lens that shows its bokeh?
I noticed that in some situation this lens brings a beautiful bokeh and in others not as standard as we are used to see.

Thanks.

Dan, this mistake is very easy and cheap to fix

I saw some beautiful close focus photos when you add an extension tube.
Cheers,

Suppose I could take some..

Here are two with bellows + helios, since you are talking about tubes.

Flickr Photo Download: Insect
Flickr Photo Download: Fly

ArturMalyPL · 06-16-2008, 08:57 AM

Bokeh From my 44M-4:

Voe · 06-17-2008, 03:25 AM

Here are some of my photos taken with Helios-44M-4.

dancheng · 06-17-2008, 05:40 AM

Hi Voe,

What follows is OT a bit. Hope you don't mind.

I have a Helios-44M-4. It gave me a scarce when I mounted it first time on my k10d because I had great difficulty to dismount it.

I later gathered that the Helios, unlike the Takumars, has no A/M switch. Hence the stop down pin could get stuck into certain opening of the PK mount. This therefore impedes the unscrewing of the M42 lens from the camera body. I did not recall what I did to get the stop-down pin undone and was hence able to dismount the lens.

Since then, I dared not to try the Helios-44M-4 on my k10d anymore. Seeing your shots, I am now tempted to try it out again. Could you kindly share with me how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks!

For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter.

ftpaddict · 06-17-2008, 05:49 AM

Originally posted by dancheng

Could you share how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks!

For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter.

Probably because the 44-2 has an A/M switch.

I know my 44-M did.

Voe · 06-17-2008, 06:36 AM

Originally posted by dancheng

Hi Voe,

What follows is OT a bit. Hope you don't mind.

I have a Helios-44M-4. It gave me a scarce when I mounted it first time on my k10d because I had great difficulty to dismount it.

I later gathered that the Helios, unlike the Takumars, has no A/M switch. Hence the stop down pin could get stuck into certain opening of the PK mount. This therefore impedes the unscrewing of the M42 lens from the camera body. I did not recall what I did to get the stop-down pin undone and was hence able to dismount the lens.

Since then, I dared not to try the Helios-44M-4 on my k10d anymore. Seeing your shots, I am now tempted to try it out again. Could you kindly share with me how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks!

For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter.

Hi Dancheng,

I know your pain. I had similar fear with other lenses but I found a workaround that I read somewhere else and it is to get one of these small tubes of Superglue, get a needle or a match and put a small drop of glue on the stop-down ping and hold it for a while.
Or sometimes I use the weight if the lens itself and leave it sitting over a plate so the pin is pressed in. I leave it for 30-60 minutes until the glue is dry.
That's it.

AML · 06-17-2008, 06:52 AM

Originally posted by dancheng

Hi Voe,

What follows is OT a bit. Hope you don't mind.

I have a Helios-44M-4. It gave me a scarce when I mounted it first time on my k10d because I had great difficulty to dismount it.

I later gathered that the Helios, unlike the Takumars, has no A/M switch. Hence the stop down pin could get stuck into certain opening of the PK mount. This therefore impedes the unscrewing of the M42 lens from the camera body. I did not recall what I did to get the stop-down pin undone and was hence able to dismount the lens.

Since then, I dared not to try the Helios-44M-4 on my k10d anymore. Seeing your shots, I am now tempted to try it out again. Could you kindly share with me how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks!

For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter.

dancheng, your post concerns me. I have a Helios 44M in the mail along with a Pentax M42 adapter. This will be my first time using this combination, and after reading about your troubles with these and the K10D, i'm not sure i want to try them now.

AML · 06-17-2008, 06:54 AM

Originally posted by Voe

Hi Dancheng,

I know your pain. I had similar fear with other lenses but I found a workaround that I read somewhere else and it is to get one of these small tubes of Superglue, get a needle or a match and put a small drop of glue on the stop-down ping and hold it for a while.
Or sometimes I use the weight if the lens itself and leave it sitting over a plate so the pin is pressed in. I leave it for 30-60 minutes until the glue is dry.
That's it.

Hmmm! Is there any other workaround besides using a glue? I cannot use glue so this isn't an option for me.

Zewrak · 06-17-2008, 12:22 PM

Originally posted by AML

Hmmm! Is there any other workaround besides using a glue? I cannot use glue so this isn't an option for me.

Some people stick a toothpick into it and break it off.

06-15-2008, 06:12 AM	#1
Voe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 719	Old syle Helios-44-2 bokeh Today I went shopping in Victoria Market in Melbourne and I decided to take my camera with me in order to test my newly acquired Helios-44-2. Here some of the shots I got with this lens made somewhere in the 1960's. All the shots are taken at the maximum aperture of the lens f/2. And this is a 100% crop of the above image: This lens shares the same optical design as Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2. I used to have modern Helios-44M-4 version of this lens but found the old one sharper. For such an old design I am surprised how sharp this lens is. The bokeh is nothing to boast but this lens provide a different, old time look that we cannot get from a modern lens.

06-16-2008, 05:44 AM	#5
Voe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 719 Original Poster	Originally posted by AML Voe, thanks for posting this thread on the Helios. I found it very interesting seeing these pics, i don't have the 44-2, but do have the 44-4 in the mail. It will be my first Russian lens, so i'm very curious to see how it performs. I love the vibrant colours in your first two pics. Is it me, or does the Bokeh look a little unusual in pics 2? Voe, i think it's my monitor, but in the girl portrait shot her skin tone looks like it has a greenish cast to it. Zewrak, Wow! That certain is a great shot. It's hairs look so soft and cuddly hehe!! Love the detail. Hi Ane, The bokeh from this lens is a little bit unusual yes, actually it is much different than what I used to get from the Helios-44M-4 that I used to have. This one is not nessesary bad or good, it's just different. Just like with paint brushes it is always better to have some variety and I find that this particular lens "paints" the bokeh quite differently than anything I have seen. The skin on the girl might be affected by the mixture between daylight and tungsteen lighting and maybe the Auto white balance of my K10D got perplexed. I did not touch these images except slightly adjusting contrast and brightness. Taken into account that this lens is a copy of Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 made by most likely german machinery and german workers taken by the russians after WWII, like most Zeiss lenses this lens gives the cold (maybe bluish) rendering. I am glad that there is someone else on this forum interested in old russian lenses Hi Zewrak, Can you post some more pics made with this lens that shows its bokeh? I noticed that in some situation this lens brings a beautiful bokeh and in others not as standard as we are used to see. Thanks. Dan, this mistake is very easy and cheap to fix I saw some beautiful close focus photos when you add an extension tube. Cheers, Last edited by Voe; 06-16-2008 at 06:03 AM.

06-17-2008, 05:40 AM	#10
dancheng Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 68	Hi Voe, What follows is OT a bit. Hope you don't mind. I have a Helios-44M-4. It gave me a scarce when I mounted it first time on my k10d because I had great difficulty to dismount it. I later gathered that the Helios, unlike the Takumars, has no A/M switch. Hence the stop down pin could get stuck into certain opening of the PK mount. This therefore impedes the unscrewing of the M42 lens from the camera body. I did not recall what I did to get the stop-down pin undone and was hence able to dismount the lens. Since then, I dared not to try the Helios-44M-4 on my k10d anymore. Seeing your shots, I am now tempted to try it out again. Could you kindly share with me how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks! For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter. Last edited by dancheng; 06-17-2008 at 05:51 AM.

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06-16-2008, 04:39 AM	#2
Zewrak Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nowhere, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 654	My Helios-44-2 contribution. Notice the shadows of the small hairs.

06-16-2008, 05:09 AM	#3
AML Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 212	Voe, thanks for posting this thread on the Helios. I found it very interesting seeing these pics, i don't have the 44-2, but do have the 44-4 in the mail. It will be my first Russian lens, so i'm very curious to see how it performs. I love the vibrant colours in your first two pics. Is it me, or does the Bokeh look a little unusual in pics 2? Voe, i think it's my monitor, but in the girl portrait shot her skin tone looks like it has a greenish cast to it. Zewrak, Wow! That certain is a great shot. It's hairs look so soft and cuddly hehe!! Love the detail.

06-16-2008, 05:36 AM	#4
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	Aw maaan, now I'm sorry I sold my copy.

06-16-2008, 06:20 AM	#6
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587	The bokeh looks a lot like the K mounts that people have been posting, not to my fancy, but aside from that, the images have an awesome 3D affect with brilliant colors and contrast. The silhouetted woman at the market is just awsomely sharp, I feel like I am looking at a real person.

06-16-2008, 08:52 AM	#7
Zewrak Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nowhere, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 654	Originally posted by Voe Hi Ane, Hi Zewrak, Can you post some more pics made with this lens that shows its bokeh? I noticed that in some situation this lens brings a beautiful bokeh and in others not as standard as we are used to see. Thanks. Dan, this mistake is very easy and cheap to fix I saw some beautiful close focus photos when you add an extension tube. Cheers, Suppose I could take some.. Here are two with bellows + helios, since you are talking about tubes. Flickr Photo Download: Insect Flickr Photo Download: Fly

06-16-2008, 08:57 AM	#8
ArturMalyPL Inactive Account Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Poland Posts: 22	Bokeh From my 44M-4:

06-17-2008, 03:25 AM	#9
Voe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 719 Original Poster	Here are some of my photos taken with Helios-44M-4.

06-17-2008, 05:49 AM	#11
ftpaddict Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Yurp Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,666	Originally posted by dancheng Could you share how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks! For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter. Probably because the 44-2 has an A/M switch. I know my 44-M did.

06-17-2008, 06:36 AM	#12
Voe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 719 Original Poster	Originally posted by dancheng Hi Voe, What follows is OT a bit. Hope you don't mind. I have a Helios-44M-4. It gave me a scarce when I mounted it first time on my k10d because I had great difficulty to dismount it. I later gathered that the Helios, unlike the Takumars, has no A/M switch. Hence the stop down pin could get stuck into certain opening of the PK mount. This therefore impedes the unscrewing of the M42 lens from the camera body. I did not recall what I did to get the stop-down pin undone and was hence able to dismount the lens. Since then, I dared not to try the Helios-44M-4 on my k10d anymore. Seeing your shots, I am now tempted to try it out again. Could you kindly share with me how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks! For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter. Hi Dancheng, I know your pain. I had similar fear with other lenses but I found a workaround that I read somewhere else and it is to get one of these small tubes of Superglue, get a needle or a match and put a small drop of glue on the stop-down ping and hold it for a while. Or sometimes I use the weight if the lens itself and leave it sitting over a plate so the pin is pressed in. I leave it for 30-60 minutes until the glue is dry. That's it.

06-17-2008, 06:52 AM	#13
AML Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 212	Originally posted by dancheng Hi Voe, What follows is OT a bit. Hope you don't mind. I have a Helios-44M-4. It gave me a scarce when I mounted it first time on my k10d because I had great difficulty to dismount it. I later gathered that the Helios, unlike the Takumars, has no A/M switch. Hence the stop down pin could get stuck into certain opening of the PK mount. This therefore impedes the unscrewing of the M42 lens from the camera body. I did not recall what I did to get the stop-down pin undone and was hence able to dismount the lens. Since then, I dared not to try the Helios-44M-4 on my k10d anymore. Seeing your shots, I am now tempted to try it out again. Could you kindly share with me how you overcome this hurdle of dismounting the lens from a DSLR body? Thanks! For your information, I used a genuine Pentax PK-M42 adapter. dancheng, your post concerns me. I have a Helios 44M in the mail along with a Pentax M42 adapter. This will be my first time using this combination, and after reading about your troubles with these and the K10D, i'm not sure i want to try them now.

06-17-2008, 06:54 AM	#14
AML Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 212	Originally posted by Voe Hi Dancheng, I know your pain. I had similar fear with other lenses but I found a workaround that I read somewhere else and it is to get one of these small tubes of Superglue, get a needle or a match and put a small drop of glue on the stop-down ping and hold it for a while. Or sometimes I use the weight if the lens itself and leave it sitting over a plate so the pin is pressed in. I leave it for 30-60 minutes until the glue is dry. That's it. Hmmm! Is there any other workaround besides using a glue? I cannot use glue so this isn't an option for me.

06-17-2008, 12:22 PM	#15
Zewrak Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nowhere, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 654	Originally posted by AML Hmmm! Is there any other workaround besides using a glue? I cannot use glue so this isn't an option for me. Some people stick a toothpick into it and break it off.