What lenses "Swirl"

ZombieArmy · 12-01-2016, 09:05 PM

My helios 44-2 is a great lens for swirl. Really great effect when it fits.

chti · 12-09-2016, 04:23 PM - **1 Like**

Some swirl with the FA*80-200/2.8.
#762

**pepperberry farm** · 12-09-2016, 04:35 PM - **1 Like**

**pres589** · 12-09-2016, 05:11 PM

chti, awesome picture!

**willdmo** · 12-12-2016, 05:36 AM - **3 Likes**

Its not hard so let lenses swirl. A year ago I wrote a how-to... If your lens can do it, this is how it will do it.

last years gold in spring by willdmo

This is from Helios 40, but my meyer Primoplan and my Pentax Takumar 35mm F2.3 can do it as well

Audi 5 cyl · 12-13-2016, 02:21 AM - **3 Likes**

Originally posted by maltfalc

the effect is caused by deeply recessed front elements or other design aspects that begin to block the light path as you move away from the center of the image. mounting a step-down ring or too long or narrow hood on your fa 50 will make it swirl.

Not completely true, as using just the lens block from any swirly Helios, MOG, LOMO or Voigtlander will give swirls with nothing obstructing the light path in front of the lens. On the other side I do believe that with certain lenses your theory might work.

---------- Post added 12-13-16 at 10:42 AM ----------

My swirly favorites (in 30, 50, 58 and 92mm focal lengths):

Pentacon 3.5/30mm (MOG Lydith 3,5/30)

Aster tripolium by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr

Carl Zeiss Biotar 2/58

Phragmites australis bokeh by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr

Leti-60 projector lens 2/92

Pharmacy in Valjevo by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr

Voigtlander Ultron 2/50

backlit Tropaeolum by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr

and maybe my favorite, Steinheil München Cassarit 2.8/50

KO-120M 120mm/1.8 will give Cassarit like bubbly swirl at a great FL of 120mm, but I can not dig out a picture made with it at work.

All these lenses are affordable (maybe Biotar with a bit of patience), I paid no more then 35 EUR for any of these and for some, half that price. For some of these, use on Pentax calls for some adapting but nothing too difficult or expensive.

maltfalc · 12-24-2016, 03:08 AM

Originally posted by Audi 5 cyl

Not completely true, as using just the lens block from any swirly Helios, MOG, LOMO or Voigtlander will give swirls with nothing obstructing the light path in front of the lens. On the other side I do believe that with certain lenses your theory might work.

*sigh* i'm tired of repeating myself over and over again in this thread. a deeply recessed front element is not required, it's just one of the factors that can contribute to swirl.

redpit · 12-24-2016, 04:26 AM - **3 Likes**

Here are some samples SOOC RAWs converted to Jpegs and resized for PF. The lens is the Helios 40 (85/1.5) on my K-1. I put a lot of images to see how the relevant camera-subject and background-subject distances affect the swirl effect and the bokeh in general.

**goatsNdonkey** · 12-24-2016, 08:20 AM - **1 Like**

redpit, if those Helios 40 pictures of yours are representative of what it normally does, a person who suffers from vertigo simply could not own that lens.

**Skodadriver** · 12-24-2016, 08:33 AM - **2 Likes**

Wide open this lens does have some "swirley bokeh". Not near as nice as the Helios 44-2 in my opinion.

redpit · 12-24-2016, 09:57 AM

Originally posted by goatsNdonkey

redpit, if those Helios 40 pictures of yours are representative of what it normally does, a person who suffers from vertigo simply could not own that lens.

true! It's a nice lens, quite unique and while it's soft wide open, it produces beautiful portraits. I'll post some portraiture work sometime.

**.a.t.** · 02-06-2017, 12:24 AM

Originally posted by W.j.christy

. . . I have a christmas photo shoot coming up that I plan on doing some creative things with. One of the things i would like to do is to try to induce some out of focus "swirl" into my bokeh like that of the helios 44 . . .

How did your shoot turn out? Do you have any tips or pics you'd care to share?

Sandy Hancock · 02-06-2017, 02:01 AM - **2 Likes**

Some swirly highlights from my month shooting the Lomography Daguerreotype Achromat (almost) daily.

**BigMackCam** · 02-06-2017, 02:09 AM

Originally posted by Sandy Hancock

Some swirly highlights from my month shooting the Lomography Daguerreotype Achromat (almost) daily.

Really nice, Sandy. That's proper swirl, right there!

**W.j.christy** · 02-06-2017, 07:19 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by .a.t.

How did your shoot turn out? Do you have any tips or pics you'd care to share?

I did, it turned out well. I ended up using my 60-250 for the shoot. Its an amazing lens. This is one of my many favorites from the shoot. This was using a standard 2 light setup. The flashes probably should have been lowered and I may need to consider adding a reflector to help eliminate the harsh shadows under her chin... other than that i love it.

12-09-2016, 04:35 PM - 1 Like	#63
pepperberry farm amateur dirt farmer Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: probably out in a field somewhere... Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 41,676	K-3 with KMZ MC Helios-44K-4

02-06-2017, 12:24 AM	#72
.a.t. Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: yesterday Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,261	Bumping this thread to ask... Originally posted by W.j.christy . . . I have a christmas photo shoot coming up that I plan on doing some creative things with. One of the things i would like to do is to try to induce some out of focus "swirl" into my bokeh like that of the helios 44 . . . How did your shoot turn out? Do you have any tips or pics you'd care to share?

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12-01-2016, 09:05 PM	#61
ZombieArmy Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 3,210	My helios 44-2 is a great lens for swirl. Really great effect when it fits.

12-09-2016, 04:23 PM - 1 Like	#62
chti Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Berlin Posts: 62	Some swirl with the FA80-200/2.8. #762*

12-09-2016, 05:11 PM	#64
pres589 Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Wichita, KS Photos: Albums Posts: 4,529	chti, awesome picture!

12-12-2016, 05:36 AM - 3 Likes	#65
willdmo Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Stuttgart Posts: 389	Its not hard so let lenses swirl. A year ago I wrote a how-to... If your lens can do it, this is how it will do it. last years gold in spring by willdmo This is from Helios 40, but my meyer Primoplan and my Pentax Takumar 35mm F2.3 can do it as well

12-13-2016, 02:21 AM - 3 Likes	#66
Audi 5 cyl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: France Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 363	Originally posted by maltfalc the effect is caused by deeply recessed front elements or other design aspects that begin to block the light path as you move away from the center of the image. mounting a step-down ring or too long or narrow hood on your fa 50 will make it swirl. Not completely true, as using just the lens block from any swirly Helios, MOG, LOMO or Voigtlander will give swirls with nothing obstructing the light path in front of the lens. On the other side I do believe that with certain lenses your theory might work. ---------- Post added 12-13-16 at 10:42 AM ---------- My swirly favorites (in 30, 50, 58 and 92mm focal lengths): Pentacon 3.5/30mm (MOG Lydith 3,5/30) Aster tripolium by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr Carl Zeiss Biotar 2/58 Phragmites australis bokeh by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr Leti-60 projector lens 2/92 Pharmacy in Valjevo by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr Voigtlander Ultron 2/50 backlit Tropaeolum by Marko Jankovic, on Flickr and maybe my favorite, Steinheil München Cassarit 2.8/50 KO-120M 120mm/1.8 will give Cassarit like bubbly swirl at a great FL of 120mm, but I can not dig out a picture made with it at work. All these lenses are affordable (maybe Biotar with a bit of patience), I paid no more then 35 EUR for any of these and for some, half that price. For some of these, use on Pentax calls for some adapting but nothing too difficult or expensive.

12-24-2016, 03:08 AM	#67
maltfalc Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Winnipeg Photos: Albums Posts: 396	Originally posted by Audi 5 cyl Not completely true, as using just the lens block from any swirly Helios, MOG, LOMO or Voigtlander will give swirls with nothing obstructing the light path in front of the lens. On the other side I do believe that with certain lenses your theory might work. sigh i'm tired of repeating myself over and over again in this thread. a deeply recessed front element is not required, it's just one of the factors that can contribute to swirl.

12-24-2016, 08:20 AM - 1 Like	#69
goatsNdonkey Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Fulton County, Illinois Posts: 3,727	redpit, if those Helios 40 pictures of yours are representative of what it normally does, a person who suffers from vertigo simply could not own that lens.

12-24-2016, 09:57 AM	#71
redpit Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Greece Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,857	Originally posted by goatsNdonkey redpit, if those Helios 40 pictures of yours are representative of what it normally does, a person who suffers from vertigo simply could not own that lens. true! It's a nice lens, quite unique and while it's soft wide open, it produces beautiful portraits. I'll post some portraiture work sometime.

02-06-2017, 02:01 AM - 2 Likes	#73
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,272	Some swirly highlights from my month shooting the Lomography Daguerreotype Achromat (almost) daily.

02-06-2017, 02:09 AM	#74
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,670	Originally posted by Sandy Hancock Some swirly highlights from my month shooting the Lomography Daguerreotype Achromat (almost) daily. Really nice, Sandy. That's proper swirl, right there!

02-06-2017, 07:19 AM - 1 Like	#75
W.j.christy Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Texas Photos: Albums Posts: 558 Original Poster	Originally posted by .a.t. How did your shoot turn out? Do you have any tips or pics you'd care to share? I did, it turned out well. I ended up using my 60-250 for the shoot. Its an amazing lens. This is one of my many favorites from the shoot. This was using a standard 2 light setup. The flashes probably should have been lowered and I may need to consider adding a reflector to help eliminate the harsh shadows under her chin... other than that i love it.