I had missed out on the igilligan-fueled Helios craze in this forum a year or so ago but good ol' Gus recently slipped me one of his to try, a 44-2 preset model, and within a few minutes of shooting, I already knew I needed to own one.
I logged onto eBay and selected a 44-2 and then also purchased the later 44M7 model, just to get a flavor for some of the differences.
These are very inexpensive old lenses with plenty of character. As there are so many variants and several makers over many years, I suppose it would be difficult to compare them, but i'll share my thoughts on mine.
Helios 44-2 58mm f/2
I only have a couple of weeks of experience using this lens, but find a key feature to be a fairly dramatic edge softness. What some would consider a weakness may actually be this lens' most redeeming quality. Portraits wide open and slightly stopped down benefit from an emphasis of the center content; the perimeter is naturally and subtly deemphasized.
I find the wide open bokeh to be pleasing in an artistic way, not harsh nor busy, yet not smooth, it can suggest brush strokes that i find quite beautiful.
I have also observed a bit of swirled bokeh at the edges, particularly when slightly stopped down. This can be dizzying but also a great effect in some cases. I have not yet explored this characteristic but here is one with a little swirl.
don't stare too long or you may get dizzy.
Helios 44M7
By all appearances, this version appears to be a better made, newer and improved member of the Helios 44 family and the published performance data show it as among the sharpest of the family. My copy appears to support that implication as well, however, I do not find the bokeh to be quite as interesting, nor the corners softness, nor swirling effect as seen in my 44-2 model. I would conclude that in its evolution of improvements, this later variant has lost much of the cool vibe of the earlier model, and serves a more serious role as a legit fast fifty with excellent sharpness.
here is one at f/2.5
at f/2.8
These pics may not show it, but compared to the 44-2, this is a much sharper lens.
more pics from 44M7 coming tomorrow...
Last edited by mikeSF; 06-02-2011 at 08:11 AM.