[67comet]

Very likely the grease has become hard in the helicoid. You'll likely need to take it apart, clean the old stuff out and put some fresh stuff in.

Looks like I might be shopping for the right tool to pluck the lenses out and clean this thing up (I don't imagine smacking it with a screw driver and hammer to get it loose would be advisable ).


YouTube here I come!

(EDIT)
Well lookie here, PentaxForums already had it! :)
(/EDIT)

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Last edited by 67comet; 07-16-2021 at 07:56 PM.

[Aaron28]

previous meet......Yashica TL-Electro...Helios 44M 58/f2.....expired Tri-X

[scratchpaddy]

I am in Helios heaven! Well, this is not really a Helios, but it would be if it were packaged as a camera lens, using the same "planar" lens formula. I made an adapter from a macro helicoid and some 3d-printing for a 16KP-1,2/50 lens. It was also sold under the name RO 109-1a, who knows why. It was made for 16mm movie projectors back in the day and now available for $30 or so shipped from eastern Europe. As with all projector lenses, it's just glass in a tube: no focus, no mount, no aperture. My adapter takes care of the focusing, but it's still f/1.2 all the time.



The back of the lens needs to sit 16mm from the sensor for infinity focus, ruling out use with mirrored cameras, unfortunately.



Obviously the lens is not meant to cover 35mm. There's massive barrel distortion and field curvature. Anything not in the focal plane and near the center of the picture is obliterated. It's like a Helios 44 with all its quirks dialed up to insane levels.

[djb47]

Tree lichen -- My DIC in July shot for today taken with the K30 and Industar 61 L/D.

[ghpicard]

I am in Helios heaven! Well, this is not really a Helios, but it would be if it were packaged as a camera lens, using the same "planar" lens formula. I made an adapter from a macro helicoid and some 3d-printing for a 16KP-1,2/50 lens. It was also sold under the name RO 109-1a, who knows why. It was made for 16mm movie projectors back in the day and now available for $30 or so shipped from eastern Europe. As with all projector lenses, it's just glass in a tube: no focus, no mount, no aperture. My adapter takes care of the focusing, but it's still f/1.2 all the time.



The back of the lens needs to sit 16mm from the sensor for infinity focus, ruling out use with mirrored cameras, unfortunately.



Obviously the lens is not meant to cover 35mm. There's massive barrel distortion and field curvature. Anything not in the focal plane and near the center of the picture is obliterated. It's like a Helios 44 with all its quirks dialed up to insane levels.

Very nice photos and effects too. I like a lot the last one with that little buddy.
I was thinking in buying some of this huge soviet projector lenses but the fact that all of them have a very short focal register thus barring mirrored cams set me totally off.
BTW you can always use reducer rings to achieve other apertures, or you can even 3D-print a front ring with a slot that allows you to put different black paper rings.

[scratchpaddy]

Very nice photos and effects too. I like a lot the last one with that little buddy.
I was thinking in buying some of this huge soviet projector lenses but the fact that all of them have a very short focal register thus barring mirrored cams set me totally off.
BTW you can always use reducer rings to achieve other apertures, or you can even 3D-print a front ring with a slot that allows you to put different black paper rings.

Thank you! I have another picture of that little buddy from a while ago with the Helios 40, somehow he only shows up when I have a Soviet lens :



I have heard of the custom aperture trick and will try it eventually, but not with this lens. The field curvature is so intense the edges will never be sharp enough, and stopping down would only make the black corners beyond the image circle more pronounced.

The register distance depends on the lens, and certainly not all have this problem. Generally the smaller lenses, made for 16mm or 8mm movie film, do need to be very close to the sensor. However, most lenses made for 35mm format (slide projectors) offer more than enough room to work on an SLR, with mounting distances of 50mm or more. I bought another lens at the same time which I will try as soon as the M65 helicoid arrives from China, a 35KP 100/1.8, a.k.a OKP-1-100-1. It needs to sit 52mm from the sensor for infinity focus, so would easily work on any DSLR.

I found this Hungarian blogger who has a ton of great info on several projector lenses he's adapted. Here's his post on the 35KP 100mm, which he adapted to Canon mount (if you open the link in Chrome, it will translate it for you): https://hispan.hu/okp-1-100-1/

[fiveseven]

Thank you! I have another picture of that little buddy from a while ago with the Helios 40, somehow he only shows up when I have a Soviet lens :



I have heard of the custom aperture trick and will try it eventually, but not with this lens. The field curvature is so intense the edges will never be sharp enough, and stopping down would only make the black corners beyond the image circle more pronounced.

The register distance depends on the lens, and certainly not all have this problem. Generally the smaller lenses, made for 16mm or 8mm movie film, do need to be very close to the sensor. However, most lenses made for 35mm format (slide projectors) offer more than enough room to work on an SLR, with mounting distances of 50mm or more. I bought another lens at the same time which I will try as soon as the M65 helicoid arrives from China, a 35KP 100/1.8, a.k.a OKP-1-100-1. It needs to sit 52mm from the sensor for infinity focus, so would easily work on any DSLR.

I found this Hungarian blogger who has a ton of great info on several projector lenses he's adapted. Here's his post on the 35KP 100mm, which he adapted to Canon mount (if you open the link in Chrome, it will translate it for you): Gyöngyszem keletr?l: OKP 1-100-1 1.8/100 vetít?optika adaptálás és teszt | hispan's photoblog

This is not a DSLR vs Mirrorless but when it comes to fast glass and longer focal length, unless your camera is 100% calibrated, it's a real frustration in working with those lenses. Originally I've started with Pentax DSLR's and stayed there for about 5 years, my keeper rate was low about 20% on a good day, Once I found out mirrorless with focus peeking, it's 85 to 90%.
Anyway, those Soviet projector lenses are beyond good on how sharp and cinematic they are, they will outperform any DSLR commercial lens even the newest one made.One thing about them, since they were meant to be used in the dark, they were coated a bit differently then camera lenses, it was more designed for color reproduction not flare resistance.With a proper hood, they are just about ideal for portrait.

Some of my current line up.



3 were modded with working aperture.

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Last edited by fiveseven; 07-24-2021 at 04:01 AM.

[ghpicard]

This lens came to me with the aperture blades mangled. To say that putting them back in working order was fun is an understatement.
Of course it came with a Fotosnaiper FS-12-3 kit as a back lens cap. The kit just lacks the Helios 44M-6 lens and some of the leatherette box divisions but is otherwise in very good cosmetic condition.


SOTC, converted to JPEG on RawTherapee.

On this one the only light used is the one of the lamp in the foreground and the lens was mounted on a tripod at about MFD.




This other one, taken at F8 but I'm not so sure, is a torture test on a very bright overcast day, and used the rifle stock for the camera and and lens.

[scratchpaddy]

Eh, apertures are overrated anyway! I think the Photosniper concept is a very practical solution for photo stabilization, great for shooting birds. Also completely unacceptable for social events.

Got the final piece I needed to take out my other projector lens on Saturday (also featured in the menagerie of @fiveseven ) My copy is labeled OKP-1-100-1, but later copies say 35KP-1.8/100. They are the same lens, with a 6-lens/4-group Biotar-based optical formula. They were made at BelOMO in Minsk, Belarus (the plant is still operational today).



I'm surprised at how even the rendering is across the frame, but maybe I shouldn't be. It was designed to project 35mm slides onto a flat wall, after all. It's much more consistent across the frame than the Helios lenses it's based on. I guess the extreme field curvature and swirly bokeh of those lenses was more of an aesthetic choice by the designers than a technical limitation.



The whole setup with added helicoid and stuff is more than 1kg. It's a very thick aluminum tube, and the whole thing is stuffed with glass. But add an adjustable aperture, and you'd have a very practical, well-rounded lens.

[djb47]

Paper curls

K30/Industar 61 L/D

[CedrusMacro]

Some experiments trying out a nice Meyer-Optik Gorlitz 50 1.8 Oreston at night.

[scratchpaddy]

Hi neighbor!



Oops, I scared 'im.



Jupiter 9 85/2

[MXLX]

I love those two! Road Runner?

[scratchpaddy]

I love those two! Road Runner?

Right! They're fairly big and not that timid, but it's hard to get a wild bird with an 85mm. The only reason I had the lens was because I was walking home from the dog park. Even with me and the dog just a few feet away, he (or she?) did not run away, feeling safe in the thorny palo verde tree, keeping an eye on me while I fumbled with the focus.



Then, I turned around and spotted a coyote headed down the railroad tracks back the way we had come. It was a very Arizona moment. Unfortunately the coyote was too far away for a picture.

[scratchpaddy]

I guess it was a Jupiter weekend for me. I took a bike ride Sunday morning with the Jupiter 8 50/2. Great little lens for traveling light.



Sorry, no wildlife. Just a sculler on the river.