Originally posted by ChrisJowett The legendary Helios swirly bokeh. Makes absolutely no sense, but it is lovely when it works. What you got there is still more interesting than precise circles or hexagons, so I'd score it as a success.
Thanks! I do really like the shot, BTW.
I just think the swirl requires a slightly more uniform background, and perhaps just a tad more separation.
Originally posted by Erd§ I think you need the 44-2 or 44-3 for the super swirly bokeh. They have 8 aperture blades which apparently contribute to the effect.
The 44K-4, which is the same as the 44M-4 aside from the mount, has 6 blades, and, along with the later 44M's, is known to be less conducive to the swirly stuff - although as you suggested, it's part way there.
You're correct that the 44K-4 has 6 (curved) blades, but the bokeh when shooting wide-open (as in this shot) has absolutely nothing to do with the blades since they do not close at all. AFAICT, all of the 44s have the same optical formula, so all are capable of The Swirl. Indeed, you can see the shadow of its presence in my shot (and others, unpublished), but I think to really bring it out, there needs to be a kind of uniformity to the background - the more the shapes of the background highlights are diverse, the less the effect is apparent.