[Iris]

So sorry for the lack of commenting this month! I couldn't manage it somehow

[UncleVanya]

So sorry for the lack of commenting this month! I couldn't manage it somehow

We enjoyed your shots.

[robgski]

So sorry for the lack of commenting this month! I couldn't manage it somehow

It's OK, just "fave" all my shots and we will not discuss it further .

Commenting beyond "Nice Shot" does take more time, I have been very lax as well.

[willdmo]

I bring the Feedback on my lens, late.

To say it short, it is a decent lens but I am not completely happy with it. Porst 40mm F2.5 lens (in the databese you find it with an other brand name)
Pro:
Combact, versatile, great focal lengt, fast (for a Pancake with F2.5)
Cons:
A bit fiddly built quality, some violet character to shots with strong contrasts and microcontrast (CA but not the typical one), Not as Sharp as the 45mm Revuenon and an anodized lens mount (to be able to shoot manual and let the camera stop down, you have to place a metal foil on the contacts, otherwise the camer wont stop down because it guesses, there is no lens on it)

[pepperberry farm]

my (late) review of the KMZ (Zenit) MC Helios 44K-4:

I purchased this lens for fun - I spent $19.99 on eBay for it, from a seller in Canada rather than Eastern Europe or Russia and honestly did not expect much from it...

I was wrong...

this is fully-manual lens, with no 'A' contacts at all, so all metering is done either by you or green-button metering in the camera, but when you get a feel for the lens, you can guess what it'll do under certain circumstances...

this is a 58mm f2 lens, so an odd focal length, reasonably fast aperture, and the focus ring spins the opposite direction of Pentax lenses... btw, it's over-built - weighs more than my K55/2 and feels very solid in your hand and on the camera...

the bad first:

the 'MC' in the lens' title is assumed to mean 'multi-coated', but who knows what with..... because the coatings here do not in anyway help with sunlight or other strong sources of light - point this lens at the sun and be prepared for an amazing array of aberrations, flare, and even reflections from the aperture blades (they appear to be bare metal rather than flat-anodized in other lenses).. you can use this to your advantage of course, but even a lens hood can only help so much...

the good:

first and foremost - you buy this lens for the bokeh: wide open at either f2 or f2.8 and you can expect swirling bokeh under the right conditions; it does not swirl as much as earlier M42 mount Helios 44's, but this still has the swirl...

additionally, I was surprised by how sharp this lens is stopped down - it's impressively sharp by f4 and even better by f8....

color rendition is a little cool compared to the normal Pentax colors, but easily adjusted in post...

if you can find a 44K in good condition and for a decent price, buy it, even just for the bokeh - but prepared to be surprised when you actually find out how competent the lens really is...

and the pics...

the flare and aperture reflections:



the bokeh:





and couple to show how good this lens is: