Pentaxian Registered: September, 2013 Location: Cuenca Posts: 594 | | Review Date: September 26, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharpness, color, contrast, fast, preset | | Cons: | slight softness on left and right edges | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony Alpha a850
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I have three Helios 44's, the 44-3, a 44M-4, and a 44M-6. They are remarkable lenses, fast, extremely sharp, producing good color, and inexpensive. I bought the 44-3 last because of reviews I had read about it. It's bokeh has been likened to that of the 44-2 which is prized by many owners of that lens. It's also a preset lens and I like preset lenses. The 44-3 is considered to have better resolution than the 44-2 and is supposedly better manufactured. Not owning a 44-2 I can't vouch for either of those points, but I'm explaining why I chose the 44-3. Unfortunately, many of the 44-3's were manufactured for the Zenith m42 mount which has a different registration distance than the standard m42 mount. This required more than six hours of filing the distance ring (but I'm no craftsman) to enable good focus. The pictures speak for the results and the quality of the lens.
First photo taken at f2 and minimum focus distance; the second at f8; the third is a crop of the second; and the fourth was taken at f5.6.
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Senior Member Registered: December, 2013 Posts: 166 | | Review Date: April 30, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Acceptably sharp in the center from f2, from 2.2 it's sharp, lovely bokeh | | Cons: | Corners are soft until f4-5.6, little wobbly even on genuine adapter | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5 II
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I added this lens because I wanted to give a review for this very good lens.
I've done some testings with Helios lenses (44M-7 and 44-3) and compared it with Super Takumar 55/1.8 and SMC-A 50/1.7.
I also have 44M which I'm now selling because it's worst among these three Helios lenses.
Picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the testings between them all.
Inside compare
Outside compare
One can find that 44M-7 is the most sharpest Helios 58mm lens (50/30 lp/mm). If I compare it with 44-3, then 44M-7 is sharper at f2 and f2.8 (it's really sharp), but from f3.5 it looks they are the same. Corners are better in 44-3.
My testings showed me that the best sharpness (center and corners) for 44M-7 lens is f9, and for 44-3 that's at f8. 44-3 is also a little wobbly on genuine m42-k adapter, but 44M-7 is solid as a rock.
For the end, one image taken through this lens.
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