Author: | | New Member Registered: May, 2021 Posts: 15 | Review Date: May 31, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Build like a tank | Cons: | Focus isn't very smooth | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Sony A7 III
| | The thing I love about this Helios is that it's build like a tank! The lens feels a bit 'cold' with a stiff focus ring, but it has character. And that's what I look for in a vintage lens.
I bought this lens in mint condition from an old lady. She told me the the Zenit camera it came with was from her late husband, she was hoping she could make someone else happy with it, and I sure am.
If you're curious about the image quality please check this video: I compared this Helios with a German Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm Helios 44M-4 vs Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mm | Vintage lens comparison | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2017 Posts: 4 | Review Date: February 25, 2017 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Very sharp across the board, at least on aps-c, unique bokeh | Cons: | None | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: Canon 600d
| | I was surprised to see a sharpness rating of 8.4 (at the time i wrote this) for this lens because this is my sharpest lens so far. Very sharp wide open across the frame, at least on aps-c. Some people see a softness at the edges but that's because the edges of a photo are at a greater distance to the lens than at the center where focus is usually aimed. And at wide-open depth of field is very thin and very distance-sensitive. Otherwise if you fine-tune your focus to the edge or corners of your composition, then you will find this lens still very sharp. In this photo you can count and single out every stamen in this cut-flower gerbera. Shot hand-held at 1/500 shutter speed. I may have cropped this one because closest focussing distance is about a foot and a half.
It's my favorite lens not only for portraits but for product shoots as well. Stopped down, it's surgical and yields a rich amount of details. In this photo I used it to shoot (and sell) my Auto Sears/ Sekor SX 55mm f/1.4. It was snapped away as soon as I published the ad. I think the photos lelped a lot. (I miss that lens).
Of course this lens is known for its famous swirly bokeh, which is the main reason I purchased it. Just find some foliage and use it as background and voila! Swirly bokeh. Sometimes its bokeh appears like a master's strokes in a classic impressionist painting.
The lens is a little bit on the cool side, as sometimes I needed to add a little bit of warmth in pp. Aberrations? I pick my shots the best I can which is probably the reason I haven't encountered those issues.
At the going price, there is no reason why every photographer should not have one of these in the bag. It is an amazing lens no wonder the Russians manufactured a lot of helios 44, more than any known lens in the whole world. It's my go-to lens whenever I need sharpness on near objects. I'd give it a rating of 9.6.
I have other normal lenses probably as sharp as this one. S-m-c takumar 55/1.8, Helios 77m-4, and the Zenitar-m 50/1.7. If it all came down to a horse race, all of these lenses would be at the photo-finish. The 44m-4 would probably win. But only by the skin of its teeth.
| | | | New Member Registered: December, 2016 Posts: 13 | Review Date: February 3, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | High resolution, great value, dreamy bokeh | Cons: | Flaring, ghosting hard to control | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Fuji XM1, Olympus EPL5, Film camera
| | Bought this lens some months ago and used it on a film camera (35mm), a Fuji-crop and a M4/3 camera. It turns into a portrait lens fov on the crop sensors.
Impressions & more high-res image samples with a film camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MID7Pv6owL0 Bokeh is dreamy and feels more like an F1.4 than F2. There is a bit of swirly bokeh but not as much as the earlier version of this lens like the 44-2 version. Flaring and ghosting can be strong if shot against the light. Resolution is very good at F8 and still good at F2 in the center, but everything gets fairly dreamy wide open. Build quality is very solid, the lens will last for centuries. Colors can be very intense, in particular using old film.
F2 film Ektar 100
F2 film Ektar 100
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On digital cameras, more impressions here https://youtu.be/wEXfthKZuo0
F2 at Fuji XM1
F8 at Olympus EPL5 with macro tubes | | | | Senior Member Registered: December, 2016 Location: Bhubaneswar; A State in the East of India Posts: 296 | Review Date: January 5, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $43.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Bokeh, Sharp, Colours | Cons: | Needs some modification with certain adapters | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: Canon EOS 350D
| | I love shooting with this lens. Own the Helios 44-2 version as well. Hope to do a head to head comparison later with both the lenses. Ergonomically I feel it's better than the more popular Helios44-2 lens. I have infinity focus with this lens adapted to my Canon with a cheap M42toEOS adapter.
The lens is very sharp at the center and has very pleasing bokeh. For anyone who loves to shoot flowers and still objects, I think you will love this lens. | | | | | New Member Registered: August, 2014 Posts: 2 | Review Date: January 11, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $5.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Sharp excellent bokeh | Cons: | cheap feeling aperture ring | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: A6000
| | One of my favourite lenses to use sharp with excellent bokeh, great for portraits perhaps not quite as good as my 44m but this one works better, the 44m has a stiff focus ring. I had to modify the aperture pin to allow it to work in fully manual mode, its simple to do here's a video detailing how to do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BxLnveJ2yU
I used a Zhongyi Lens Turbo ii with this lens to give it it's full frame focal length on my A6000 Overwintering Helios 44m-4 + Zhongyi Lens turbo II by Scott Hills, on Flickr Helios 44m-4 + Zhongyi Lens turbo II by Scott Hills, on Flickr Helios 44m-4 + Zhongyi Lens turbo II by Scott Hills, on Flickr Helios 44m-4 + Zhongyi Lens turbo II by Scott Hills, on Flickr Helios 44m-4 + Zhongyi Lens turbo II by Scott Hills, on Flickr Helios 44m-4 + Zhongyi Lens turbo II by Scott Hills, on Flickr
| | | | New Member Registered: June, 2015 Posts: 2 | Review Date: December 8, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $39.99
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Beautiful bokeh and color accuracy | Cons: | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: A7s
| | Since owning this lens for almost a year now I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful lenses I own. I have this adapted to fit both my 5Dmii and my A7s and use it regularly for photos and video.
Wide open at f2 the bokeh is buttery and the flares are prominent but can be quite fun to play around with as shown below.
The sharpness in my eyes is flawless. Of course depending on how you control the flares your image could end up a bit soft but if you get your focus just right you can get some sharp shots.
(Keep note that all of these photos were taken at f2 resulting in pretty damn shallow focus.)
When summing up this lens, I have to say that it is one of my favorites to work with. It is sharp, easy to handle, fancy dancy with its bokeh and lens flares, it is a lens highly recommended by yours truly. Also remember, all of this cost me under $50 on ebay. That is a pretty damn good deal.
| | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076 | Review Date: April 21, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $3.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Tank like build, sharp, bokeh ... | Cons: | No A/M clutch, usually needs relube ... | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 10
| | Bonjour,
Another thrift shop copy of the Helios "44" series ... the 44M-4 version, and this seems to be a later version which has only 6 blades as opposed to the 8 blades of the 44-M and 44-2.
No Auto/Man switch thus I had to use the barrel of a Q-tip and install to make this lens fully manual.
Will post sample images later and will give give a preliminary rating of "7" for the moment ... J
EDIT: Here are some quick snaps from the garden ... worth an "8" now ... J | | |