"It's engineered like a piece of military hardware"... BECAUSE IT IS !!! This lens is a twin brother of Cyclop 85mm f1.5, with (almost) identical optical formula it M42 mount, but without any kind of aperture. It didn't needed it, it was used as an optical element for night sighting devices. You can also look for Cyclops online, it's usually cheaper, almost as sharp as Helios (with same swirly bokeh), but you have to keep absence of aperture in mind...
What a lovely video! Listening to your commentary it's clear you've fallen in love. Looking at the images, it's easy to see why! One for the list for the future, thanks for a wonderful tour of this very special lens!
Thanks. Very beautiful video. First, I had a Jupiter9. It was open very soft. Then I bought the Helios 40-2 and now it's one of my favorite lenses. Always sharp in the center from f1.5. Bokeh great. A dream for artistic photography if you like the swirly look.
You know what same named soviet lenses was produced by different factorys and had completely different quolity. Bet you had black Jupiter-9. It`s a late version, made by LZOS. White early version by KMZ is pretty sharp on open, but rarer and more expensive. But if you have a mirrorless you can use the rangefinder version. Main thing - factory mark. Trapezium with beam - good, circle and triangle - shit.
Hello, very inspiring presentation. My copy (1965) is sharp once stopped down a bit at f/4, but at this aperture, I do not like the spikes of the iris in the bokeh bubbles. Unfortunately, it will not focus to infinity on a DSLR, so I use it for what it can do best. Close shots, open, with lots of light specs shining through the background.
I guess it would be difficult to shoot this one on a DSLR at infinity without an adaptor with optical elements to help. There are lots of very cheap mirrorless options around though, on which infinity focus would be achievable!
I'm a huge fan of the swirly stuff. You images are beautiful with this lens. I'm inspired to move to a full frame to maximize the blurry whorl of my helios 44-2. It's full potential is being stunted by my micro 43 camera. I've considered adding a speed booster to enable a larger field of view but that is still only getting me into APSC territory. On the hunt for a good used a7. Cheers
@@zenography7923 Some day - I hope. Recently moved from London to Northern Sweden and started my own youtube channel with Nature inspired videos (filmed with vintage lenses). For now living of savings in an expensive country ;)
Bit cross, because I started out with Zeniths and a stack load of lenses, did well, but upgraded to Sigma bodies ( yes really, but think they where made by another) Moved on to other brands, Olympus, etc. why did we not consider the early stuff from USSR, Then, as we seem to now?
The circular swirl effect was a trademark of cinematographers during the silent era. That is where I first became aware of it - in the work of Hedrik Sartov, Murnau, Bitzer, and others: ua-cam.com/video/2duzpotUqzM/v-deo.html
I'm not familiar with any of the lenses, but some people say that the Helios 40 is quite soft wide open. But how does it compares to the Jupiter 9, both at f2?
i have 1 mine dosent have the tripod ring also docent have the holes for the screws,it will fit the ring that goes around not the one with screws,i am looking for One Ring ,on the Ebay i found the black rings,,,i need the silver ones.also i know we can adapt the lens to be automatic,but its heavy for the adapter to move the lens between the camera and the lens.
I crack up with your comment "It's not the best walk around lens". Photographic success is lens-centric, focal length, aperture, this that and the other glass and coating, distortion and native goddam algorithms and whatnot. HOLY MOLY.
@@zenography7923 Russians and Russian cameras are tough. After watching your clip on the Fed 4 I brought on from Russia. It was thrown into a plastic bag, a stamp waked on it and thrown into the post. Amazingly it was in great condition despite the Russian/Australian post office best attempts to destroy it. I love it, it is all you said it was. (also got a Fed 3 a couple of weeks back. Thought the focusing at infinity does not line up. Yet to try another lens on it) Thank you for your Chanel its so appreciated, you have taught me so much:
I’ve been eyeing the Zenit 85mm for a year or so. Picked up the 56mm Zenit Helios... reversed elements, and put back.. I have the M version so the imperfections that we like where largely eliminated... ended up with a Lensbaby Twist 60 which is nice.. but fiddle lens. Thinking a lot about ordering a new Zenit Helios 85 from Bh or Adorama in 2020... That and Lomography Degaurotype Achromatatic or Lensbaby Velvet series.. all for different reasons and different projects, but the same basic theme of the real world seen differently. Have you used any of those? Ok.. going to troll your videos. Hitting subscribe.. thank you again for posting.
My copy of Jupiter 9 is quite soft wide open and not swirly at all. It is said that the older J9 copies are sharper (silver-bodied ones). Helios-40 (and 40-2) is sharp in the center of the frame and very blurry towards the edges but you have to use it with a full frame sensor to fully appreciate the swirlyness. I believe that the Jupiter 9 is a Sonnar design and the Helios-40 is a Biotar type design.
@@piotrchmielewski4817 hey Piotr thank you for replying. I recently obtained a nice copy of a chrome J9 albeit with a stiff helicoid. I dont have a point of reference to compare this J9 with later J9s but I must admit im a little disapointed with the lack of contrast/saturation it has. It desperately needs a lens hood to perform to the best of its ability as i found out "cupping" my hand around the front of the lens DRASTICALLY improves contrast. I wonder if this helios is similar. My J9 isnt that sharp but its not horribly unsharp either.
@@stealthworx4371 It seems we have a similar opinion on the J9. I have 2 copies: one in m42 mount and one in early-Zenit m39. Unfortunately, they both perform similarly. If you want a decent Sonnar type Soviet-era lens, you really have to get the Jupiter 37A 135mm f/3.5
it's nice, but i am glad you made this video because i was super tempted by this on eBay... personally i much prefer my mamiya 85mm f2 or my elusive SMC Pentax 85mm f1.8 (K)...
I have this lens m39 version with a step up ring attached and stuck on it. I want to disassemble it it in order to clean the dirt and fungus accumulated in it. Which tools and chemicals do I need?
Hi, you'll need a good quality set of small screwdrivers and a lens spanner. As I understand it, to remove fungus a weak solution of white vinegar and water can be used - though don't quote me on this as I haven't actually done it myself and wouldn't want to cause damage to that wonderful lens!
I don't know if you have been asked before about this, but are there different versions of this lens? I would like to have one either with m42 mount or Nikon mount. On ebay there are apparently different versions, and I've even heard that they is a cheap copy of it. I've also heard that one of the versions is sharper and has better contrast. If you could share your knowledge about this please
Zenit say the newer version has improved coating, but I've read comparison tests that found no difference in the performance of this lens, either old or new. As for mounts, they come in M39 (for early Zenit SLRs), M42 and Nikon mounts. I haven't heard of a cheap copy of this lens, but if there is one I'd love to try it!
@@zenography7923 Good to know there's not much difference if any among these lenses. I've read one guy's blog in which he mentioned that the newer models for Nikon and Canon are worse than the older versions. I'll try to find it out
Haaaa !... At last, Welcome to the club of the Helios 40-2 lovers !! What you unfortunately don't show here is portraits done with it: they are ab-so-lu-te-ly wonderful at f2. 8. Yes it's heavy like a soviet tank, but they are advantages to this, first one being natural image stabilisation in low Light conditions, but before you get a cramp if you wait too long for a shot. Other advantages could be bodybuilding while shooting, and also self defense. Looking at your images I could recognize the specific character of this lens, something unique made of the combination of color rendition, sharpness, background blurr of course and that very subtle lack of contrast. The photos made with this lens have something quite surreal. I never liked the 58mm 44-2 and sold it, but will keep my 40-2 ( M42 and tripod mount on freely turnig ring + knurled stop screw). Yes, it's a military lens, initialy designed for night or infrared vision.
To be honest I don't like the bokeh made by this lens, it looks like too busy for my taste. That's why I don't understand why you like it so much. BTW, can you advise me a lens for a Sony a7 series that makes this bokeh quantity but not busy? Thanks in advance.
@@zenography7923 Given the prices of all new lenses I suppose it is still good value. On a side note, I just found an amazing 135mm lens. This one: www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/schneider-kreuznach-135mm-f35-tele-xenar-electric.html Unfortunately the first one I bought had mangled aperture blades but after testing it wide open I immediately found another one which I'm waiting to arrive. The broken one wide open was enough for me know that this is an exceptional lens. The front barrel is plastic so a few points off there but the 10/10 rating of those two Pentaxforums reviews is understandable.
This lens is a portrait lens. The same is jupiter 9 85mm f/2. It performs best in distances up to 5-6m. It is not a landscape lens. Best pics I get from this lens is around f/5.6 or f/8. Closing it down it loses resolution. I have both jupiter 9 and Helios portrait lenses. I prefer the jupiter over this lens and I cannot explain exactly why. I shot mostly color film with these 2 lenses and I have not seen how it performs in a real full frame sensor slr. Anyway these lenses were made for the pro photographers in USSR. And I have seen in the past serious photographers to use the Jupiter 9 for model photography in fashion magazines mounted on really expensive and pro canons and Nikons analog slrs. I think that the J9 is a better option and is a better value for money. Helios does not justify this price. When I bought the Helios 10 years ago, I bought it dirty cheap. It was around 60 euros. Today its price is 5-6 times more. Many people go back to film photography or discover these M42 lenses adapters for digital.. Helios is a studio lens. You cannot carry it around. It is really heavy and bulky lens but steals peoples eyes.. Everybody used to look at me when I used it outside.
Holy shit, too bad I have a Micro Four Thirds system that will make the focal length go beyond 160mm. Is there an alternative to this that gives me 70-80mm with around f2.0? But for MFT.
@@tomislavmiletic_ Thank you, I will see reviews of that one here. I had another question. If I were to pull the trigger on the Takumar 50 f1.4, does that mean on my MFT system with just a dumb adapter, it will become f2.8? Sorry, speedboosters are super expensive.
@@RavikantRai21490 You mean the bokeh? Yes if you use regular adapter than yes, but that way you are loosing swirly goodness anyway. METABONES adapters / speedboosters ARE expensive, but say aZyongy or Camdiox will cost you under $150, Viltrox a bit more maybe at this point. I got an off-brand one in M42 for Fuji for around $80...
I haven't used the black version, although in researching this lens I found that there doesn't seem to be any discernible difference in image quality, either for worse, or better!
I have it, i have the ukranian version, where the lense glass is radioactive. something to do with glass materials. it has a yellow brownish tint Best helios lens i have
@@zenography7923 how it was explained to by my grandfather, that some are and some are not. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoriated_glass It is called Thoriated Glass, levels are low but it was a thing. So the ones that are made in Ukraine might be more. Mine was tested 10 years ago when i first got it from grampa, and it did have really low radioactive traces. but it did have and it is how old, like 60-70 years old.
I don't get it. That swirly bokeh reminds me too much of astigmatism, or some other radial/axial phenomena. Which is avoided as much as possible in good lens design. Are we just not infatuated with something different? It's an aesthetic and a subjective one at that. Don't they make Holga's for this? And at a fraction of the cost?
The swirly stuff isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it does have its fans, myself among them - as you may have gathered! As for Holgas, they're fun little lenses, but I don't think they're anywhere near a match for the Helios 40!
I had one of these lenses in the 1970s for portraits. I didn't like the way it made my subjects look. It changed their appearance and not in a good way. I sold it. I still have some black and white prints of my children which are not very flattering
Why is this 2 lbs lens heavy? Ppl drink beer and it goes to fat around the waist. That's got be be more than 2 lbs... more like 75 to 100 lbs of beer around the waist. Now that's heavy.
>>> Bokeh or bokè is pronounced BOK, like block without the L followed by Eh. Bok-eh, not the way you said it. Nikon: Nik (as in small cut) followed by On. Sony rhymes with Bonny, not Pony. It’s as simple as that, and now you’re a Japanese expert!
Today everybody is thinking he is a photographer, an artist and a master. Because the digital camera and photoshop can make a print of the shit which is coming out of his digital camera. And some blabla-wanker with a piece of cold war optical crap orders his printer to make an A4. And all his friends are pleasing him and tell him they like the plsatic coated paper. You had better return to your darkroom and make a print on FORTE Photo Paper, Brovira, Royal Bromesko enz.
Bull's Eye ! Today everybody is thinking he is a photographer, an artist and a master. Because the digital camera and photoshop can make a print of the shit which is coming out of his digital camera. And some blabla-wanker with a piece of cold war optical crap orders his printer to make an A4. And all his friends are pleasing him and tell him they like the plsatic coated paper. You had better return to your darkroom and make a print on FORTE Photo Paper, Brovira, Royal Bromesko enz.
"It's engineered like a piece of military hardware"... BECAUSE IT IS !!!
This lens is a twin brother of Cyclop 85mm f1.5, with (almost) identical optical formula it M42 mount, but without any kind of aperture. It didn't needed it, it was used as an optical element for night sighting devices.
You can also look for Cyclops online, it's usually cheaper, almost as sharp as Helios (with same swirly bokeh), but you have to keep absence of aperture in mind...
I like your definition "partly realistic and partly impressionistic". That's a good way to think about the result of these lens
When your parents are sleeping but you need to make a UA-cam video.
:)
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 for real!
Allways your presentation is a unique piece of infos !!
Thank you!
What a lovely video! Listening to your commentary it's clear you've fallen in love. Looking at the images, it's easy to see why! One for the list for the future, thanks for a wonderful tour of this very special lens!
And thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it!
How does this channel not have more subscribers?! Great content! Always looking forward to your reviews!
Thank you!
Loved the review and the lens!
Great job👍
Thanks. Very beautiful video. First, I had a Jupiter9. It was open very soft. Then I bought the Helios 40-2 and now it's one of my favorite lenses. Always sharp in the center from f1.5. Bokeh great. A dream for artistic photography if you like the swirly look.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
You know what same named soviet lenses was produced by different factorys and had completely different quolity. Bet you had black Jupiter-9. It`s a late version, made by LZOS. White early version by KMZ is pretty sharp on open, but rarer and more expensive. But if you have a mirrorless you can use the rangefinder version. Main thing - factory mark. Trapezium with beam - good, circle and triangle - shit.
Thank you for your videos. Bought an industar 61 yesterday, looking forward to trying it out!
Enjoy!
Hello, very inspiring presentation.
My copy (1965) is sharp once stopped down a bit at f/4, but at this aperture, I do not like the spikes of the iris in the bokeh bubbles.
Unfortunately, it will not focus to infinity on a DSLR, so I use it for what it can do best. Close shots, open, with lots of light specs shining through the background.
I guess it would be difficult to shoot this one on a DSLR at infinity without an adaptor with optical elements to help. There are lots of very cheap mirrorless options around though, on which infinity focus would be achievable!
I've watched this several times, Some day I will get this lens. Brilliant and compelling viewing.
Lovely video and lens.
Keep up the good work. Regards Ulf
Many thanks Ulf!
I'm a huge fan of the swirly stuff. You images are beautiful with this lens. I'm inspired to move to a full frame to maximize the blurry whorl of my helios 44-2. It's full potential is being stunted by my micro 43 camera. I've considered adding a speed booster to enable a larger field of view but that is still only getting me into APSC territory. On the hunt for a good used a7. Cheers
Get the a7 - I don't think you'll regret it!
Your photos are amazing!
I have it and use it for my Nikon - it was changed for Nikon F bayonet. Perfect lens!
I own two of the cyclops version. Will make some aperture rings so I can step down. Luv the swirly bokeh from them.
You can't beat a bit of the swirly stuff!
Thanks for your videos!
I shit you not, I played it on 1.25x, and it seemed just right
Just tried it...it’s true :)
Another great video, thank you.
Thank you!
Really great video and beautiful images. And this lens...! Would be great to work with it on my own photography and films. Maybe one day....
Thanks, glad you liked them! It's a very special lens - worth saving up for if you want one!
@@zenography7923 Some day - I hope. Recently moved from London to Northern Sweden and started my own youtube channel with Nature inspired videos (filmed with vintage lenses). For now living of savings in an expensive country ;)
got one from 64. Love it!!!
Excellent review.
Bit cross, because I started out with Zeniths and a stack load of lenses, did well, but upgraded to Sigma bodies ( yes really, but think they where made by another) Moved on to other brands, Olympus, etc. why did we not consider the early stuff from USSR,
Then, as we seem to now?
Excellent review! Are these images on digital or film? Are the new ones supposed to give exactly the same effect?
Yes, the new H44 is said to be pretty much exactly the same as the old ones. All these images were shot on my sony a7.
The circular swirl effect was a trademark of cinematographers during the silent era. That is where I first became aware of it - in the work of Hedrik Sartov, Murnau, Bitzer, and others:
ua-cam.com/video/2duzpotUqzM/v-deo.html
That's really interesting, thank you for pointing it out!
3:07 "Interceptors: Immediate Lauch!…" 😎
:)
I like to listen at half speed.
:)
What a lovable piece of glass!
It's incredible!
I'm not familiar with any of the lenses, but some people say that the Helios 40 is quite soft wide open. But how does it compares to the Jupiter 9, both at f2?
Good copy, wide open it's actually quite sharp at 1.5
My 40-2 is much more sharper at f2 than the Jupiter9. At the center the Helios is always sharp.
That brand has problems with lights and shapness in borders when is dark and clear. Minolta, Tskumar, Samsung, Canon snd Nikon lens are better.
i have 1 mine dosent have the tripod ring also docent have the holes for the screws,it will fit the ring that goes around not the one with screws,i am looking for One Ring ,on the Ebay i found the black rings,,,i need the silver ones.also i know we can adapt the lens to be automatic,but its heavy for the adapter to move the lens between the camera and the lens.
I hope you manage to get it sorted out!
I crack up with your comment "It's not the best walk around lens". Photographic success is lens-centric, focal length, aperture, this that and the other glass and coating, distortion and native goddam algorithms and whatnot. HOLY MOLY.
It is a beautiful lens but the price........WOW I'll say it backwards WOW......
:) That made me smile!
@@zenography7923 Russians and Russian cameras are tough. After watching your clip on the Fed 4 I brought on from Russia. It was thrown into a plastic bag, a stamp waked on it and thrown into the post. Amazingly it was in great condition despite the Russian/Australian post office best attempts to destroy it. I love it, it is all you said it was. (also got a Fed 3 a couple of weeks back. Thought the focusing at infinity does not line up. Yet to try another lens on it) Thank you for your Chanel its so appreciated, you have taught me so much:
I’ve been eyeing the Zenit 85mm for a year or so. Picked up the 56mm Zenit Helios... reversed elements, and put back.. I have the M version so the imperfections that we like where largely eliminated... ended up with a Lensbaby Twist 60 which is nice.. but fiddle lens. Thinking a lot about ordering a new Zenit Helios 85 from Bh or Adorama in 2020... That and Lomography Degaurotype Achromatatic or Lensbaby Velvet series.. all for different reasons and different projects, but the same basic theme of the real world seen differently. Have you used any of those? Ok.. going to troll your videos. Hitting subscribe.. thank you again for posting.
I wonder how this compares to the jupiter 9. Both 85 mils and both zeiss designs.
My copy of Jupiter 9 is quite soft wide open and not swirly at all. It is said that the older J9 copies are sharper (silver-bodied ones). Helios-40 (and 40-2) is sharp in the center of the frame and very blurry towards the edges but you have to use it with a full frame sensor to fully appreciate the swirlyness. I believe that the Jupiter 9 is a Sonnar design and the Helios-40 is a Biotar type design.
@@piotrchmielewski4817 hey Piotr thank you for replying. I recently obtained a nice copy of a chrome J9 albeit with a stiff helicoid. I dont have a point of reference to compare this J9 with later J9s but I must admit im a little disapointed with the lack of contrast/saturation it has. It desperately needs a lens hood to perform to the best of its ability as i found out "cupping" my hand around the front of the lens DRASTICALLY improves contrast. I wonder if this helios is similar. My J9 isnt that sharp but its not horribly unsharp either.
@@stealthworx4371 It seems we have a similar opinion on the J9. I have 2 copies: one in m42 mount and one in early-Zenit m39. Unfortunately, they both perform similarly. If you want a decent Sonnar type Soviet-era lens, you really have to get the Jupiter 37A 135mm f/3.5
Nice pictures. I have to train a little. It is not easy to use this lens.
Beautiful Len's 👍👍👍❤️
it's nice, but i am glad you made this video because i was super tempted by this on eBay... personally i much prefer my mamiya 85mm f2 or my elusive SMC Pentax 85mm f1.8 (K)...
Those sound like lovely lenses!
I have this lens m39 version with a step up ring attached and stuck on it. I want to disassemble it it in order to clean the dirt and fungus accumulated in it. Which tools and chemicals do I need?
Hi, you'll need a good quality set of small screwdrivers and a lens spanner. As I understand it, to remove fungus a weak solution of white vinegar and water can be used - though don't quote me on this as I haven't actually done it myself and wouldn't want to cause damage to that wonderful lens!
thank you! if I can clean it well, I will send you a short video.
It's a heavy lens ideeeed! Why didn't you say it? Cheers, thank you for all these great videos!
Many thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
So sad that the couple met on Millenium Bridge only a few feet away from focus. 😃
A shame they weren't a little nearer - but their feelings for each other were clear enough!
What about pentacon 135mm f2.8
I've never tried it, but I've heard it's very nice.
@@zenography7923 Hope you will make video on that lense. Please.
I don't know if you have been asked before about this, but are there different versions of this lens? I would like to have one either with m42 mount or Nikon mount. On ebay there are apparently different versions, and I've even heard that they is a cheap copy of it. I've also heard that one of the versions is sharper and has better contrast. If you could share your knowledge about this please
Zenit say the newer version has improved coating, but I've read comparison tests that found no difference in the performance of this lens, either old or new. As for mounts, they come in M39 (for early Zenit SLRs), M42 and Nikon mounts. I haven't heard of a cheap copy of this lens, but if there is one I'd love to try it!
@@zenography7923 Good to know there's not much difference if any among these lenses. I've read one guy's blog in which he mentioned that the newer models for Nikon and Canon are worse than the older versions. I'll try to find it out
Haaaa !... At last, Welcome to the club of the Helios 40-2 lovers !!
What you unfortunately don't show here is portraits done with it: they are ab-so-lu-te-ly wonderful at f2. 8. Yes it's heavy like a soviet tank, but they are advantages to this, first one being natural image stabilisation in low Light conditions, but before you get a cramp if you wait too long for a shot. Other advantages could be bodybuilding while shooting, and also self defense.
Looking at your images I could recognize the specific character of this lens, something unique made of the combination of color rendition, sharpness, background blurr of course and that very subtle lack of contrast. The photos made with this lens have something quite surreal.
I never liked the 58mm 44-2 and sold it, but will keep my 40-2 ( M42 and tripod mount on freely turnig ring + knurled stop screw). Yes, it's a military lens, initialy designed for night or infrared vision.
This is an art lens, no doubt about it. And I'll be doing some portraits with it soon!
@@zenography7923 Great ! Look foward to see your images
To be honest I don't like the bokeh made by this lens, it looks like too busy for my taste. That's why I don't understand why you like it so much.
BTW, can you advise me a lens for a Sony a7 series that makes this bokeh quantity but not busy? Thanks in advance.
What is the difference between the original ones and the new ones ? Apart from that the new ones are much cheaper .
Nothing, same optics basically in new wrap, maybe some new coatings are being used, but nothing more
New one is multi coated and more flare resistant. No tripod mount.
This is a lens that I would love to have but the prices are high now.
These are not cheap just now, that's for sure! Despite that, in my opinion they're extremely good value...
@@zenography7923 Given the prices of all new lenses I suppose it is still good value.
On a side note, I just found an amazing 135mm lens. This one:
www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/schneider-kreuznach-135mm-f35-tele-xenar-electric.html
Unfortunately the first one I bought had mangled aperture blades but after testing it wide open I immediately found another one which I'm waiting to arrive. The broken one wide open was enough for me know that this is an exceptional lens. The front barrel is plastic so a few points off there but the 10/10 rating of those two Pentaxforums reviews is understandable.
This lens is a portrait lens. The same is jupiter 9 85mm f/2. It performs best in distances up to 5-6m. It is not a landscape lens. Best pics I get from this lens is around f/5.6 or f/8. Closing it down it loses resolution. I have both jupiter 9 and Helios portrait lenses. I prefer the jupiter over this lens and I cannot explain exactly why. I shot mostly color film with these 2 lenses and I have not seen how it performs in a real full frame sensor slr. Anyway these lenses were made for the pro photographers in USSR. And I have seen in the past serious photographers to use the Jupiter 9 for model photography in fashion magazines mounted on really expensive and pro canons and Nikons analog slrs. I think that the J9 is a better option and is a better value for money. Helios does not justify this price. When I bought the Helios 10 years ago, I bought it dirty cheap. It was around 60 euros. Today its price is 5-6 times more. Many people go back to film photography or discover these M42 lenses adapters for digital.. Helios is a studio lens. You cannot carry it around. It is really heavy and bulky lens but steals peoples eyes.. Everybody used to look at me when I used it outside.
What is the lens mount type? Why do you always omit this important information???????
Holy shit, too bad I have a Micro Four Thirds system that will make the focal length go beyond 160mm. Is there an alternative to this that gives me 70-80mm with around f2.0? But for MFT.
If you pair either Helios 44-2 or Takumar 50mm f1.4 with a good speedbooster you are about there...
@@tomislavmiletic_ Thank you, I will see reviews of that one here. I had another question. If I were to pull the trigger on the Takumar 50 f1.4, does that mean on my MFT system with just a dumb adapter, it will become f2.8? Sorry, speedboosters are super expensive.
@@RavikantRai21490 You mean the bokeh? Yes if you use regular adapter than yes, but that way you are loosing swirly goodness anyway. METABONES adapters / speedboosters ARE expensive, but say aZyongy or Camdiox will cost you under $150, Viltrox a bit more maybe at this point. I got an off-brand one in M42 for Fuji for around $80...
@@tomislavmiletic_ Thank you, I think I will pull the trigger on the Zongyi one. I don't mind losing the swirly bokeh though.
Have you used the new black version of this lens? I am wondering if I should get a new version or search around for the older silver version.
I haven't used the black version, although in researching this lens I found that there doesn't seem to be any discernible difference in image quality, either for worse, or better!
I have it, i have the ukranian version, where the lense glass is radioactive.
something to do with glass materials. it has a yellow brownish tint
Best helios lens i have
It's a unique lens - didn't know there was a radioactive version though!
@@zenography7923 how it was explained to by my grandfather, that some are and some are not.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoriated_glass It is called Thoriated Glass, levels are low but it was a thing. So the ones that are made in Ukraine might be more.
Mine was tested 10 years ago when i first got it from grampa, and it did have really low radioactive traces. but it did have and it is how old, like 60-70 years old.
I don't get it. That swirly bokeh reminds me too much of astigmatism, or some other radial/axial phenomena. Which is avoided as much as possible in good lens design. Are we just not infatuated with something different? It's an aesthetic and a subjective one at that. Don't they make Holga's for this? And at a fraction of the cost?
The swirly stuff isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it does have its fans, myself among them - as you may have gathered! As for Holgas, they're fun little lenses, but I don't think they're anywhere near a match for the Helios 40!
I had one of these lenses in the 1970s for portraits. I didn't like the way it made my subjects look. It changed their appearance and not in a good way. I sold it. I still have some black and white prints of my children which are not very flattering
Not everyone's cup of tea I guess!
1.25x speed and it's still slow
This is not a fast talking channel my friend. In my experience, when someone talks too quickly, beware!
Wow.was ist das für ein Gerät
Es ist ziemlich viel, nicht wahr?
Why is this 2 lbs lens heavy? Ppl drink beer and it goes to fat around the waist. That's got be be more than 2 lbs... more like 75 to 100 lbs of beer around the waist. Now that's heavy.
:-)
>>> Bokeh or bokè is pronounced BOK, like block without the L followed by Eh. Bok-eh, not the way you said it.
Nikon: Nik (as in small cut) followed by On.
Sony rhymes with Bonny, not Pony.
It’s as simple as that, and now you’re a Japanese expert!
Thanks for the info!
Today everybody is thinking he is a photographer, an artist and a master.
Because the digital camera and photoshop can make a print of the shit
which is coming out of his digital camera.
And some blabla-wanker with a piece of cold war optical crap orders his
printer to make an A4. And all his friends are pleasing him and tell him
they like the plsatic coated paper.
You had better return to your darkroom and make a print on FORTE Photo
Paper, Brovira, Royal Bromesko enz.
☕️🍰
This channel should have a default playback speed of 1.8X....just saying.
:)
Bokeh = lens "cul de bouteille"= Bad quality...
=
Well, cul de bouteille ou non, this is a unique lens that makes images unlike any other! What don't you like about it?
Bull's Eye !
Today everybody is thinking he is a photographer, an artist and a master.
Because the digital camera and photoshop can make a print of the shit
which is coming out of his digital camera.
And some blabla-wanker with a piece of cold war optical crap orders his
printer to make an A4. And all his friends are pleasing him and tell him
they like the plsatic coated paper.
You had better return to your darkroom and make a print on FORTE Photo
Paper, Brovira, Royal Bromesko enz.