This review presents exactly old Helios-44 lens 2/58 for M39 thread, and not its subsequent modifications. Its number 0220423, issued at the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Plant (KMZ), as evidenced by the emblem of the plant on the lens. Also, part of the old white Helios-44 was produced in Belarus.
Aperture limits 2.0-16.0
Number of aperture blades: 13
Thread: M39
Focal length: 58mm
Optical design: 6 elements in 4 groups
Helios 44 lens overview, front view on a modern camera
The optical design was taken from Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 2 / 58. Zeiss lenses are still famous for their excellent quality and picture.
Photo at Helios-44
The lens has a classic white metal frame, typical of its years of production. Resolution 35/14 lines / mm. Focusing range from 0.5 meter to infinity. Note that there was also a Helios-44 for "Start" with a special bayonet mount. You can look at Helios-44 2/58 with 8 aperture blades.
Photo at Helios-44
The first thing, of course, that catches your eye is his white metal frame, which looks unusual on a black camera.
Sample photo on Helios 44
Advantages of the Helios 44 lens:
- Excellent aperture. What does the lens have enough sharp already at full aperture. On F / 2.0, good sharpness is obtained, which allows you to use it in poor lighting, and on 2.0 you can get good portraits.
- There is aperture preset ring. You can set the aperture to the desired value, focus on sharpness with the F / 2.0 aperture fully open, close the ring to the set value and take a picture.
The photo on Helios-44 is old, white, with 13 aperture blades. No processing.
- This lens can be used with full-frame cameras. On the crop matrix, the angle of the field of view is narrowed, the equivalent angle will be as for 87mm in the full frame. This is a great focal length. for portraiture, because the lens is great for photographing portraits - and therefore it is still very loved by modern photographers.
- Excellent sharpness. This lens is one of the first, after it there were a large number of modifications, different models were produced at different factories. In general, modifications of Helios-44 (m2, m3, m4, etc.) made it one of the most popular lenses in the world. Because of this, in later periods there was more marriage and later versions are considered to be worse in quality in comparison with such old people as Helios-44. Remember that when gossip becomes obsolete, they become myths. So the myth was created, that Helios are rather unpleasant lenses.
The photo on Helios-44 is old, white, with 13 aperture blades. No processing.
- Its design will survive both me and you, my dear reader. This is not modern Chinese plastic. Illusions about the super-high quality of modern lenses, like teeth, are lost with age. Helios-44 removes so far.
- 13-blade aperture... Only a few of the modern afto-focus lenses can boast of this number. From the manual: only Jupiter-37a, Jupiter-11, Tair-11 can compete with this Helios in terms of the number of petals and the correctness of circles in the blur zone. It's funny that the diaphragm has an odd number of blades, which is not typical for Soviet optics. With a circular aperture, you can easily get rid of the “nuts” in the bokeh, which are very undesirable for portraits.
The photo on Helios-44 is old, white, with 13 aperture blades. No processing.
Disadvantages:
- Inconvenient focuser ring, described the problem below.
- Weakly holds lateral light.
The bokeh is excellent, slightly twisted in the Helios (Biotar) style. But in my opinion Helios-44 twists bokeh much less than its subsequent modifications. HA noticeable only on open diaphragms when closely studied. Lens gives a sharp, but at the same time soft picture (sharp contours, but even and soft color filling). On crop, I did not notice a serious drop in sharpness at the edges of the frame, nor was there a visible vignette. In order not to read a lot - see the gallery on Helios-44 in this review. (Pictures 1600 * 1200 are adjusted to the size of your display to open the picture completely, just copy the address of the image and paste it into the browser line).
How to use with modern cameras?
Lenses with an M39 mounting thread (for SLR cameras, M39 X 1 / 45.2), such as the lens from this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both SLR and mirrorless), for this you just need to choose correct adapter. The cheapest adapters can be found aliexpress.com.
For use on modern digital SLR cameras Canon EOS need M39-Canon EOS adapter, you can buy such an adapter (adapter) here. Also, an adapter M39-Canon EOS can be easily replaced with two adapters: M42-Canon EOS + M39-M42. Detailed information on the use of such lenses with any Canon EOS cameras will find here.
An adapter is required for use on Nikon SLR cameras M39-Nikon F, you can buy such an adapter (adapter) without a lens and a chip here. Also, one adapter M39-Nikon F can be easily replaced with two adapters: M42-Nikon F + M39-M42. Detailed information on the use of such lenses with any modern Nikon cameras will find here.
How to use this lens with cameras of other systems (Pentax, Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung, Sigma etc.) - ask in the comments and you will be prompted. If you have any questions on compatibility and adapters, ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all, any user can add a comment).
Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.
Sample photo on Helios 44
Features to watch out for:
It turned out to be quite enough for me inconvenient focusing ring. That is, the focuser is arranged rather inconveniently near the camera mount, the ribbed “nut” of the focuser is also located on the side of the mount, and the second part of the focuser is smooth metal, which is also not very pleasant and convenient to turn.
The photo on Helios-44 is old, white, with 13 aperture blades. No processing.
Aperture has fixed values from 2.0 to 16.0. The lens on the cropped matrix becomes very sharp at 2.8-5.6. Helios 44 has a single-layer enlightenment, which does not greatly help in the fight against backlight and side light. The resulting picture on a fully open aperture exceeds all my expectations.
The photo on Helios-44 is old, white, with 13 aperture blades. No processing.
Reviews for the Helios-44 2/58 lenses:
- Helios-44 2/58 [KMZ, 13 petals, M39, silver, No. 0220423]
- Helios-44 2/58 [KMZ, 8 petals, M39, silver]
- Helios-44 1: 2 F = 5,8 cm П [KMZ with replaced lenses, No. 0007220, review of the lens from the reader Radozhiva]
- HELIOS-44M 2/58 [KMZ, 8 petals, serial number 7843528]
- HELIOS-44M 2/58 [Jupiter plant, Valdai, 8 petals, serial number 8027170]
- HELIOS-44-2 2/58 [plant 'Jupiter', Valdai, 8 petals, serial number 83052779] + autofocus review
- MS Helios 44-3 2/58 [MMZ, 8 petals, 8619437, 9167912]
- MC Helios-44M-4 2/58
- Helios-44K-4 58mm 1:2 [KMZ, 6 petals, Pentax K]
- MC Helios-44M-4 58mm 1: 2 [plant 'Jupiter', Valdai, 6 petals] + autofocus review
- MC Helios-44M-5 58mm 1: 2 [Jupiter plant, Valdai, 6 petals]
- MC Helios-44M-6 58mm 1: 2 [plant 'Jupiter', Valdai, 6 petals]
- MC Helios-44M-7 58mm 1: 2 [plant 'Jupiter', Valdai, 6 petals]
- An article about most of the major modifications of the Helios-44 series
- Gallery of pictures on MC Helios-44M-4
- Look at modern the lenses 'Helios' can at this link
- A lot of Helios of all varieties can be found on ebay this link
Original 'Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 2/58 ':
- Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 1: 2 f = 5,8cm T [17 diaphragm blades, M42]
- Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 2 / 58 T [12 diaphragm blades, M42]
- A lot of Biotars of all varieties can be found on ebay this link
Look at modern the lenses 'Zenitar' и 'Helios' can at this link.
All photos in the gallery below and throughout the review - without processing (NEF, Auto tone, Resize and JPEG convert Q80%, watermark)
UPDATED
Examples of photos on Helios-44 2/58 (13 petals) and a camera Nikon D810 photographer shared with readers of Radozhiva Anastasia Tretyakova.
Results
A great old-tempered lens, suitable for all types of shooting. For cameras with a cropped matrix, it serves as a good short portrait portrait, since already at F2.0 it gives a high-quality image.
Familiarity with the Soviet Helios brand lenses I recommend starting with an inexpensive and common lens Helios-44-2 2/58 (aka HELIOS-44-2 2/58). The following links can look at modern lenses Zenitar и HELIOS.
Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.
Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram
Thanks a lot. I think that I will take all the same M39
I was just advised as an option at the M39 level Jupiter 11 135/4 ... what do you say?
Irina, you wanted swirling bokeh, Yu-11 won't give it. And 58mm and 135mm are somehow completely different ranges. For a portrait, Jupiter-11 is just right, just keep in mind that 135mm on the crop will be quite difficult to handle.
Yes, I was also embarrassed by the range. Yes, I want bokeh.
Hello! Which lens is better, Helios 44 M39 or Helios 44-2 2/58?
It all depends directly on the specimens in question. I would take the old 44.
What do you say, which in your opinion is better as a portrait or this Helios 81-N?
In my opinion, Helios-44 is better.
Tell me how it will behave on the Canon 550d when shooting video? :) will there be a significant difference in front of the whale lens to it
Yes, there will be a difference, first of all, there will be a difference in the depth of field, it will be possible to shoot something like modern Hollywood scenes with beautiful bokeh.
Hello. I tried the G-44 on my Nikon. The blur is crazy, I really like it. Here are just the quality ... Firstly, the contrast is very low, and secondly, the noise is simply indecent. With what it can be connected? The condition of the lenses is very good, nothing is visible inside.
Use post-processing - autocontact, for example. Most likely by noise you mean a light white shroud? Then just pick your light source carefully.
No, the photo is very grainy, with torn pixels. I don’t know what it is from. Poor enlightenment, maybe?
What and what settings are you shooting for? since almost always the grain on the figure is the effect of a high ISO.
This quality is obtained with ISO 100 in natural daylight. I don’t understand what’s the catch?
Then, without an example of the image, I can not help.
Good evening.
I read that such a lens mounted on a modern camera (in my case - Canon 1100D) can damage the mirror ... how much is this true?
Yes, it does. But once at a time it is not necessary. When focusing on infinity, the rear lens can catch a mirror on the Kenons.
Thanks for the reply.
That is, on standard focuses up to 2-3m, is this excluded?
It will not, since the whole lens block moves during focusing, when focusing towards the MDF, the lenses move to the other side of the mirror.
Hello! Recently I became the owner of this lens ... happy as an elephant, thanks for your review !! I would like to clarify some information from you ... I cannot understand what kind of exemplar I have, on the lens there is already an M42 thread, I put it on the canon through a usual adapter ring, while focusing at infinity was preserved without any losses, no alterations and adapter rings from M39 on the M42, you can't see it on the lens, near the lens block, drops of varnish are intact, what I wanted to clarify, maybe you know what kind of instance it is? More details: black, standard thread M42, HELIOS-44M, 2/58, 7969299, made in ussr. Thanks in advance!
This article is about the G-44, not the G-44m. The G-44m already had the M42. About infinity - then for the Nikon system, for Kenon, everything is fine.
Hello! I'm a newbie, recently presented Sony a390. My grandmother also found this lens, could you tell me what kind of adapter I need to install it on my carcass? Is there an adapter and can I get to the point?) And in general, what else is needed to get good photos, in particular, a portrait is interested. Thanks in advance !
For the G-44, you need two adapters M39-M42 + M42 - Sony, Minolta. Finding one M39-Sony, Minolta is quite difficult. Please note that it is best to take the M42 adapter - Sony, Minolta with dandelion
Good evening) I got Jupiter-11A 4/135 and Helios 44m 2/58 lenses. How to put them on Nikon D90? What rings, adapters are needed? There is already some kind of adapter on Jupiter. Lenses used to be on Zenith 16 (semi-automatic. Thank you.
Everything is described in detail in the Soviet lenses section. For the Yu-11A you need KP-A \ N, for Helios-44m you need KP-42 \ N.
Good day. What is the risk of damaging the mirror on the nikon d 3100 when installing 44-2 with linzovanny m42?
no
Hello Arkady!
can you please tell me if the filters (SW and polarik) 49mm are wound around this lens, and will it help somehow in the fight against single-layer enlightenment?
Yes, the filters will sit down. Polyar May Help.
and another question:
how to avoid damage to the mirror when using this lens, undermine?
if so, where can this be done and approximately what is the cost of the service?
thanks =)
If for Canon, then this is problematic, since focusing at infinity will be lost. There is no such problem for Nikon.
Since I acquired this lens, I almost never use others, I really liked it as a staffer, portraits are especially good. Post processing is practically absent, on the crop (Kenon) the mirror does not catch. Amber enlightenment, Belarusian plant MMZ, 1964.
I shoot mainly on the open aperture, just enough)
Thanks for the review, if I hadn’t read it, perhaps I would have passed by this excellent (my opinion) lens!
Helios lather, 44th was no exception.
please tell me, on D 3100 you need a ring if you put Helios-44. thanks.
Yes need. About this is written in the article. More details in the Soviet optics section.
Hello!! Prompt pliiiz here it will go well for cropped cameras or matrices. I'm not special in this) I have a d3100 and what other adapter should I take ?? And a 44M back camera will suit me ... Thank you so much !!!
adapter M42-Nikon. About crop, use on modern cameras, everything is written in the review.
Hi !!! Tell everyone please ... So how can you achieve a focus at infinity on Nikon .. Through a normal m42 adapter without a lens ??? Thanks in advance…
Only re-sharpen the back of the lens.
Read the entire forum, RONY. Already mentioned this.
Arkady, and then what kind of Helios 44?
http://img15.allegroimg.pl/photos/oryginal/25/15/48/32/2515483297
what kind of mount does he have?
Most likely rangefinder option for m39
I read the food here, on a Canon camera, you can make a mirror with this lens. And on Pentax tezh it is possible chi nі?