The best Soviet fifty dollars

Here in Radozhiv, a vote was taken for the best Soviet fifty dollars. Its results are shown below.

Voting results for the best Soviet fifty dollars

Voting results for the best Soviet fifty dollars. A total of 11 people voted (image clickable)

A large number of reviews of Soviet optics will find here. Voting for the best Soviet portrait lens (range 85-135) can be found here.

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Comments: 126, on the topic: Best Soviet fifty dollars

  • Novel

    I think the same Helios-81. It is the most balanced in terms of characteristics, and quite convenient to use. The picture is not satisfactory.

  • Egor

    I voted for MC Helios-81N, because I myself regularly shoot with this piece of glass, and this is the most suitable Soviet lens for Nikon, and of course the picture quality is excellent. The only but: I really like the Helios twist of the focus, and in 81n it is slightly noticeable (at least on the crop). I would very much like to try MC Helios-77m-4 50mm F1.8 in operation - it has one of the strongest torsion, in some situations even stronger than that of the legendary r-40-2. But it needs to be altered a little, and the jump rope will probably not work automatically (Arkady, you shot with both of these lenses, why did you like 81n more? Because of the convenience on Nikon or because of the picture itself? I don't know myself whether to buy 77m-4, will I be satisfied or sorry after 81n? Thank you in advance for your answer!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      1. Convenient on Nikon (jumping, compatibility)
      2. Price
      3. Easily hover over 2.0.

      • Sergei

        Good day! Happy New Year !
        The question is: what would be the advice for shooting a cityscape in the evening. On Nikon D600. There is Nikkor 50 \ 1.8d glass, but I don't like the sharpness in the open and the picture ...

  • Slam

    The 81st is harder to attach to Canon) So unfair - Nikon owners have an advantage)))

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Kenon has much more advantages: infinity with the M42 without a lens, metering on all cameras. In order to hook the G-81N to Kenon, you just need the Nikon-Kenon adapter.

  • Slam

    Helios-103 is a good lens, but again, you need to look for an adapter. But if put, it will bring pleasure. But MC Helios-77m-4 50mm F1.8 really wants to try what kind of “fish” it is. After all, this is the final in the line of Helios, so to speak, the general "conclusion".

  • Dmitriy

    I did not see Helios 44M-2,3,4,5,6,7 in the list and was very surprised. Do you ignore them, Arkady? :)

    Then there were 44K-4 (pentax), which are better than versions with M (under M42).

    But his vote cast 81N. still, optically, he is the best in my tests. Although on the canon I preferred Zenitar-M 50 / 1.7

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I advise you to familiarize yourself with the text of the article, in the same place I clearly indicated that the Helios-44m-X series will be in a separate vote, since 58mm is far from a half.

      • anonym

        can I link to this vote?

  • Alex de Kairoy

    I had 2 helios 81, on which I put a dandelion and sold them after playing. The last one arrives, I won’t sell it. The picture is drawn simply by a fairy tale, but I won’t tell you how to LEGENDARously soap the background !!! They all know !!!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I feel the G-81n will win.

  • igorsam

    Thank you for your work.
    On the topic and not quite, advise
    Is it worth changing the frosted glass in Nikon 3000 to a micro-raster with wedges
    confirmation of the focus on the green dot is distracting and not quite (for me) convenient, or they don’t bother
    A whole bunch of old optics (I61, G-44, Yu37a, Mir ,,,,)

    • Arkady Shapoval

      If this is not difficult for you, then you can change it.

  • Evgeny K.

    Helios-77m-4 is the most gorgeous lens !!! how can you vote and say that Helios-81n is the best without holding 77m in your hands? I changed it to Nikon and just couldn't get enough of it! twists bokeh no worse than helios 40-2, focuses quickly, sharp and I repeat once again the bokeh is just super! 81n and did not stand next to him !!! I sold it ... seduced by the price ... will come across in good condition yet - I will definitely buy and redo it!

    • Egor

      Yes, I agree, the 77m-4 focus is stronger than all the helios! I think that the most ideal option for those who are on a Nikon system and who already have a Nikkor 50mm 1.8D is to use 77m-4 on an open hole to get an artistic picture, and 1.8D for all other occasions! Because after all, the 1.8D is much better friends with Nikon than the G-81N. Even on the simplest carcasses, everything except autofocus will work, and exposure metering, and setting the aperture value from the camera, and data in exif ...
      But for those who do not have a nikkor, the g-81n will still be more versatile and preferable than the 77m-4. And we vote for the choice of the only owls. fifty dollars, so this is Mr. 81n.

      • Egor

        I've seen photos of him - great photos! With g-81n it is not worse, only the torsion is less! And regarding the voting, yes, we vote for the best fifty dollars, but the best fifty dollars is the fifty that most satisfies all the needs of the photographer, the most suitable for the camera and is able to work with it most autonomously. For the Canon system, g-77m-4 is the best (adapter and forward, without alterations), but for Nikon it is still the g-81n (since 77 needs to be altered and the aperture will not be automatic anyway)! If I am mistaken in something, let the site owner, Arkady, who shot with both lenses :)

        • Arkady Shapoval

          Yes, I shot both. In any case, for Kenon, you will need an adapter for any Soviet lens, whether M42-Kenon, or Nikon-Kenon. I vote G-81n for the price / quality - this means that the lens is very massive, you can easily find it, and the image quality with the help of the super heavy crowns is excellent. As for the G-77m-4, the manufacturing plant itself (Vologda plant) already raises some doubts. The G-77m-4 does not have manual control of the diaphragm - which is a clear loss to the G-81N. G-77m-4 is difficult to find, and therefore, it loses for the title of the best in general. Do not judge strictly, these are just my conclusions.

        • Evgeny K.

          nice to have a conversation with you !!! Arkady! I disagree with you! how is it there is no manual aperture control ??? Do you have any doubts about the Arsenal plant?))) I took pictures of both, the drawing is definitely better in 77m and I evaluate it exclusively in terms of drawing! If we evaluate it in terms of convenience for Nikonists, which we are, then of course 81 is more convenient, but I repeat - more convenient !!! I understand that this site is not only for Nikonists, so let's be objective !!!))))

          • Arkady Shapoval

            The Vologda option does not have manual aperture control, as indicated in my Helios-77m-4 review. We do not evaluate the figure, but the lens in general.

    • anonym

      you wrote that you remade it under nikon, you could not tell exactly how. And then I really can’t find anything (((

    • Zhenya

      you wrote that you remade it under nikon, you could not tell exactly how. And then I really can’t find anything (((

    • anonym

      81 is much better adjusted. Yes, what does “best” mean? For 50 mm, this primarily means “universal”. And here G-81 and 15 TEE in Kiev, and Kiev-17, and the subsequent ones are beyond competition. And the mass character could not kill him. If there are complaints about 81, then this is an arsenal constructive, so its rastak, forever with this diaphragm ...

  • igorsam

    Thank you
    Maybe you can advise where you can get a microraster,
    with mechanics I'm on you
    I regularly read your articles and I feel that without G-81n I can’t survive

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I did not use screens, therefore, I do not know where to get them. But in general, in Kiev in the photo fund near the Palace of Sports there are a lot of different things.

  • Ivaxo

    Focusing screens with a wedge pid all_ Nikoni are for sale on Aukro.ua
    Also want to buy. I think for AF it will be cinnamon, but for manual ones it’s simply unreachable.

  • Egor

    Absolutely agree. Arkady, please tell me one more thing. G-77m-4 was produced at two plants: "Vologda Optical and Mechanical Plant" and "Plant" Jupiter "(Valdai)". Will there be a fundamental difference in the quality of the lens, pictures from different factories? If there is a difference, which plant is better to buy 77m-4? Thanks!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      According to the general impression, Valdai’s products will be worse. But these are just guesses. You need to look at each instance individually. A lot of time has passed since the moment of production.

  • Voleg

    Zenitar 50 1: 1.7 Rrrrezko and the color does not distort

  • Peter

    I will give my preference to I-61 l / z. I don’t know how in digital, on film this is a real workhorse, Macro, street is for him, b / w is terribly detailed, leaves, blades of grass, hair is the sharpest when the diaphragm is covered. When open, you can get a soft portrait.

  • Sveta

    Arkady, hello!

    I voted for Helios 81, although I have not tried many other lenses from the claimed participants. G-81 appeared recently, the picture is interesting and the sharpness pleases. I use it through an adapter on Canon.

    Arkady, tell me, soon there will be a vote on the Best Soviet portrait painter with a distance of 58 mm, specifically I mean the Helios 44 series. You somehow said a word, we are waiting)))

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Be.

  • Fedor

    Hello,

    I choose for myself Helios 81N on ebay, do not tell me which year of production is better to take? There are the 85th year and the 91st year in about the same condition:
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/KIEV-19-Russian-Camera-Nikon-bayonet-HELIOS-81N-Lens-/200774888051?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item2ebf1daa73
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/y98-FAMOUS-Soviet-Nikon-copy-SLR-camera-KIEV-19-KIT-Helios-81N-/330741072884?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item4d01b443f4

    Thank you!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      I have two copies of 91 years old, which of your options is better - I don't know.

  • Fedor

    Thank you, I'll take 91 - a little cheaper and fresher.

  • Oleg you.

    Well. lads, do not be offended, but you do not know owls. lenses! I worked with them in due time - wow! So, if I may, I'll put in my 15 kopecks.
    The best Soviet fifty-kopeck piece is definitely the Kharkov Industar 61 in the FED version, not the Zenit one. You can't even compare them. Sharpness, contrast, saturation and, at the same time, plasticity are several times higher in the FED variant. Therefore, it is worth redoing, especially since now this option costs a penny together with the camera. Kharkiv optics are not so advertised, but they put in Arsenal and Krasnogorsk in full!
    Of the arsenal very much! Helios 103 1.8 / 53 was good for the rangefinder Kiev 4. It also makes sense to redo it - there is no focusing mechanism. only aperture ring. Everything else was on camera.
    And the so much praised by you 81 Helios is a very moderate optics, moreover, with a constantly peeling enlightenment and a worm gear that looses quickly enough. How they did it there - God only knows!
    Again, compared to the above.
    The trouble with all Soviet lenses is the extreme unevenness of the true quality indicators of the lenses in comparison with the declared ones. In the same series of lenses, you can find outstanding specimens and very mediocre ones. Here you can really compare ONLY by shooting !!
    But if we go a LITTLE outside the scope of the discussion, the GDR Tessar 2.8 / 50 and, of course, Pankolar 1,8 / 50 are much better than the rest. There is no comparison at all. And most importantly - stable characteristics: Tessar = Tessaru, Pancolar = Pancolaru.
    Good luck to you, young friends!

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Thanks for the useful information.

    • Archie

      Thank you father!

  • Oleg you.

    Yes. And in addition. Lanthanum was added to the glass ONLY at the Kharkov FED, but not at the Kiev Arsenal! Hence the quality was

  • Peter

    Damn, Oleg you. he just reads my thoughts: The best Soviet camera is KIEV 2, Z, 4a (early) - Jupiter 8 is excellent for it, Helios 103 is a good hard fifty rubles. For me it is more nra than Helios 81H.
    I-61 rangefinder with Vigilant 6 is just an AK-47. This is the only option when you can easily 20 * 30 on b / w film. Sharpness, color rendering, glare resistance (does not catch hares very much.
    Krasnogorsk I-61 l / s - chose as an option because Few people use rangefinders, and there are more adherents like "Nikonists" or "Kenonists".
    Industar is a very good lens, when it gets tired then the best 50mm lens is Jupiter 8 or Jupiter 3 :)

  • viorel

    bought and I today helios81-n ... dovolen.Voice for him.

  • Stan

    Thanks for the great reviews! I learned a lot of interesting things about Soviet optics! Tell me pliz: It is clear that Soviet optics are manual and cheap, but in terms of picture quality, when compared with modern lenses, what is better? For example, the lenses from the list above against the Nikon 50mm f / 1.4G AF-S Nikkor?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      1.4 will be better

  • olka

    I can’t decide which lens to buy and where? help me please

  • olka

    I meant helios lenses

  • olka

    and another question is what kind of adapter ring should I buy (I don’t know exactly what the name is) if the model of the canon 1100d camera?

    • Arkady Shapoval

      Any of the Helios 44 will be good. Adapter M42-Canon EOS.

  • olka

    thank you

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