Please note that there are many different versions of the lens named HELIOS-44M (or HELIOS-44M). The general list of 'Helios-44' lenses can be found in the 'A Thousand and One Nights with HELIOS-44'.
HELIOS-44M 2/58 (KMZ). This is a larger image.... The lens is shown on film slr camera Nikon EL2. Attaching the lens to the camera using M42-Nikon F adapter without chip and lens.
Radozhiv already has a lens overview 'HELIOS-44M 2/58', serial number 8027170, produced at the Jupiter plant, Valdai.
This review shows the same lens - HELIOS-44M 2/58 but with the KMZ logo, serial number 7843528 and with green lettering 'MADE IN USSR'... I did not find any significant differences between the Jupiter and KMZ variants. Perhaps more experienced users who have shot with these helics 'for 40 years' will indicate in the comments which option is better or worse.
I bought the lens from this review for $ 6 at the flea market foto.ua. View prices for modern manual focus lenses here.
Main technical characteristics of HELIOS-44M 2/58:
| The name of the instance from the review (as it is written on the lens itself) | HELIOS-44M 2/58 MADE IN USSR 7843528 with the KMZ logo |
| Basic properties |
|
| Front Filter Diameter | 52 mm |
| Focal length | 58 mm
|
| Zoom ratio | 1 x |
| Designed by | for film cameras with a frame size of 36 mm X 24 mm |
| Number of aperture blades | 8 rounded petals. The petals form roughly regular polygons. At an intermediate value between F / 2 and F / 4, the petals form small jagged polygons. Petals matt metal, not blackened. |
| Tags | focusing distance in meters only. DOF scale for F / 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16. Scale with aperture values for F / 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16 (no intermediate values). 'R' mark for infrared operation. |
| Diaphragm | F / 2.0 to F / 16.0, adjustable with aperture ring, automatic 'A'or manual'M'aperture control mode. |
| MDF (minimum focusing distance) | 0.55 m, maximum magnification ratio is 1: 7.35 (approximately) |
| The weight | 270 g (approximately) |
| Optical design | 6 elements in 4 groups. Optical design type 'Planar' (Planar)
The optical scheme was copied from the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotat 2/58 lens and converted to Soviet optical glass. The same optical scheme is used and other modifications Helios / Helios 44 2/58, as well as all modifications of Biotar 2/58. |
| Lens hood | screwed into the front filter, marking of the original hood not found. |
| Manufacturer country | MADE IN USSR (USSR), made at KMZ. |
| Period | The exact period is unknown. A copy of the review made 1978. |
| Price | The cost of such a lens ranges from 10 to 25 cu
Prices for modern Helios lenses can be found at this link. |
HELIOS-44M 2/58 has a diaphragm mode switch M/A, it can be used to select manual or automatic (semi-automatic) iris control (only with cameras that support blinking auto iris). The aperture control ring only allows you to set fixed apertures (see F values in the table above). It's a pity, but like many other Soviet lenses, the aperture blades are not blackened, they shine and are covered with oil, which can negatively affect the contrast of the created image.
The focus ring rotates 220 degrees, the stroke of the ring is smooth. Aperture and focus rings are metal with ribs and veins for a comfortable grip. Manual focusing is convenient. During focusing, the front lens does not rotate, the frame rim only lengthens (by about 1 cm).
The lens uses simple chemical enlightenment and poorly tolerates side and back light. Also HELIOS-44M 2/58 is not blackened or poorly blackened lens chamfers, which also affects the contrast of the created image.
The lens in the center of the frame is mediocre at F / 2.0. On closed apertures, the edges and corners of the image return to normal. Like other lenses of the Helios-44 family, the HELIOS-44M 2/58 version twists the background (the legendary 'twisted bokeh' of lenses from this line).
Pictures in the gallery below were obtained using Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi и adapter M42-Canon EOS (adapter with a chip programmed to F / 1.4). Photos without processingon camera JPEG.
Download JPEG source files can at this link (47 files in '.JPG' format, 300 MB). Several photos are being processed: 1, 2, 3.
UPDATE 1
Examples of photos on HELIOS-44M 2/58 and a camera Nikon D5300 photographer shared with readers of Radozhiva Vladlena Lapshina:
UPDATE 2
Examples of photos on the HELIOS-44M 2/58 and cameras Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro и Nikon D300 a photographer shared with readers of Radozhiva Alexander Gvozd.
UPDATE 3
I once had another such lens, but with a different serial number. I did not have his review, since he acted as a gift in one of my stocks. He looked like this:
Pictures from him in the gallery below were taken using a full-frame camera. Nikon D700 и M42-Nikon F adapter without chip and lens with a little processing.
How to use with modern cameras?
Lenses with mounting thread M42 (M42 X 1 / 45.5), such as the lens from this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both SLR and mirrorless), for this it is enough to choose the right adapter (adapter). You do not need to carry out any additional steps to modify the lens.
The cheapest adapters can be found at Aliexpress.com... There are adapters (adapters) with a chip that provide more convenience during shooting, usually chips are used to confirm focus and / or metering exposure, and form the correct EXIF. The chip does not affect the image quality in any way.
For some SLR cameras (for example, with the Nikon F-mount), you need to use adapters with a corrective lens, which allows you to focus correctly at all focusing distances. For any mirrorless cameras, such a lens is not needed, and the adapter is a simple decorated hollow metal tube with an appropriate mount.
For SLR cameras
- Canon: For cameras Canon EOS with bayonet mount EF / EF-S need an M42-Canon EOS adapter, such an adapter with a chip can be found herewithout chip here.
- NIKON: For cameras Nikon DX / FXas well as for cameras Fujifilm и Kodak with a Nikon F mount, you need an M42-Nikon F adapter, you can buy such an adapter without a lens and a chip here, with a lens without a chip herewith chip without lens here, with lens and chip here. Why a lens? Why chip?
- PENTAX: For Pentax cameras with K mount, you need an M42-Pentax K adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
- SONY/MINOLTA: For cameras with a Sony / Minolta A mount, you need the M42-Sony A adapter, you can find such an adapter without a chip at this linkwith a chip at this link.
- OLYMPUS/PANASONIC/LEICA: For cameras with a 4/3 bayonet mount (not to be confused with Micro 4/3!) You need an M42-4 / 3 adapter, you can buy such an adapter here.
For mirrorless cameras
- SONY: For cameras with 'E'/'FE' mount series SonyNEX и Sony Alpha you need an adapter M42-Sony E (aka M42-Sony Nex), you can find it at this link. An autofocus adapter is also available for these cameras. Techart PRO Leica M - Sony E Autofocus Adapterwhich can be found at this link.
- OLYMPUS / PANASONIC / KODAK / XIAOMI: For cameras with a bayonet mount Micro 4/3 (Micro 4:3) you need an adapter M42-Micro 4/3, you can find it at this link.
- CANON M: For cameras with Canon EF-M mount need adapter M42-Canon M, it can be found at this link.
- CANON R and RF-S: For cameras with Canon RF mount need adapter M42-Canon R, it can be found at this link.
- Nikon 1: For cameras Nikon 1 Series need adapter M42-Nikon 1, you can find it at this link.
- Nikon Z: For cameras Nikon Z series (FX/DX) need an adapter M42-Nikon Z, it can be found at this link.
- FUJIFILM X: For cameras with mount X need an M42-Fuji X adapter, you can find it at this link.
- FUJIFILM GFX: For medium format cameras G-mount need M42-Fuji GFX adapter, you can find it at this link.
- SAMSUNG: For cameras with NX mount, you need an M42-Samsung NX adapter, you can find it at this link. There are no adapters for the NX mini camera yet.
- PENTAX: For Q-mount cameras, you need an M42-Pentax Q adapter, you can find it at this link.
- SIGMA / PANASONIC / LEICA: For cameras with L mount you need an M42-Leica L adapter, you can find it at this link.
- LEICA: For cameras with a bayonet mount Leica M need adapter M42-L / M, you can find it at this link.
If you have any questions on compatibility and adapters - ask in the comments (comments do not require any registration at all).
Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.
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.
HELIOS-44M 2/58 of the KMZ plant. The lens is shown on a digital SLR camera. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi. Attaching the lens to the camera using M42-Canon EOS adapter with chip.
Results
HELIOS-44M 2/58 is no different from millions of similar lenses in the family Helios-44... It attracts with its low price and availability in the secondary market. For acquaintance (to 'play with a fast lens') I recommend the more common and sometimes cheaper version - HELIOS-44-2 2/58... I love Helios, in the vastness of the post-Soviet space it is very difficult to find a cheaper version of a fast lens with such an interesting picture.
Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram
Ah, those who shot Helios for 40 years didn’t rummage through them. It was a little expensive.
Yes, Rodion, it was a little expensive. For my “Zenith TTL” and this lens, I gave 1980 rubles in a photo shop in Moscow in September 250, which was not cheap at that time. I bought the truth from under the counter and by great pull. It was a camera with Olympic symbols. And, as I was told "import version". Of course, "went over the ears" But the camera and lens still work without a hitch. I've seen everything, rain, frost, slush and all the delights of the “northern life” in Nizhnevartovsk, KhMAO-Yugra.
I compared photographs taken with helios 44m and helios 44m-4 and 44m-6, and of course with 44-2, so I liked 44m the most. I will not say that the difference is large or immediately striking, but a photo using 44m is more pleasing to the eye, if I may say so. I liked the least 44m-4. A little more, 44m-6, almost the same as 44m, but still a little less. But 44-2 can not be confused with any other, it gives the pictures a shade.
Thanks for the review and replenishment of another representative in the piggy bank of Soviet lenses.
There’s a difference, but it’s inside
Build quality, materials used in production.
And according to the drawing, yes-FSH will solve everything
Nevertheless, 44m in comparison with 44-2 has 1 plus-thread for the filter. And that's it. Otherwise, there are one drawbacks
1) enlightenment
2) repeater and its reliability
3) complex design (compared to 44-2)
4) “sharply changing” aperture (hello videographers!)
Thanks for the comment.
It seems to me that the most successful model was 44-2. Easy to maintain, mass produced, reliable and convenient. As for the shortcomings, elementary blackening of the ends of the lenses with a marker already improves the situation.
My favorite of the Soviet fifty kopecks is the HELIOS-44M 2/58 with serial number 8298720 and the KMZ logo, redesigned for Nikon with infinity. There is also exactly one with the number 063666 produced at the Jupiter plant, but in terms of sharpness and picture quality, these are absolutely two different lenses ... The KMZ lens is very pleasing - sharpness in the open, twisted bokeh, blur in the out-of-focus zone! I had a lot of Helios with focal lengths from 50mm to 58mm (44, 77 and their modifications, 81M and H, 123H), but I settled on the HELIOS-44M 2/58 KMZ! Recommend!
Nice shots. Thank you for sharing information and pictures.
the problem is in the Sovdepovskoe quality control, ... ... everything is of high quality for export, so as not to get "face" in the mud From this and disagreements on models with one brand and this is not only Helios concerns
Alexander, I agree with you, the 44m lens from KMZ is very good, I myself am the owner of this, only 83 years old. The picture is excellent even when open, it is very convenient to focus on the sharpness, convenient control of the aperture value. I also have Helios 44-2 of the Jupiter plant, but 44m from the KMZ is still preferable, I often make a choice in its favor having an autofocus fifty kopeck Canon 1.8 stm, as I like its artistry. But again, whoever is lucky with the specimen ... An example of a photo without processing with standard settings for the Kenon 1200d carcass on Helios 44m is attached. When shooting in RAV and subsequent processing, you can get very interesting photos.
Photo #2
Photo #3
Wonderful photo! Just fabulous!
These are the places - and you have raspberries, and you mushrooms, class
Good portraitist. Available. For those who remember how to shoot at Zenith, for example, it won't bring any bad surprises.
fantastic portrait
Hello! Is the portrait shot through glass?
I can’t pick up a key for this lens. Since Zenit times. He went as a staff officer to the Zenith TTL. KMZ lens.
Somehow, by contrast, it is slurred with me.
Now I sit and think - you really need to disassemble and blacken the ends. Has anyone disassembled it? Or met a sequence? Difficulties with disassembling the jump rope can be. Can anyone share ..
You do not need to touch the jump at all.
Unscrew the rear lens unit - disassemble and blacken it.
Unscrew the front ring with the name. Open the front lens block (there are models in which it can not be twisted - then get the lenses in front one at a time). Disassemble it and blacken it.
Be careful with blackening. If the layer is too thick (a regular marker, for example), then the lens may not sit in its place, and then you will have more serious problems than the poor contrast.
Thank you for clarification. I will think the better.
There are no problems, but it requires a lot of attention, there is a tricky engagement of the diaphragm drive lever, but it’s not difficult to figure it out, the main thing is not to freak out and use physical force))
Thank you very much Rodion. For some reason, after reading your post, I decided to disassemble my Hellios-44M, it turned out that it was not as difficult as Nikons and Pentacons - in general, I did not have to apply force, everything was simple to unwind, I blackened the ends of the lenses, the shaft, the petals and voila, the lens started playing in a new way! It turned out to be a "good" copy.
Alex writes complete nonsense - the lenses (those with which you can really blacken the ends) are free - problems will arise if your marker leaves a layer of paint 5-10 millimeters, then it won't shrink without "jackhammer treatment".
How to promote Meyer ...
In the course of the USSR, the materials were better, at least the metal does not stick over the years and the lens is perfectly assembled, unlike the de Domiplan, which is somehow unreasonable inside.
Thanks Rodion. This, of course, simplifies the matter.
In the table of the main specifications, “Hexagon” is mentioned twice in the row “Number of aperture blades” although the number of aperture blades is 8.
Good visibility and lens. I myself sometimes shoot like that.
Fixed
I just received my 44M-4 for my XE-2, convinced by your great review! I look forward to testing its famous bokeh. Thanks Jonas and great blog photos by the way!
44M-4 on XE-2 that's great, of course, but who the h..l is Jonas?
One of the photographs of the lens shows that on the covered aperture, the petals form an octagon of irregular shape. Is this normal, or is there something wrong with the lens? There is the same HELIOS-44M 2/58 from KMZ with a similar feature and mediocrity on f / 2.0. On Helios 44, 44-2, 44-3, I did not notice such an effect on closed diaphragms.
The 44M has an unsuccessful skipping design, which is why the hole is uneven. However, this affects almost all the Soviet societies with a skipping rope.
export differ
f2
f4
f5,6
From lens to lens are different. Such an approximate correct octagonal bore is the norm for such lenses. By the way here is a snapshot с MS 44m-4 where in the backlight the petals are reflected and visible (!) in the photo itself.
At Mir-24N, this happens quite often, they say. In Mir-20M MC it happens - there light is reflected from the edge of the petal and a glare in the form of a boomerang is formed.
Arkady, excuse me, but the photo with the painted girl is just quiet horror ...
Thanks for the review!
But from the portrait of a blonde with white flowers just can’t take my eyes off. A wonderful portrait!
There is no blonde here, only blond and brunette
Indeed, not a blonde but a brown-haired woman with white flowers, in your jargon light brown, but this is no less luxurious.
Here this photo, this и this 500px photos in their ranking reached popular section.
The taste and color of all women are different, that's for sure :)
I didn’t expect it to be such funny photos with a black-nosed girl. I don’t remember that I laughed so much from the photos. Thanks in one word!
A normal lens, at least not worse than other versions, the main thing is to find a successful copy. My 44m is quite sharp even on a completely open. I compared it with the MS 44m-6, I did not find differences in sharpness, contrast, the number of rabbits in the backlight. As a result, the multi-enlightened instance was sawn under Nikon, and I use 44m on a film carcass.
Wonderful lens. Happy for many years.
I have one. Fair? The nut is better. More convenient and high quality. Better than this one. But there were fewer nuts than these. Even the M-4 is worse. Perhaps the quality of individual copies affects. It's like Jupiter-8 ...
Do you understand what you wrote? I-no.
Yes, everyone understood. 44-2 is better in both convenience and often quality. M series is somehow unsuccessful and unstable. Perhaps I did not come across successful instances.
Already better.
In Helios export, even those with simple enlightenment are a completely different picture from ordinary Helios. OTK worked only for export, unfortunately.
Too complicated bye.
Just such a lens, inherited from my grandfather, takes pride of place on my shelf. Sometimes it comes from there when you want to shoot something old-school. There is nothing special, but I'm glad that I always know what to expect from it.?
According to my impressions, the best of all Helios. The assembly is solid, the look is sleeker, the optics are sharp starting from the open one. The edges are soft, but for portraits this is not critical in principle, besides, when shooting on a crop, the soapy part of the lens is still cut off. The picture is nice, soft blur, weak curl and good color rendition. It "warms up", but for summer-autumn sunny weather we get an excellent picture practically from the camera, without processing. The petal hood and level correction in the editor solves the problem of weakened contrast. In portraits, there is enough contrast just right without correction. For cloudy weather, set the BB according to the sample, otherwise the picture will turn out with a slight purple tint. I compared it with Helios 44-2, Helios 44m-4, Helios 44m-7, even if it's cracked, but I like the drawing and color rendering from it more. It is universal, it is suitable for portraits and for flower-leaves, and for landscapes with architecture.
I don’t know, but I didn’t like Helios 44-2 on the aperture 2,0 at all, it’s awful, it feels like I’m photographing through plastic, I used Helius for some time, but having bought Super Reflex, I stopped photographing them. Judge for yourself, here are two photos taken on a tripod in the RO and not processed, but simply transferred to the EPG and reduced by 4 times in area. Both photos were taken with a tripod and aperture 2,0. there is only a small difference in the photos, because one lens is 55mm and the other is 58mm.
This photo was taken by Gelius at an aperture of 2,0 - as for me - it is terribly blurry and lathers, and although the background is more blurred, it is in my opinion due to the general blurriness.
But this photo was taken by Super Reflect from Kozina, also on aperture 2,0. In my opinion, everything is very sharp and the background is blurry enough
A copy of the wrong one ... Either it was sorted out by someone, or inside there is oil condensate, dust, dirt, the front lens is scratched, the diaphragm is in oil ...
I have an export Helios 44M that there are no problems with regular Helios 44. I do not see the sharpness difference between my and Helios 81M in sharpness.
Apparently, in export variants there was quality control. My purchased in Hungary in 1978 with Zenit EM.
Sorry, but I didn’t understand which adapter is better on d 610 for helios 44-2
The product was produced in large quantities for many years. The spread in quality can be explained by simplified controls. It is curious: some small amount was consumed by the military, some - by industrial systems (industrial television, etc.), it is clear that in this order the highest quality copies were selected. The rest remained for consumer goods - from good to extremely low quality. Look for decommissioned industrial television sets - you will be happy!
Hello, can you tell me which of their common Soviet lenses is well suited for Nikon d5100 for portrait shooting, and in full growth (possibly with a revision for focusing on infinity)
Good day. MC Helios-81N without modification just right.
Good day! I have this wonderful lens - I removed it from the zenith, put it on Nikon d700 through an adapter, but there is one terrible thing - its maximum focal length is about one and a half meters! I have an adapter that solves this problem, but it has a glass that worsens the picture at times. he has such a wonderful drawing - just a sight for sore eyes, but because of this limitation I very rarely shoot on it. maybe you know how to solve this jamb?
Good afternoon.
There are two options:
1) you need to remake the lens, re-sharpen, shorten the working distance. Not everyone can do it. Look on forums or flea markets for ads like "I am converting M42 optics, Helios, for Nikon."
2) sell and buy Helios-81N with a Nikon mount and also a nice design.
Just yesterday I screwed this miracle but my d7100, through the luminous no-name adapter without a lens.
They bought it for me with Zenith-TTL in 81 (the lens itself was released in 81). Despite its venerable age, not the most careful storage and all of the listed ... let's say, features (low contrast, softness, etc.), the glass turned out to be quite suitable for a woman's portrait and other lyrics. It turns out to focus up to two meters - more than. Although focusing itself is still a task. First, for some reason, the arrows work in the opposite direction, that is, you need to turn the focuser in the direction opposite to the arrow. On 81N everything is fine. Secondly, you need to press the shutter literally as soon as the "green" dot lights up (it is white on the d7100).
In general, you need to clean, tidy up the diaphragm and you can use it.
Arkady, I have HELIUS-44-2 ZEBRA, 72 years old. Your opinion about him. Thank you in advance.
The opinion is that you need to look at the quality of its preservation, it may be a quite suitable lens (as far as possible for a 44-2). If you like the picture, the rest of the questions should disappear by themselves.
I came across Helios 44m sharper on the open than my 81N. He left 81N only because of the ease of use on Nikon.