![]() ![]() ![]() I like to do these diffraction tests because they always help to find the sweet spot of the lens. What’s really nice about this lens is the smooth rendering. In terms of overall sharpness, I’ve yet to get an image that has blown me away as I get with the Fujinon 56mm f1.2, especially wide open, but it still can produce some very nice detail at the right f-stop (of around f4-f8) and at the right distance. You can also see there is very little distortion. You can see the center falls out of focus. ![]() Considering the price point of under $100, the image quality is decent for an APS-C camera.īelow is a sample where I try to focus at the edges at f2. ![]() Here’s an example of an image taken with the Helios 44-2 straight out of the camera on an APS-C XT2 at f5.6. The issue with soft edges is less pronounced the further away the subject is from the lens, as greater distance results in increased depth of field at infinity. Thus, aperture adjustments are necessary to mitigate this effect and you’ll generally find a sweet spot at around f5.6 to f8 with most cameras. It’s essential to note that using a higher f-stop can also lead to diffraction, which may result in an overall loss of resolution. Increasing the f-stop will increase the depth of field, resulting in sharper corners. While it’s possible to focus on the edges, doing so will cause the center to be out of focus. Rather, it’s a result of the corners and edges being slightly out of focus due to the lens’s significant spherical aberrations. The soft edges in images captured with the Helios 44-2 are not necessarily due to the lens’s inability to produce sharp details in the corners and edges. On something like an APS-C camera the crop gets rid of the worst of it, but you’ll still notice it in the extreme edges. Perhaps one-day curved sensors will solve this problem. This is not too unusual for old 35mm lenses that are being adapted to deal with the microlenses found in modern digital sensors, especially full-frame sensors. I was somewhere around f5.6.Ĭenter Sharpness is possible on the Helios 44M-2 but the edge performance is pretty bad and the corners are even worst. While this lens has decent sharpness and stunning bokeh, it flares excessively compared to many modern lenses and is prone to spherical aberrations.įor this shot I was at about the minimum focus distance from my daughter in her car seat, focusing on her eyelids. Similar to other vintage lenses, achieving optimal results with the Helios 44-2 requires careful attention to detail. Some companies even repack these optics into cine housings for this very purpose. However, if you’re filming video and need a de-clicked aperture with a preset limit, the 44M-2 may be an ideal choice. While this feature may seem cool, the secondary ring doesn’t indicate the actual aperture value within that range, making aperture adjustments unnecessarily complicated. If you set the aperture limit at f5.6, the secondary ring allows you to shoot between f2 and f5.6 without ever passing f5.6. Essentially, the aperture has two rings – one for setting the aperture limit and another for adjusting the aperture within that limit. The main drawback of this lens is its “preset aperture,” which can make aperture selection a nuisance. Nonetheless, it produces some of the most striking renderings I’ve seen. While the Helios lens series has many options, the 44M-2 ranks low on my list of favorites to use. The filter size of the Helios 44-2 is 49mm. Helios 58mm f2 44-2 M42 Mount Lens – Amazon.You’ll also need an adapter depending on your camera. I also don’t buy UV filters for these old lenses since it’s sometimes almost just as cheap to buy a new lens if anything happens. I prefer Amazon personally but sometimes they are harder to find. I’ve bought a few off Amazon and a few off Ebay. You can buy these lenses on Ebay, or even on Amazon. In this particular review, I will focus solely on the 44-2. Overall, these lenses offer impressive quality and performance for the price, making them an excellent non-radioactive vintage lens option. I personally own the 44M, 44-2, and 44-4, all built with the goal of emulating the Zeiss Biotar lens. The series encompasses several variants, each with its unique characteristics. If you’re interested in beginning a vintage lens collection from the ’80s and ’90s, the Helios 44 series is an excellent starting point, renowned for their stunning, large swirling bubble bokeh. ![]()
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