Tales of the Helios 44-2

<p>Well, I fell off the LBA wagon today. It’s been quite a while but sometimes the universe conspires to manifest good glass in wondrous ways.</p>

<p>It started when a Russian newcomer to my workplace noticed my last name on my ID badge as I was moving around with my camera. That lead to a story about her older Russian cousin who used to like to take a lot of pictures, but then he moved to Seattle and never really got back into it. And he wanted to get rid of his equipment so she thought, and since I’m Russian we should really meet. <br /><br />Well, my grandparents were Russian, or really, they fled Russian pograms, but I didn’t want to burden both of us with history, so I just shut up and gave her my email.<br /><br />So that lead to a fairly brusque meeting today. Turns out he had dumped most of his stuff aeons ago. Besides a beater Zenit E camera that was too funky for me, he pulled out this hard plastic case that looked vaguely military.<br /><br />Now that caught my interest. Inside was a mint Helios 44-2, f2 58mm M42 preset lens, the original Russian documentation from 1982 (not even yellowed), and a polarizing filter in a case with rotted foam surrounds. I've read that these old lenses have hernia-inducing focusing rings, but this one moves just right. <br /><br />The only weird thing is that the variable aperture ring seems a bit backwards. When I move it to the wide open position, it aligns with the smallest aperture on the preset ring, and when I stop it down, the red dot points at f2. Maybe this is because the variable ring is closer to the camera body, unlike my right-reading Mamiya/Sekor lens where the preset ring is closer to the body. <br /><br />Three sawbucks later I was having fun, though totally confused by the reverse numbering scheme. <br /><br />Anyway, here are a handful of handheld snapshots from a very brief playtime.<br />This was also a good excuse to check out beta 2 of Lightroom version 3. I’m super-impressed with this software, especially the color rendering, sharpening, noise management, and grain-adding function.</p>

<p><strong>Very First Shot @ Original Owner's Home</strong></p>

<p><img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/825527471_hULEv-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><strong>Tulip and Rhubarb </strong><br>

I like the lens' depth.</p>

<p><img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/825527327_KKQeQ-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>K20D, f 5.6 (maybe), 1/125, ISO 200</p>

<p><strong>Grasses in light</strong></p>

<p><img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/825527460_Pac9U-L.jpg" alt="" width="398" height="600" /></p>

<p>K20D, f 4 (maybe), 1/90, ISO 200</p>

<p><strong>Minimal Focusing Distance</strong></p>

<p><img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/825527428_LajP5-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>K20D, f8@ 1/60, ISO 400</p>

<p><strong>Our Garden Gate</strong></p>

<p><img src="http://www.smugmug.com/photos/825527369_8JWaK-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>K20D, f 8 @ 1/90, ISO 200</p>

<p>ME</p>

<p>Michael, Glad you're enjoying your new old Russian lens. Likewise I have one of the mark 1 (no preset stops) Helios 44-2. I think I paid about $20 and another $20 or so in shipping from a Ukraine ebay seller several years ago. And just like yours the aperture ring on mine is marked backwards so F/22 is F/2.0; you're never exactly sure what stop you're shooting at. Still I really enjoy the saturated color rendering of mine. It has a unique look and is one of the few M42 lenses I still play with. </p>

<p>Those images are sharp and beautiful. I'd say you picked a winner for sure.</p>

<p>Ironic that digital developing software now has a way to <em>add</em> grain :-)</p>

<p>I have a Jupiter-9 (85mm f/2). Those Russian lenses are something special and unique, quite, quite different from the Japanese glass we're used to. That first shot would make a very nice B&W, Michael.</p>

<p>ME said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>The only weird thing is that the variable aperture ring seems a bit backwards. When I move it to the wide open position, it aligns with the smallest aperture on the preset ring, and when I stop it down, the red dot points at f2.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>There should be two aperture rings. The outer one (the limiter one) sets the desired aperture and the inner one allows you to switch from wide open to the desired aperture quickly. I'm assuming your outer ring is set for the smallest aperture, so the inner ring moves across the entire range.<br /> The way to properly set aperture, to f/8 for example, is to first set the limiting ring to f/8, then to use the inner ring to stop down by moving it towards the f/2 marking. If your limiting ring is set to f/16 and you move the inner ring to f/8 - that's not f/8 that you're using.<br /> It might be counterintuitive at first, but I actually find this system the most flexible for setting aperture on a preset lens. The old Zeiss lenses used it and this is where the Russians and Japanese got it too (Allies made German patents available to the rest of the world at the end of WWII). The very first line of Takumars also used this 2 ring system.<br /> BTW, if a Helios lens has f/22 that makes it pretty rare - very few Helioses had f/22. And the Helios is a copy of Zeiss Biotar.<br /> Hope this helps.</p>

<p>Congrats Michael. i have no idea what this lens is but obviously your happy to have it. The images look fine, especially one and four. </p>

<p>I'm liking one and two. Looks like you have some fine Russian lenses there. Congratulations on the acquisitions.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for the kind words. When I return from vacation I'll post a photo of what I'm writing about.</p>

<p>@Laurentiu, I'm plenty hip to using preset lenses, it's just that the Helios (and maybe all Russian lenses) is particularly dyslexic.</p>

<p>ME</p>

<p>Hey Michael,<br>

<br />I've got a 44-K4 and I know exactly what you mean by "hernia-inducing" for manual focus. Spend an afternoon with one of these puppies and your finger really get a workout!<br>

Does yours give the vertigo-inducing bokeh in the background as well?<br>

<img src="http://lumine.smugmug.com/Photography/October-2009/IMGP0160/698723488_5XpEF-L.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="532" /></p>

<p>Wow some nice pictures of the Helios 44-2 and a great story to boot. I've seen and heard about its reputation but never pulled the trigger on one of these. This thread might have just pushed me over the top. For the price its not a bad minimal investment.<br>

ME, enjoyed them all but the fourth pix speaks to me.<br>

Jeff Tsai, the bokeh is what grabs my attention. Very interesting compared to some of the modern offerings.</p>

<p>Hi Jeff, so far I'm finding the bokeh to be a little more tamed that what you are showing. I do like how it emphasizes the patterns of the plant's leaves though.</p>

<p>Thanks Julio. For the money, the entertainment factor alone is worth it.</p>

<p>ME</p>

<p>Hi Michael,<br>

I just bought a film camera, and it came with a Helios 44-2 (and I snagged it for a greeat price too!). I'm pretty sure everything's fully functional but my problem is that when I look through the viewfinder everything is blurry and too zoomed in.<br>

I tried playing around with the rings, but I dont think i found the focus or the zoom ring? <br>

I'm not sure where they are, so I think that's my problem, so may you tell me where they are? <br>

Haha, I'm pretty new to film photography so that explains my unknowing-ness of things.<br>

Thanks!</p>