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Haiou-64 58mm f/2 (Minolta MD/SR mount)
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 12:16 pm    Post subject: Haiou-64 58mm f/2 (Minolta MD/SR mount) Reply with quote
Finally i got one. It's the older version with chrome elements in the barrel. As you know it is a Chinese Zeiss Biotar copy, so in fact it should be the same as a Helios lens as well. I was really curious about these lenses, mainly because i collect Minolta stuff and i wanted to add the clones as well, the Seagull DF is a Minolta SR clone which came with the Haiou-64.

Here are some quick testshots around the house. Dull, cloudy day, no direct sunlight available. It's really prone to flare, point it a something that resembles light and your contrast is gone, even at f/8. Is it sharp then? Not really, actually. Could be my copy, but my Helios is sharper!

So, does it swirl like a Biotar? Yes it does!

I'm also expecting the newer, all black, version of this lens as well. I do not know if it is any different from this one, maybe it has a better flare resistance? We'll see.

Cheers, René!

The lens:
Haiou-64 on A7 by René Maly, on Flickr

My cat at f/2.8, slightly processed picture.



This was taken wide open, it shows the typical swirls in the bokeh, wide open sharpness and CA can be seen in the crop.





This is at f/4, sharp enough, but not like a Minolta or Hexanon lens. Plus a crop.





One at f/5.6



And an unprocessed picture at f/8 where it's quite obvious how it reacts to light. On a sunny day one would absolutely need a hood or hold a hand over the top of the lens....



PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 8:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
That's exactly the same as mine, which I got from a box of junk at the camera fair for next to nothing. It's cleaned up and works perfectly. And it's just as you're finding it, it loves a hood, it's sharp enough - I also think the Helios is sharper, and it's a big heavy testament to Chinese copying. I actually quite like it.


PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
i on the other hand have different experience with this lens. i didn't have problems with losing contrast and have used it in sunshine without lens shade without flare, and excellent sharpness


PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
WolverineX wrote:
i on the other hand have different experience with this lens. i didn't have problems with losing contrast and have used it in sunshine without lens shade without flare, and excellent sharpness


Is it the same lens or another version? I have an all black one coming to me, which is newer.


PostPosted: Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
WolverineX wrote:
i on the other hand have different experience with this lens. i didn't have problems with losing contrast and have used it in sunshine without lens shade without flare, and excellent sharpness


Is it the same lens or another version? I have an all black one coming to me, which is newer.


silver nosed version , serial SB-2036510


PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
WolverineX wrote:

silver nosed version , serial SB-2036510


That is the same i guess, mine is SB-2076228.

Copy variation, doesn't surprise me. I guess it's just like many lenses we know that were made in the USSR or former Eastern Germany: you can get a bad one but you could also get lucky with an exceptional sample! However there seem to be 2 silver nosed versions, one with a knurled ring on the front as seen in this picture by Kievuser.
I don't know if all of the silver nosed versions had the Lanthanum elements, but it's being said they were hand grinded.



PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
WolverineX wrote:
TrueLoveOne wrote:
WolverineX wrote:
i on the other hand have different experience with this lens. i didn't have problems with losing contrast and have used it in sunshine without lens shade without flare, and excellent sharpness


Is it the same lens or another version? I have an all black one coming to me, which is newer.


silver nosed version , serial SB-2036510


Yours is a very early one, the 36510th lens that should have 2 lanthanum elements.

Just now I did a quick test with my Olympus Epl-2 and compared my SB-2001182(the 1182th Haiou-64) with a Minolta MD Macro 50mm F3.5. Both lens were set at F3.5. at about 70cm distance. It appears the Haiou-64 is a sharp lens.





PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
WolverineX wrote:

silver nosed version , serial SB-2036510


That is the same i guess, mine is SB-2076228.

Copy variation, doesn't surprise me. I guess it's just like many lenses we know that were made in the USSR or former Eastern Germany: you can get a bad one but you could also get lucky with an exceptional sample! However there seem to be 2 silver nosed versions, one with a knurled ring on the front as seen in this picture by Kievuser.
I don't know if all of the silver nosed versions had the Lanthanum elements, but it's being said they were hand grinded.



From what I read , only those black ones with a rubber aperture ring changed materials of lens elements. There are silver nosed ones with an 8 digit s/n that means these are above 100,000 lenses. I have a very rare one of these Chinese Biotar copies, a Xiongmao brand (Panda) one. I may compare those different brand lenses when I got time.But the rarest one is the lens made for the Shanghai DF-7, Less than 200 pieces were made before the model name shanged to Haiou DF-7 showen in my pictures.



PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
kievuser wrote:

silver nosed version , serial SB-2036510
Yours is a very early one, the 36510th lens that should have 2 lanthanum elements.



Do you know when they stopped using the Lanthanum elements?


PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Just for your information. There are at least two versions of 58mm F2 lenses made for Shanghai DF SLRs and the earliest ones has a screw mount. The Shanghai DF cameras also have different versions- with mirror lock-up or without, with strap lugs or without, and the earliest cameras has a top speed of 1/600 second only.Only 200 some Shanghai DF cameras were made since 1964 that makes them even rarer than the famous Red Flag -20 rangefinder cameras. Now the asking price for this cameras is very high. Images are borrowed from a friend of mine.



PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
kievuser wrote:

silver nosed version , serial SB-2036510
Yours is a very early one, the 36510th lens that should have 2 lanthanum elements.



Do you know when they stopped using the Lanthanum elements?


I don't know exact date, but about 1985-86 as I heard.


PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Mine has a serial number SB-2047966 and is just about unmarked, but one side of the aperture ring hasn't been paint sprayed black, it's unpainted brass, the black finish fades in very nicely , but obviously it wasn't intended to be this way. Chinese quality control at its best.





But it does take a good picture, this is straight out of the Sony A6000, lens wide open, 1/400 and ISO 250


PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
My copy is much, much sharper than Helios (44M-7, 77M-4 etc.)

#1


#2


#3


#4


PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
D. P. wrote:
My copy is much, much sharper than Helios (44M-7, 77M-4 etc.)

#1


#2


#3


#4


Indeed, the results are very pleasing.
Well done
Tom


PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
D. P. wrote:
My copy is much, much sharper than Helios (44M-7, 77M-4 etc.)



Nice pictures! (and models!)


PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Just received another Seagull SLR with Haiou lens from a local website, this one is older, serial #SB-2031516. I have to put it on the A7 this week.

I was wondering just how rare these lenses and cameras actually are. A search on ebay isn't going to give you long lists with offers.

Cheers, René!


PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
Just received another Seagull SLR with Haiou lens from a local website, this one is older, serial #SB-2031516. I have to put it on the A7 this week.

I was wondering just how rare these lenses and cameras actually are. A search on ebay isn't going to give you long lists with offers.

Cheers, René!


Quiet common in China, I frequently see it in camera stores. It is only rare in the West. My copy has the serial SB-2027324

There is also a Pearl River version of this lens as well, which is also common.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I just came across this, taken with the Haiou-69. 58 / 2 - wide open.

"Here be Unicorns"


PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
TrueLoveOne wrote:
D. P. wrote:
My copy is much, much sharper than Helios (44M-7, 77M-4 etc.)



Nice pictures! (and models!)


I fully agree with the second part of your comment Wink

#1


#2
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