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Helios 135mm f2.8 - any good
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 11:33 am    Post subject: Helios 135mm f2.8 - any good Reply with quote
Looking to get a 135mm M42 lens and have my heart set on a Carl Zeiss 135mm Jenner Sonnor f3.5 but was looking at the Helios 135mm f2.8 as they are cheaper. I have the Helios 44/s which is a stunning lens so does the 135mm produce as good quality images and would it be better/worse than the Zeiss?

thanks


PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
get the sonnar - there is one in the marketplace right now on a good price.
i assume this helios is japanese not russian.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 12:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
std wrote:
get the sonnar - there is one in the marketplace right now on a good price.
i assume this helios is japanese not russian.

+1


PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Japanese Helios 135mm is actually a pretty good lens and can be had for little outlay. It's very similar to the Chinon lens actually. However, if you want a good, cheap 135mm in m42, I would seek out a Jupiter 11 or 11a which are based on the sonnar.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ManualFocus-G wrote:
The Japanese Helios 135mm is actually a pretty good lens and can be had for little outlay. It's very similar to the Chinon lens actually. However, if you want a good, cheap 135mm in m42, I would seek out a Jupiter 11 or 11a which are based on the sonnar.

Would you say the Jupiter would be better than the Zeiss?


PostPosted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 3:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
andyw wrote:
ManualFocus-G wrote:
The Japanese Helios 135mm is actually a pretty good lens and can be had for little outlay. It's very similar to the Chinon lens actually. However, if you want a good, cheap 135mm in m42, I would seek out a Jupiter 11 or 11a which are based on the sonnar.

Would you say the Jupiter would be better than the Zeiss?


No but the Carl Zeiss will set you back 3 x mote, so...Wink


PostPosted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Ok, this is just my opinion from the observations I have made over the past few days.

I had three lenses arrive in the post during the past 2 weeks, the Helios 135mm f2.8, and the Jupiter 11 f4 as well as a Meyer Orestor 135 f2.8.

I have no personal preference based on their name, only on image quality.

So far, my results shooting the same scene with each lens is fairly straightforward.

The Jupiter 11 is pretty sharp at f4 but really needs to be stopped down to about f5.6 to get good results. It focuses closer than the other two, but tends to be a bit less contrasty as well. Very nice colour balance.

The Helios has a broken aperture spring, and is currently locked at about f4, however, it is much sharper than the Jupiter 11 at f4, and has more contrast. Colours tend to be a little stronger than the Jupiter but I think the contrast has something to do with that as well.

The Meyer is a little soft at 2.8, but from then on sharpness improves rapidly, outperforming the other two significantly.

I can't comment on the Zeiss 135 as I don't have one.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Helios is pretty good, but has to be stopped down at least one stop to prevent rather severe blue fringing in backlit situations.
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