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Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.
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Helios 77M-4 : step brother of Helios44
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:40 pm
Post subject: Helios 77M-4 : step brother of Helios44
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:40 pm
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In many forums people say Swirly Bokeh cannot be achieved on APS-C sensor Shocked ,moreover they say that Helios 77 is not a swirly bokeh lens and dosent produce same effect as their elder stepbrother helios 44 Mad ,well these photos will smash that myth
vertigo by Abhishek Ray, on Flickr

APS-C swirl by Abhishek Ray, on Flickr

CENTRE OF ATTENTION by Abhishek Ray, on Flickr



And for info sake--the woman is my MOM

Last edited by raay04 on Thu Aug 28, 2014 6:33 pm; edited 1 time in total


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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:47 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:47 pm
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Wow, I really like nr3!
That is really amazing!
Is it the 50 1.7?
Regards Timo


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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:58 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 5:58 pm
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@Räbenfluch ---the lens is Helios 77M-4 50mm/1.8 Laughing ,optical formula is same as Biotar 58/2 or Helios 44!! thanks for liking the photos Surprised


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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:03 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:03 pm
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You´re welcome Very Happy
I personally really like the Biotar-formula, I will never get rid of my Helios 44m, some kind of wobbly and bet up on the outside, but sweet sharp and bokehlicous portraits on the inside! Very Happy

Regards Timo


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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:14 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:14 pm
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yeah ,my helios 44m-6 ,m-7 is so sweet!!! but i think this lens having a focal length of 50 is easier to make swirly bokeh shots!!!!! i hope one day i can get a 44-2!!!! Wink


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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:51 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:51 pm
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Awesome! Lovely bokeh.


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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:15 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:15 pm
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+1 from me on the bokeh! Really different and nice!


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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 8:02 pm
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Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 8:02 pm
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Nice photos with really interesting bokeh!


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 7:32 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 7:32 am
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Great lens and a very interesting bokeh result. I never got anything like this on my Nikon, perhaps I will when the infinity focus is fixed.


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:17 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:17 am
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raay04 wrote:
yeah ,my helios 44m-6 ,m-7 is so sweet!!! but i think this lens having a focal length of 50 is easier to make swirly bokeh shots!!!!! i hope one day i can get a 44-2!!!! Wink


44-2 is a ... well.. i don't understand why would somebody want to have гелиос 44-2.. it's very far from 44м series, and getting good pictures with it is.. well.. a separate story.


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:41 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:41 am
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sai wrote:
raay04 wrote:
yeah ,my helios 44m-6 ,m-7 is so sweet!!! but i think this lens having a focal length of 50 is easier to make swirly bokeh shots!!!!! i hope one day i can get a 44-2!!!! Wink


44-2 is a ... well.. i don't understand why would somebody want to have гелиос 44-2.. it's very far from 44м series, and getting good pictures with it is.. well.. a separate story.



I have had many helios lenses in different versions, and the best one among those is a 44-2. While people reports the later 44m-X as sharper, i found that that single copy of 44-2 was just as sharp as a 44m-7 (that was the sharpest of the bunch), with a slightly more pleasant render, and the plus of the preset aperture, which is something I really like on digital.
So, the idea I got from my experience is that the lens condition (optical and mechanical) and copy variation is much more a relevant factor than the lens model. My two cents.


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:56 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:56 am
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@Lena its not an infinity issue,the swirly bokeh is well demonstrated with small points of light and the subject must be around 5 fit from your lens and the background distance should be minimum of 8-10 feet,moreover the light coming through leaf gaps in a tree is best way to show this bokeh, i think you can also achieve this with nikon(DX or FX) ,but you have to get the settings right,moreover the Helios 77 being 50mm gets a bit more of the swirly bokeh than 58mm helios44!!! (due to 1.6 crop of 58mm crops out more than 50mm)
@sai---- r u kidding me Question,only one lens in same optical formula,same focal lenght is better than helios 44-2 and thats the CarlZeiss Biotar 58/2 ,anything else is just mimicking 44-2,,,may be u had a bad copy Rolling Eyes


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:01 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:01 am
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raay04 wrote:

@sai---- r u kidding me Question,only one lens in same optical formula,same focal lenght is better than helios 44-2 and thats the CarlZeiss Biotar 58/2 ,anything else is just mimicking 44-2,,,may be u had a bad copy Rolling Eyes


i am from soviet union, now live in russia so i guess i know about russian lens a bit. about 44-2, you can easily buy this lens on internet if you want, there are lots of them for sale. but don't say then i didn't warn you Smile. it's sharp, yes, but it uses a very old coating formula and case, so shooting with any light in the picture (front and side) will give you a lot of problems, not mentioning various glows/sunlight artefacts, etc that 44-2 really loves to produce. it's not about the copy, it's just the design. in russia, currently, it's probably one of least valued lens, probably beaten only by индустар 50-2 Smile.

well, sometimes i shoot with it, but anytime i do so and there is sun, i know that i shouldn't hope for any 'normal' shots, only for some very 'artistic' images with some strange effects, that might look interesting after a lot of postprocessing, and probably in monochrome. in a cloudy cloudy environment or with the sun in my back it's okay. but again, there are many lenses with the similar bokeh and sharpness.. like your 44m-7 for example, which also holds the light might better. with 44-2 it's a russian roulette Smile.

of course if you want it, buy it, but i suggest first to search for images taken with it and to point your attention at how many of good pictures are taken with it in a sunny environment and how many are in gloomy days.

note, i love soviet lenses, yet i write this Smile.

ps. myths are funny, i didn't know somebody promoted 44-2 in the western forums that well ))).

here, do you see a lot of pics taken in a sunny environment? Smile
http://images.yandex.ru/yandsearch?p=1&text=%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%81%2044-2&uinfo=sw-1358-sh-638-fw-1133-fh-448-pd-1

https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&q=%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%81%2044-2&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45175338,d.bGE&biw=1920&bih=892&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=1t9rUamWHemh4gT7o4CgAQ


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:23 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:23 am
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sai wrote:


i am from soviet union, now live in russia so i guess i know about russian lens a bit. about 44-2, you can easily buy this lens on internet if you want, there are lots of them for sale. but don't say then i didn't warn you Smile. it's sharp, yes, but it uses a very old coating formula and case, so shooting with any light in the picture (front and side) will give you a lot of problems, not mentioning various glows/sunlight artefacts, etc that 44-2 really loves to produce. it's not about the copy, it's just the design. in russia, currently, it's probably one of least valued lens, probably beaten only by индустар 50-2 Smile.

well, sometimes i shoot with it, but anytime i do so and there is sun, i know that i shouldn't hope for any 'normal' shots, only for some very 'artistic' images with some strange effects, that might look interesting after a lot of postprocessing, and probably in monochrome. in a cloudy cloudy environment or with the sun in my back it's okay. but again, there are many lenses with the similar bokeh and sharpness.. like your 44m-7 for example, which also holds the light might better. with 44-2 it's a russian roulette Smile.

of course if you want it, buy it, but i suggest first to search for images taken with it and to point your attention at how many of good pictures are taken with it in a sunny environment and how many are in gloomy days.

note, i love soviet lenses, yet i write this Smile.


You're right, if flare resistance is a concern, later helioses are better than 44-2 under this regard.
Anyway, when I have to take a helios 44 in my bag, I always end up with the 44-2.


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:39 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:39 am
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[quote="Aanything"]
sai wrote:

Anyway, when I have to take a helios 44 in my bag, I always end up with the 44-2.


do you have 44m-7 or -6?


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:47 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:47 am
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At the moment I have a 44-2, a 44m a 44m4 a 44m6 and I sold my 44m7 a couple of weeks ago.


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:55 am
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 11:55 am
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Aanything wrote:
At the moment I have a 44-2, a 44m a 44m4 a 44m6 and I sold my 44m7 a couple of weeks ago.


what makes you prefer 44-2 over 44m-6 ?


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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 1:00 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 1:00 pm
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I find them quite similar, I like the 44-2 better mostly for handling (feel and pre-set aperture) and the fact that the front element is a bit recessed, providing a kind of hood. Sharpness and rendering are almost the same, the m6 has better flare resistance and higher contrast, but for the use i make of it, lower contrast is better.
I wouldn't say 44-2 is better overall, but neither worse, and better suited to the use i want to make of it.
On the other hand, I have dozen of sharp, contrasty and clean looking 50's, so I like helios 44's mostly for their character, and I think the character is more evident on 44-2.
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