6x Shootout: Biotar Pancolar Oreston Primoplan Helios v6 v7

[Orio]

[MoonPix]

zXzXZX

[hemisferico]

I think you would also see more noticeable differences comparing 50mm F1.4 lenses, a much more difficult design to execute.

[Seele]

In terms of design the Primoplan is the oddball here, as it is not a Double-Gauss type, but an advanced Triplet development.

For the longest time it has been much maligned, but when seen individually it is not half bad.

[andrej]

I've found a nice condition Helios 77m-4, like the one reviewed, however with a slightly different label. It's in Russian ГЕЛИОС, and since it's my first manual on a digital body, I'm a bit afraid of mounting it to a 5d mk2.

I couldn't find 77m-4 mc Helios in any compatibility charts for 5d, so just to make sure - will it fit? It works very nice on a eos rebel 450D, but will it damage the mirror on 5d? By the looks of it, it seems it should work, and it mounts well, I just didn't click the shutter.



edit: for some reason it doesn't show the pic: forum.mflenses.com/userpix/201110/4776_helios_1.jpg

[indianadinos]

[andrej]

thanks!

yes, I searched for some more articles on whether it will cause too much damage if not suitable and finally pressed the shutter
it works all good on 5D mark II, focus to infinity and all.

I really like the 'swirly bokeh' it produces, and image quality is more than fine for the money spent.

[fuzzywuzzy]

[hasan]

thanks for the comparison.
the differences are only visible by seeing them side by side.
still, imo the pancolar renders nicer than the others.



regards

[philslizzy]

The Pancolar gives a good account of itself.

[alex ph]

Thank you for a very clear comparison. Subjectively, for colors and image rendition, I liked the most Pancolar and Oreston. Taking into account that Oreston is barely the cheapest among your test set! It makes me wonder, who set that Primoplan should be the highest in price? Was it an initial price tag, in the production period, or was it a "popular marketing" coming from forums and extremely well done pictures on flickr?

[fermy]

Rarity + collectors + hype somewhere, the recipe is the same for all lenses. I am sure more good pictures were taken with Oreston than with Primoplan.

Really, if one wants a technically good lens, take any Japanese top brand from the beginning of 80' (Nikon/Canon/Konica/Zuiko/Pentax/Minolta does not matter) and you have it. But those lenses are so ubiquitous that after awhile people stop being excited by them and start to search for "character". That's where lenses with flaws such as Primoplan deliver. I am sure 99% of Primoplan owners were overjoyed to upgrade it for Oreston and Trioplan for Orestor.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Main thing this test shows is the differences between good 50mm double gauss type lenses are rather slight. The Biotar and Primoplan, being older and designed before electronic computers are a little less highly corrected so have a little swirl to the bokeh caused by spherical aberration and coma. That is only apparent wide open though and stopped down, they will all perform about the same with only very minor differences.

[alex ph]

Fermy, you must be right!

Me personally, I appreciate Fujian CCTV that I use sometimes on NEX just because it delivers some difficulties to shoot. I think, digital photography almost exempted users from that minimal effort they had to do with manual cameras. So when you find a lens that delivers you some imperfection, that turns you back to the ultime sens of photography: you start overcoming that imperfection in search of reality.

[alex ph]

iangreenhalgh1, from what you say follows that a lens imperfection costs more. Funny! I saw Primoplan prices on ebay, it's higher than Takumar.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Yes Alex, that is often the case. Some people seek out lenses with 'character' and those lenses are the ones with residual aberratons present. The reason why they are more expensive is supply and demand - there are so many later lenses with higher level of corrections but the older less corrected ones with character are simply not available in the same numbers. Primoplan is expensive, there aren't many of them around. A Helios 44 is a good substitute for the Primoplan imho.