was this a bargain?

[bfb1150gs]

went to a car boot sale today and got this for 6 quid



zenit et camera and leather holder = seems to be OK though i don't know how to work it properly

helios 44-2 lens = cleaned up ok and seems to work perfectly , a little oil on the diaphragm blades but they move easily and smoothly

some sort of flash i think

hannimex 35-200 f3.8-5.6= like new condition its own pouch

i dont know how much this lot is worth, but a £6 it was worth a punt

[Attila]

What you can get for 6GBP ?

[ManualFocus-G]

You'll certainly have fun with the Helios! Don't worry about oil on the blades, the lens is preset and I do wonder if it was by design...

[scsambrook]

[Attila]

[trev]

Dont forget a packet of fags and change

[Seele]

bfb1150gs,

"Oil on iris blades" is something that had been made to be an issue way out of its context. An automatic lens (when mounted to a matching camera) has its iris diaphragm always open fully, and then it shuts down to the selected value just before the shutter run-down, and then opens up just after the shutter has finished its travel. If the blades are oily, diaphragm action will get slowed down to the point that it would not be stopped down to its desired value when the shutter starts running.

In the case of a lens with manual diaphragm, or a lens is used with its diaphragm operated manually, there is no difference at all. In the former case, having oil on the iris blades would not be something that would impede its functions, so the thought that "oil on iris blades is bad" just does not apply here at all.

[PaulC]

Great bargain. Lovely old flash reflector. Does it fold up like a fan? I'm afraid you may need to scour a lot more boot sales before you find the bulbs for it. It's probably a magnesium flash which burns a bulb each time.

[Farside]

Hey, I used to have a flashgun exactly like that.

[OM]

The Helios 44-2 is a copy of the Zeiss Biotar - a very nice lens.

Do a search for images taken with this Russian gem.