Helios 44-2 58mm F2 Russian Lens for Sony E NEX (for E-mount cameras)

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It’s incredibly solid in both feel and construction, but has all the sophistication of an Eliza Doolittle. Simply because they’re one of the most characterful vintage lenses across all mounts, offering a lovely combination of sharpness and dreamy bokeh (the out of focus background of a photograph). The formula reappeared post-war in the East German-controlled Carl Zeiss Jena plant as the Carl Zeiss Jena 58mm f/2, and was eventually rebranded by the Soviet Union as the Helios 44M we know today.

Center sharpness: At f/2 the picture doesn’t have much contrast but if we take a look at the middle of the image we can see that it’s actually sharp. The Helios’ 58mm focal length is at the longest end of the definition of the 35mm “standard,” which ranges anywhere from 35mm to 60mm. I shoot on a nice basic DSLR (Canon EOS 4000D) but used them on a Sony A7s Mk1 and I prefer the effect of the crop sensor because it tames the bokeh balls a little as opposed to full frame.

My only worry is that some people might think that this lens is representative of all classical lenses. I also have to plug rangefinders where this is never an issue because you never look through the lens. lens works out as an ideal equivalent of a traditional 70mm portrait lens om M4/3 and swirls beautifully. There are certain requirements that have to be fulfilled to summon the mythical creature that is the swirly BOKEH.

Corner-to-corner sharpness is not that amazing but you can get some nice results in the center of the image. Side note: With Fuji it’s also possible to mount via a M42 to EF adapter + EF to FX Metabones speed booster.This image was shot up close which caused the background to blur too much for the swirl I was looking for. Before I knew very much about lens mounts, I had at least discovered that before bayonet mounts became the norm, the most widely used way to attach a lens to a camera was to screw it in. I have three Helios 44-2 lenses, and yes, the quality does vary, the best being a KMZ variant made for a Soviet era surveillance camera.

After being disappointed by Soviet lenses in the past, the Helios 44M was a pleasant surprise, and has become a welcome sight on my SV.there are 3 sub-versions of the silver Helios-44 M39, the earliest one with 13 aperture blades and the aperture range 2-22, then the one that you reviewed, with the aperture range 2-16 and the last one with 8 aperture blades. Here’s an example of an image taken with the Helios 44-2 straight out of the camera on an APS-C XT2 at f5. The received wisdom is that the various Helios 44 models share the same optical design, and should be pretty similar. If you wish to shoot one of these lenses on a digital camera, you will will need to use an adaptor which has an additional ‘ledge’ to depress this pin on the rear of the lens – otherwise the lens will remain fixed at the widest aperture.

Later Helios-44 versions have a more "normal" rendering although the core characteristics are still there. On something like an APS-C camera the crop gets rid of the worst of it, but you’ll still notice it in the extreme edges. If you like the creative impact of a “swirling bokeh” lens, but shoot with a micro 4/3 camera, then your comment that the helios 44 is “too long” gets a supporting vote from me.For me this is a consideration, but if you’re not interested in close ups with round bokeh balls it’s a minor concern.