Lens Info - Helios-44 58mm f2
HELIOS-44 58MM F2
These Helios 44 lenses have a rich history and subculture behind them. Originally designed and built by the German company Zeiss, and called Biotar after World War II the Russians got the rights to manufacture the lens as part of the war reparations and called it Helios 44. The interesting thing is that because Russia was communist there wasn’t a company/brand that produced the lenses instead the lenses were branded with the logo of the factory in which they were built. Not all factories were made equal and lenses produced in different factories have different characteristics and even lenses made in the same factories over different time periods have different characteristics. Learning about these lenses is kind of like learning about wine vintages. It’s really interesting if you want to learn about the Helios 44 history. My Helios 44 was built in the KMZ factory and has serial number 0104289. With my adapter this lens doesn’t focus to infinity but that’s ok at 58mm this is more of a portrait lens. However, I am pleased to see that this copy exhibits that beautiful swirly bokeh. It’s a really unique characteristic of the older Helios lenses. It also has a very noticeable drop off in sharpness towards the edges of the frame which adds even more character to the image. I also noticed there is an almost tilt-shift type quality to the images when shooting things on a diagonal. The glass seems to warp the perspective in a unique way. This is a really interesting lens with a unique history. The good news is they are easy to find online since they manufactured from 1958 to 1999. If you’re looking for a vintage lens with lots of character this is the one. Here is the sample gallery.
LENS SPECS
Released Date: 1958
Format: 35mm
Mount: M39
Filter: 49mm
Aperture Blades: 13
Aperture Range: 2 - 16
Min Focus Distance: 0.50m
Weight 230g
Optical Design: 6 elements in 4 groups
