But the M39 mount has its own specifics. Read about it in a special article. Everything will be fine at the portrait distance, but it will not always be possible to focus on distant objects. Initially, the Helios-44 was created on the basis of the Biotar 2/58 lens (Carl Zeiss Jena), and even at first it was called “BTK — –“BioTar Krasnogorsky”.

You’ll run into some issues with extreme lighting situations, but nothing that I found to be absolutely egregious. Surprisingly, the lens is relatively free of any major CA. Vignette The review presents a modification of the Helios-44-2 for the M42 mount, produced by the Minsk Mechanical Plant (MMZ). Once I have more examples of animals and wildlife photos taken with the Helios 44-2 58mm lens I shall put together another article. Does the Helios 44-2 58mm Lens Have Auto Focus? Super proud moment for me as an up and coming photographer. Before I ramble on any further about this, it’s merely to prove a point. A lens is what you make it it. Any subject can be photographed with any lens. To what extent is a different matter. Don’t be afraid to try something new.

Where to Buy Helios 44-2

Most of the other variations have a pin and a switch on the side for A/M, ie Auto or Manual stop down. There are a few reports elsewhere on the web that talk about the Helios 44 being only ‘passably’ sharp, or that it is ‘barely usable’ when shot widen open. That is utter nonsense. I’m not entirely sure what people are expecting, but if clinical sharpness is required, it seems strange for them to be using vintage manual focus lenses in the first place. The truth is that the Helios 44 is more than sharp enough, and surprisingly so for both its price point and availability. Any quibbles over the sharpness are clearly coming from people that are more interested in gear talk and technical specs than actually shooting photographs in the real world. But why would you want to mount an ancient screw thread lens made decades ago on a newer film or digital camera?

I’ve also done this with great success on other old M42 lenses, like Auto Chinons and Yashicas for example. Helios-44-2 is a fast lens. Not prohibitively fast for such a phased array, but f2 is quite enough for 99% of subjects.

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The Helios 44M-4 lens is one of many variations in the Helios 44 line of lenses. These were produced in the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1992 on a massive scale. In fact, the Helios 44 is one of the most widespread manual lenses in the world. Because of the large numbers produced, these lenses are very affordable today and can be found in very good condition. The internal design is based on then-popular Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 lens, copying what is a very fast, six-element (in four groups) anti-stagnat. The version being reviewed here is the Helios 44M-4.