This is a nice feature for video makers as it means they can precisely control the light levels as they shoot and change the aperture without any shaking during the filming and without “jumps” in the scene light level when going from one aperture setting to another. (Example: say you set the top ring to f/5.6, with the lower ring you set/change the aperture without any clicks from f/2 down to as far as f/5.6 but not beyond it). The lower aperture ring is clickless that turns extremely smooth and can set the aperture from wide open to the value you have set on the top ring. The Helios has an aperture preset mechanism at the front with two rings o ne with not equidistant aperture markings on it, which clicks rather stiffly between each f-stop to set “the smallest aperture you want to work with” (it is the ring at the top in the picture above). The focus ring turns a massive 300 degrees and it runs extremely smooth being very well damped, it’s a pleasure to use. Silver all metal body, a completely manual lens with no electrical contact to the camera. Nikon Z6 | Helios 44 58mm f/2 | f/2 Handling Only the two early Helios 44s have 13 aperture blades, the later ones have either 8 or 6 blades. The 44-2 version itself has been produced in different variants and at different factories (KMZ, BeLOMO and Valdai) in the Soviet Union. Later versions are all black and have the namings 44-2 (the most spread version), 44-3, 44M, 44M-4, 44M-5, 44M-6 and the final 44M-7. This second version exists in three variants the first variant had 13 aperture blades in the range of f/2-f/22, second version (the one in this review) has also 13 aperture blades but with the range of f/2-f/16 and the last variant has only 8 aperture blades f/2-f/16. Lens Mount: M39 (Zenit SLR, not rangefinder)Īs far as I know there are two versions of the early silver metal body an original very early version with a bayonet mount and 40.5mm filter size and this one, which has a M39 screw mount with 49mm filter size. Let’s have a look! Sample Images Nikon Z6 | Helios 44 58/2 | f/2 Nikon Z6 | Helios 44 58/2 | f/2 Nikon Z6 | Helios 44 58/2 | f/2 Nikon Z6 | Helios 44 58mm f/2 | f/2 Nikon Z6 | Helios 44 58mm f/2 | f/2 It is very popular for its image character, its clickless aperture, balanced center sharpness and not least its swirly bokeh. The Helios 44 lenses have built a cult around themselves in modern days and have been very popular for portrait photography and videography, it is the number one vintage lens used for making videos on modern cameras. KMZ (the same factory that made the Zenit cameras) started manufacturing this lens from 1945. The Soviet Union manufactured millions of this lens in different variants and it shipped as standard lens on many Soviet (Zenit) cameras. At the end of Wold War II the Russians took the Zeiss’ designs and materials back to Russia and copied them. The Helios 44 is basically a copy of the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2, optically that is.
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