![]() ![]() The focus ring on a pre-set lens is nearest the camera body with the aperture ring being towards the far end of the lens. Now you are scratching your heads and muttering "huh?".let me explain further. ![]() These bodies have a M42 lens mount with an unusually narrow body flange to accommodate the focus ring on the Helios 44-3. The Helios 44-3 was originally designed as the normal lens to be shipped with various Zenit 35mm SLR cameras. While this lens is desirable, the potential buyer should be aware of a serious compatibility flaw with some (not all) Helios 44-3 lenses. The Helios 44-3 often features multi-coated optics and was manufactured well into the 1990s by the Belomo plant. Although these are the more common variants, there is another version with pre-set aperture, the 44-3, that is highly regarded. Most of the happy Helios owners on this site have one of the M42, automatic aperture versions (44M, 44M-x) or the earlier 44-2 with preset aperture. As many of you are aware the Helios 44 is based on the optically similar Zeiss Biotar 58/2 and is available in a number of different variations based on mount, manufacturer, and diaphragm automation. Though I can see why they would be conflated as the look can sometimes be similar.The Russian Helios 44 58/2 lens has received a lot of raves on this site and is somewhat of a cult classic. This is quite different from Lens Baby that actually leverages tilt-shifting to mess with the plane of focus to achieve its look. Thus I wouldn't consider the look unique to Zenit. The swirling look also predates any of these lenses in the form of the ancient Petzval Objective (160mm f/3.6) lens used decades earlier. The Zenit lenses, however, are cheaper and more available so more people know about them. ![]() (Another Russian lens with swirly Bokeh) As a result, all of these lenses have a similar look to them. The Jupiter 9 85mm also copied the Sonnar. (The Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 specifically is very similar to the Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 while the Helios 40-2 85mm f/1.5 was based on the Zeiss Sonnar 85mm f/2). Side note: Because Helios was a lifted design from Zeiss, there are old Zeiss lenses that also share a similar swirling to the Bokeh. (though it would be awesome to see if they can retain their style of bokeh while improving resolution) The newly re-invigorated Zenit is looking to capitalize on that market and thus I expect any new lenses they make will specifically be designed to retain that "look". The unusual bokeh style that this led to, however, is something a small subset of photographers (including me) absolutely love and thus old Helios lenses became a cult classic, of sorts. Even their M42 SLR camera lenses were primarily used to document rather than as artistic tools. Their lens formulas were lifted from Zeiss but their goal was always in maximizing low light performance rather than necessarily nice Bokeh or perfect sharpness. The vast majority of Helios 40-2 85mm lenses they ever made actually were fixed aperture and mounted on surveillance gear used by Soviet intelligence in the 80s. Sort of, Zenit used to mainly make optics designed for military use. Photographer Alexandra Bochkareva has been doing some tests for Zenit, and I suspect that these images are among her results: Thanks! You can find all of the specifications here.Įarly images suggest that this is a lens full of character. Sigma, take note: if a lens weighs more than a kilogram, we now expect f/1 or wider. The dimensions of the Zenit seems to be somewhat smaller than the Nikon, and while we don’t have details of the Noct, it’s worth noting that the Zenitar weighs a shoulder-crushing 2.6 lb (1.2 kg). While the price is significantly lower, the weight is still slightly insane. The lens hits Russian shelves at a price of just 49,000 Russian Rubles, which converts to just over $760. As a showpiece, it’s impressive, but at a tasty $6,000, it’s nice to know that Zenit is planning to release a lump of glass that doesn't require you to start picking out which of your kidneys you'd prefer to hang on to. A lucky gaggle of keen snappers managed to grab a few minutes playing with Nikon’s much-anticipated wonderlens at CP+ earlier this month, and it’s still not entirely clear what the NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct is for. ![]()
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