Helios 44-6

Helios 44M-6 (58mm f/2) www.hdrfoto.dk

©John Nyberg

Introduction

I have a number of samples of the Helios 44M; from 44M to 44M-6 – and two of them has been reviewed

(so far only in danish). It is, in other words, the third time I review the same lens – or almost the same lens.

Because it is not the same lens; major changes have been made during the development of the lens.

Fokusring = Focus ring

Blædering = Aperture ring

Helios 44M-6 is a very nice lens with M42 screw. That means you need an adaptor ring before you can

mount the lens on your DSRL. It is possible to get adaptor rings with focus assistance. That´s a contrast

sensor letting the camera give the characteristic beep sound when focus is found. That is a great help, if

you haven’t got superman skills in the art of focus. And it is a very useful help since your cameras viewer

darkens when you step down the aperture.

As the name implies, the 44M-6 is developed on the base of Helios 44. The row of 44-lenses stops at 44M-

7; but there are variations within several of the numbers and several producers have been working with the

lens during the period of manufacturing. In spite the name, the lens is 58mm and the aperture is f/2 at the

most.

It is a very handy lens – and most other primes around the 50mm mark. The filter diameter is 52mm and it

will stick out between 4 or 5 cm from you camera. The weight is about 300 gr. and it is very well balanced.

The feel of the lens is good. It matches my hand very well. In fact: The 44M& is a little smaller than 44M-4;

the front element is not laying as deep in the lens anymore. It is very convenient to save some place, but on

the other hand: It does raise the need for a lens hood significantly.

The front element does not turn when you turn the focussing ring.

The focus ring has about 240 degrees turn. The first 180 degrees takes care of the focussing between 50 cm

and 1.7 meters. That provides you with a very good movement to each focuss distance. The focus ring has

fine cuttings giving you a good grip.

The aperture ring has an okay thickness. It moves easily between the stops.

The lens has six blades.


©John Nyberg

Data

Helios 44 was constructed and build as a copy of the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2.

Focal min (mm) Focal max (mm) Focus min(cm) 58 58 50

Aperture max Aperture min Blades 2 16 6

Elements Body mount Weight (g) 6 in 4 groups M42 300

Angular field

40°

The lens is constructed like this:

Det er værd at nævne, at jeg er stødt på en lang række web-steder, hvor 44’ere generelt får rigtig flotte ord

med på vejen. Det er især deres skarphed, der roses. Men samtidig skal det nævnes, at mange mener, at

skarpheden stiger stødt fra 44 til 44M-7.

Price

You can find many Helios 44’s on eBay and garage sales. The productions numbers must have been very

very high. A lot of the lenses will set you back about £20; but speaking of 44M-5, 44M-6 and 44M-7 the

price tag will run higher. The price for a Helios 44M-6 is often about £40 and the 44M-7 will cost even more

(if you can find it at all).

Pictures

All pictures have been taken using Olympus E-520.


©John Nyberg

Aperture f/5.6 og the

distance to the

antenna is about 100

meters.

Again f/5.6.


©John Nyberg

F/5.6 and the distance

to the chimney is

about 200 meters.

Below: The same

picture but a 1000 x

750 pixels crop.

Nothing else is done

to the picture. In my

view a very nice result

from a 58mm lens.

Good sharpness and

fine colorrendering.


©John Nyberg

Both the fungus

and the small

bridgehead with

the seagulls

have been shot

using f/4.

Both pictures

show a good

level of details

and a nicely

controlled light.


©John Nyberg

The Spanish margurittes above have been shot sing f/4. Here I find very good sharpness, very nice colors

and a smooth bokeh. Only remark could be that the color rendering might be a little generous.


©John Nyberg

Sharpness

It is worth mentioning that I have found notes on the net claiming that the 44’s in general gets more sharp

as long as the development goes on. This implies that the 44M-6 should be more sharp than e.g. the 44M-

2.

My setup for the test can be seen above. Distance is about 2 meters. The red square illustrates how much

of the total picture is used: That is a crop of 1000 x 200 pixels. My cropping will secure that both sharpness

and bokeh can be seen. The pictures are shot in A (aperture priority) not using flash but continuous light.

The 1000 x 200 pixels crops have not been edited besides the cropping.

The conclusion, in my point of view, is that the lens is razor sharp from f/2.8 to f/11. And I really think it is

razor razor sharp.

I have seen other review on the net stating that the lens is razor sharp even wide open at f/2. Maybe soo,

but not my sample of the lens. At f/2 my sample is sharp; not razor sharp.

Note that focus is in the right hand (see the arrow) and and judge for yourself:


©John Nyberg


©John Nyberg

I think that the lens

produces very pleasing

images.

Nice colors, smooth

bokeh and an

excellent sharpness.


©John Nyberg

And the above confirms the positive notes from this lens. At left my balcony (with the flowers) and at right

a bench in a local park. Nicely controlled colours and fine separation of the different levels af green.

No barrow effect.


©John Nyberg

Conclusion

I think that Helios 44M.-6 is yet another of the many M42 lenses that are really worth getting your hands

on. The lens prodices razor sharp images from f/2.8 and delivers a very nice bokeh –smooth and gentle. The

colours might be a little generous or the warm side, but they are very nice.

I can’t confirm the rumors about the lens getting better and better with each numeric step; but I can

confirm that the 44M-6 is better than 44M-4, 44M-3, 44M-2 and 44M – I have them all.

In short: The sharpness is excellent, the bokeh is very smooth, the colours are nicely reproduced, but a little

on the warm side and the lens is very nice to operate. Considering the price tag, this lens is a real bargain.

Next to a real steal.

On a scale from 0 to 5, 0 being the worst and 5 begin the best, this lens makes a solid: 4.25

Helios 44-6

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Transcript of Helios 44-6