them 58 be addictive

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Indeed they be!

30 years ago I bought a working 1972 Zenit E camera with the KMZ Helios 44-2 lens for the princely sum of five dollars at a camera show.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

That was quite a bargain! The Zenits are nice simple cameras that just get on and do their job, and the H44 is the icing on the cake!

I bought a vintage Minolta 58mm f1.4 in mint condition. I paid way too much for it, but I couldn't resist the fact it was mint (it genuinely doesn't look like it has ever been used). I use it on my Fuji XT2. Stunning results. They are reputed to be a bit soft at f1.4 but I must have got a particularly good version because it is sharp as anything even at f1.4. It's great for portraits and generally produces lovely natural colours that I don't get on any of my other lenses. I also have a vintage Pentax 50mm f1.7 which I should sell now but can't bring myself too, because I love that one too. So I'm stuck with two lenses around the same range (even though the 8mm in APSC does make a huge difference for portraits). I also have a Pentax macro 50mm which is great too. These vintage lenses are addictive.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

They certainly are, and you have three very nice ones there!

The one lens in this category that all the channels I follow on vintage lenses do not mention nor test is the 58mm F1.4 RE Topcor. This, of course, is the predecessor to the fabled Voitlander Noctun 58mm. Please Nigel, get your hands on one and take it out for a spin. Also the RE Topcor 35mm F2.8 and the 100mm F2.8. Beautiful lenses and deserved of some critical reviews. Yes, I am a Topcor fanboy as I see the usual lenses from Pentax, Konica, Ziess, Jupiter and Helios on just about every channel. Getting monotonous. Find the Topcors, test the Topcors, give some love to the Topcors.

@spectralcav

11 ай бұрын

I second that! RE Topcors are something special - aesthetically beautiful and optically excellent. Although Topcon still exists and currently produce surveying and medical optics, they no longer make camera equipment so the name is 'under the radar' for many vintage lens enthusiasts despite being worthy competitors to Nikon in their heyday in the mid 1960s and being the first to produce an SLR with TTL metering in 1963. The 5.8cm f1.8 is also an excellent performer, perhaps without the magic of the 1.4 but also significantly smaller and more affordable. The 100mm f2.8 is outstanding!

i think 55/57/58mm lenses are a fantastic alternative to a fast fifty-they take away the "wide angle" aspect of the medium length 50mm and instead acts as a full telephoto whether on full frame or aps-c. can really help with framing! and the difference in rendering between 50 and 58mm is pretty significant.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Those extra 8mm make quite a difference - surprisingly!

I’ve got a top notch vintage 58” f1.8 that does double duty. It’s the nifty swifty Konica Hexanon 40mm f1.8. On my Fujifilm APS-C cameras it’s a “58” (60), while it serves at it’s intended 40mm post on my full frame Sony..... love the focal length and lens itself in both scenarios. Highly recommended if it fits your needs. 👌

@raymeedc

Жыл бұрын

P.S. - As far as an actual 58 goes, EyE use my smooth operator M42 Pentax Takumar 55mm f1.8, close enough. ✅

My first Helios 44-2 got a huge amount of oil on the blades, after I had owned it for two years or so. I paid $40 US. I liked it so much, I ordered another one, this time I bought it from a Lens Tech who had CLA'd it and regreased it with modern silicone-based grease. I paid $75 US. Well worth it, the lens is flawless.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Sounds like a good deal to me!

Nikkor S 58 1.4 was my 1st 58....love the smoosh and separation...very addictive indeed!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I've heard that's a very nice lens - enjoy!

I have a Voigtlander nokton 58 1.4 and it is marvellous on my FM2n and on my X pro too ( of course longer on the fuji) If you can afford it get one...you will not regret it.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I'll keep a lookout for one, thanks for the tip!

@paulwalker797

Жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 Thanks for the reviews and content you post. Yes its a great lens for everyday walkaround use and lovely for portraits. have a good long weekend.

@Yellowcatt

Жыл бұрын

It's good that I found your comment) I'm thinking about buying this lens. In my country, I found it on the secondary market for $ 450, complete with a hood. As I understand it, there is no longer such softness of the image that is on the lenses of the 70s?) What can you say about the bokeh of the lens?

@paulwalker797

Жыл бұрын

@@Yellowcatt At that price its a no brainer ...buy it. Nice smooth bokeh and enough sharpness for most needs.

Got a Rokkor PF 58 1.4 on my XD-11 (XD-7 in UK). Not run a roll on it yet, but a few shots and half a roll to go and I'll let you know. Thanks Nigel for another great vlog.

Rokkor 58 1.4 . My favourite lens Ever.

I have several 50mm lenses. The Minolta 58mm 1.2 or 1.4 are very soft and dreamy wide open. But from 2.8 they are very sharp and have great colours. It's fun to shoot with the old lenses. I bought the 1.4 with totally oily aperture blades. It was easy to disassemble and clean. It works like the first day😊

I have a 44-2 KMZ Helios (1971 version), and I love it, such a gorgeous lens! Indeed, compared to the 50mm (Canon Nifty fifty and the Asahi Super Takumar F1.4) it has a much tighter framing, handling and shooting requires a very different mindset than the 50mm. I was very surprised at that, did not expect such small number difference to make such a big practical impact. Yet, it does! 👍

Hortensen Tupperware the 9th is the absolute best alter ego! I myself will be known as Humperdink von Swirly Bokehnen when shooting out and about. I personally enjoy the Helios 44M. The extra 8mm is a lot more significant than one would be enclined to think. Even on full frame.

My absolute favorite lens is the Meyer Optic Gorlitz Primoplan 58mm F1.9. It is a true unicorn lens.

@barrycohen311

Жыл бұрын

I have a Domiplan and an Oreston. Crazy good lenses with wild bokeh and other effects.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I've heard that one's quite special - would love to find one, one day!

@throtol

Жыл бұрын

I could not agree with you more. I purchased a new one for my Fujifilm camera. It was not cheap, but produces first rate bokeh and is sharp.

@Yellowcatt

Жыл бұрын

Hello! Found an offer for this lens for $200. True, there is a small dot on the rear lens. I think you should buy at this price.

One of my faves is just shy of 58 at 55- the 1.8 SMC Takumar 55mm. But the Helios 44-2 is a very close second.

@arcanics1971

Жыл бұрын

My 44-2 is a KMZ. Not all white markings though, but I've always found it to be magnificent.

@barrycohen311

Жыл бұрын

I agree the 55mm SMC Takumar is another great lens. One of my favorites. And even the extra 5mm compared to a regular 50, does give the lens a different vibe. One wouldn't think so, but it does.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

The Takumar 55 is a beautiful lens, one of my favourites!

@skamillion1018

Жыл бұрын

The super tak 55 1.8 has the absolute smoothest focusing action on my copy, and the image quality is incredible

same here, i started with the Helios 44-2 KMZ, actually i have 2 of them. Its my always to go-lens and the most reliable one can use - i am in love with russian lenses, also I am using the Zenit-E M42 camera. the Helios 44-2 makes the best photos, the blur is incredible and the fades between sharp and soft are are incredible.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

You can't go wrong with a good Helios 44 - enjoy!

I’ve got a vintage Minolta 58mm 1.2 that I LOVE! I adapt it to my full frame sigma FPL.

Love your videos so much!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

I have a few 55-58mm lenses, biotar, helios, pentax but by far my favorite is Tokyo Kogaku re.auto-topcor 58/1.4 even more than the newer voightlander 58/1.4 in nikon f mount.

Happy Eastern to all and greetings from Germany. I own a nice smooth silver KMZ Helios and I love it.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Happy Easter sir, enjoy that lens!

Minolta 58mm 1.4 of is the first vintage lens I bought and will be the last I part with!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

It really is a gem - enjoy!

I do have an M42 ZENIT - BIOTAR-Krasnogorsk T* 58mm f/2 lens, which brings me excellent results, even at f/2 !

Yes lots of Helios 44 lens are nice to great like 44-2 but I think the original Biotar 58 mm is very great too… I bought the Biotar 58 mm 17 blades from Ukraine last year… very satisfied except that I have too many m42 lenses now 😅

Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 arguably one of the best 58mm out there

I have both the Rokkor-PF and KMZ Helios 44 with 13 blades. Both are terrific lenses but quite different in character. The Minolta gives beautiful colours and is wonderfully smooth in the out-of-focus areas. I have found a lens hood makes it perfectly sharp at 1.4. Without a hood it picks up a lot of stray light and this may be what's softening the image wide open. The Helios 44 has a different character entirely. It's a much older design which probably has something to do with it. The look is definitely vintage++ but also very beautiful. The infamous twist to the out-of-focus area really only shows up under very specific conditions. I have way too many Soviet lenses - I just love the properly vintage character they have. I agree with you that the Helios is the more interesting lens but the Minolta is an absolute diamond.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Both are fantastic in their own way - glad you're enjoying them!

Wow, Sir., i really loved this video. I have the Konica Hexanon 58mm f1.4 and didnt expect you to say that you love its colors. Am gonna try shooting with it. I think youve typed it as 58 hexanon while it actually is a 57mm lens.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

It's an honorary 58! Glad you're enjoying the videos.

I will take your advice and try one!

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I don't think you'll regret it!

That symbol on your b grade Helios is for the Valdai plant. I have one from Belomo and it's really nice. I just got it recently (with an EF adapter) and use it on a A6300 with the Viltrox speedbooster (saving up for a full frame camera currently) and I have a blast with it... it's got so much character like no lens I tried before, really fun to play with! :)

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

It's a lovely old lens for sure - enjoy!

I have a couple of Helios 44s, one an M42, the other in PK mount. Both of them are crying out to be used. Oh yes, the KMZ logo is on both of them, so I look forward to some decent results when I finally get a round tuit. Many thanks to Boeuf Wellington-Fishfinger III for his efforts ite and a bite.

Not sure about how close the focus is with all 3 compared, but I forgot I had a helioadapter for a dying Konica project laying about, that works perfectly for my Minolta. It's a little odd being able to focus from two positions, but adding this macro to the Minolta has made it quite a powerhouse on my Fuji X-H1. Very pleased. Your humble servant, Admiral Thadwhipple D. Yehaldemiser.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

An interesting trick with the adaptors, I'll give it a go! All the best Admiral!

I really enjoy using my KMZ built Helios 44m-4 58mm f/2 on my Pentax SP500 and SP1000. I can use that extra focal length to stand back and melt into the background when I'm doing street photography. A 28mm or 35mm wide angle lens means I have to get close to the subject, but the 58mm brings the subject to me and it kind of helps me to be invisible. People out and about doing their shopping don't think I am photographing them and just crack on with their day.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I know what you mean - I find a long lens is much easier for street photography! Thanks for looking in.

I have a later version of the MC Rokkor 58mm f1.4 it is a beautiful lens and I love all of my Rokkor collection. But I do prefer my Mamiya Sekor 58mm f1.4 (radioactive) 10 bladed lens, the colours and blur from this lens is incredible. It does produce warmer images than the Rokkor so I have a choice to make when I go shooting. I wish I had a 57mm Hexanon among my collection, well not yet.

I've had two KMZ and two Valdai (the symbol yours has in this movie) and the Valdai were both sharper at infinity, while the KMZ had more interesting blur and swirl wide open. The oft-cited social media online mantra that the KMZ is superior is open to user interpretation of the images they like to take, I think. Also, the factory years varied in all cases and quality checking varied through time so some Valdai are better for some things and some KMZ and some Belomo may be worse or finer.

nyc loves your lens videos

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I'm glad to hear it, thanks!

Thanks Royceton! Now I know why my Canon 28mm looks so damn good on a MFT camera (2x crop = 56mm). Everything looks more linear and squared up, and just a bit more compacted (like a tele).

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

A good 28 is perfect on MFT - enjoy!

I have 3 Helios - one I reversed, another anamorfaked. The preset ring is a plus.

I think you’re onto something with the foreign correspondents. Just need to get a consistent name for each location. Preston Stubblefield the 3rd did a well rounded sysnopsis of the minolta lens.

Love the channel! Just going through your back catalogue …. did you ever do a review of the best FSU lenses for the smaller MFT bodies?

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I think there's an early video on this, but most FSU lenses work very nicely on m43 - bear in mind the 2x crop factor of course!

Dear Nigel I am new to your channel. It’s great. Informative, fun and relaxing. I love your roving reporter Royston Hartford Harrington IV. Please accept my best wishes and thanks. John

Interesting quote, "sharpness is a bourgeois concept". Dan Milnor?

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I think it was Monsieur Cartier-Bresson.

Hello! That badge on Helios-44 is not Belomo it is Valdai.... I believe that the quality of any Helios is primarily related to the year of production of the lenses. The Soviets took out a huge amount of Zeiss sand from the occupied zone of Germany, so until the sand ran out the optics was at its best.... Thousands of factories with technologies and engineers were taken out of Germany, the same Krasnogorsk factory is essentially a trophy of the war. Probably other optical-mechanical plants of the USSR, in Minsk, Zagorsk, Valday, Kiev, were also trophy plants in terms of equipment....

the best one is the mamiya sekor 58 1.7 m42 and really hard to find and even rarer to find in serviceable condition

Creepy story - I went with my girlfriend and my parents to Avebury circa 1978 (when I was 18) and my father noticed something that I didn't. At that time there were sheep (probably to keep the grass down) but, as my dad said, the grass was noticeably much longer around the stones. It seems the sheep didn't want to get too close to them. Weird. Great video by the way although I'm at a loss to understand why so many people are fans of this background blur (bokeh - hate that word). Understandable for portraits, still life (plants, flowers, food etc) where it isolates the subject, but when I see street, landscape, architecture, social pictures, I want to know what's going on in the whole frame rather that just the focus of it. [Respect - f**kin' love this channel].

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I guess blur works in some circumstances but not in others - a visual tool and not one to be over-used! Glad you're enjoying the channel.

Zeno... Try to put deep lens hood on Minolta and try F1.4 than + maybe good multicoating ir filter It should be even better. Than with slight touch in editing it's became very usable F1.4 image.

Minolta has always been somewhat under-rated. I own a run of the mill, 1970s, 50mm f/2 that shoots rather stunning images. Optically, I'd rate them as high as vintage Canon and Nikkor lenses.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Agreed - beautiful optics. The 70s ones I've used have been quite stunning.

Standing next to those stones, I'm reminded of Spinal Tap for some reason... 🙂

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I was reminded of 'children of the stones' - spooky 70s show on ITV!

i just looked up the silver kmz 13 blade version on us ebay. 225.00 all the way up to 362.00 usd. ouch! you got a steal. :)

⭐️

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Be good to compare image quality on apsc vs full frame when you shoot with Fuji and Sony

There is currently a range of Zenit branded lenses including a 58 1.9. I don't know anything about its ancestory but possibly descended from the Helios. I assume they are not currently obtainable in western countries (not that I want to buy one).

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

It sounds like the Helios still lives - thanks for the info!

Hi Nigel, greetings from Austria 🇦🇹 Happy Easter! Thanks for the upload! I always wondered why there have been many 50+ mm lenses such as 52 mm, 55 mm and 58 mm. Do you know the answer? Best wishes Ralf

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Hey Ralf! I'm not sure exactly why focal lengths vary like this, though it's perhaps dictated by the optical formula being used. Many Tessars for example are around 52mm. And I have to wonder how much 58mm lenses owe to the zeiss biotar 58 - we know that the H44 is a biotar copy and I wouldn't be too surprised if other 58s are related to it too. Thanks for looking in!

Very british love it ❤

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

Got an auto Topcon 58. 1.4…but not any digital adapter

Nigel, will a 13 blade Helios 44 produce swirl with a crop sensor (X-T3)?

Hi Nigel, one more question: In the early 1970s the camera manufacturers often use weird focal length of 52 mm, 55 mm, and 58 mm instead of 50 mm. In the 1980s they used 50 mm for the most part. Do you know the story behind it? Best wishes, Ralf

I cannt affort a Zeiss Otus 58mmF1.4 used. When do you decide when you need a new lens or camera?

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

When the old one wears out! The photographer makes the image, not the gear.

Yeah I have way to many 58mm lens myself lol

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

It's all too easy to acquire too many lenses!

ok so yaknow how like, a 90mm will kind of flatten a subject, like facial features, and a 35mm will kinda accentuate them? BUT the 35mm on an aps-c and a 90mm on a large format camera can potentially have about the same effective focal length? do the flatting and accentuating effects then go away, by virtue of the sensor being larger? or do those remain, and the only effect is how much area around the center of the frame is captured? i suspect its the latter, but this is the bit thats always confused me. and i apologize if my question isnt super clear - like i said, im confused haha

@NicDade

Жыл бұрын

It's not the lens focal length that causes the effect. It's the distance from the camera to the subject. Too close and the nose is overemphasized. It so happens that on 35mm film, a head & shoulders portait taken at a flattering distance and which fills most of the frame will need a lens with a focal length around 90mm. You could also, at the same distance, take a nice full length portait with a wider lens. Or an environmental portrait with an even wider lens if you extracted the head and shoulders from the environmental portrait and blew that up to the 35mm size, you've have reproduced the 90mm photo (except grainier from the enlargement).

@Crokto

Жыл бұрын

@@NicDade ahhhhhhhhhhhhh thanks ive wondered about this for a while. the optics behind all of this is still a mystery but i suspect thats more of a math and science kinda thing haha

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

As Nic says!

I think finding a 58mm or 55mm is difficult, because of prices, location to buy a used lens (you're in merry old England) and the lens's condition. If you buy one online (like eBay), you've no idea what that lens has gone through. I've often found it ironic that out of tens of thousands lenses made by canon, nikon, Pentax, Minolta and others. Certain lengths of lenses they are hard (if not impossible) to find some forty to thirty years later. If found, they are as expensive as their 21st century contemporaries. I'm not you shouldn't buy them, but if they're unaffordable, then why bother. What's with that couple who were behind you at 16:45? If they got that close to some people in the America, they would get a nasty surprise.

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I really think patience is the key when buying vintage lenses - the bargains are still out there! Thanks for looking in.

Novice query please - what adapter mount will I need to get it on my Fujifilm XE1?

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

It depends which lens you want to use and its mount - if you want to use a lens with an m42 mount you'll need an m42 to fuji x adaptor, a pk mount lens needs a pk to x mount adaptor, and so on. Hope that helps!

@user-jl6qu5nu8l

Жыл бұрын

All good with that, many thanks.

So which was your favourite

Does the Helios come in L39 mount ?

@jaymichaels5187

Жыл бұрын

Yes, but for early Zenit SLR cameras. It does not work on LTM RF cameras.

@barrycohen311

Жыл бұрын

Yes, the silver KZM version Nigel has is L39. Also known as M39 and LTM (Leica Thread Mount)

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

I should clarify - L39 applies to Leica thread mount, rangefinder lenses. My early Helios 44 has an M39 mount. It has the same thread as L39 lenses but was designed for the early Zenit SLR cameras and has (almost) the same flange distance as the later M42 mount. Although L39 and M39 have the same thread, and will screw onto any camera with that thread, they are not interchangeable because they have different flange distances and should be considered different mounts. So no, the H44 doesn't come in L39 mount, it comes in M39 mount!

@barrycohen311

Жыл бұрын

@@zenography7923 Yes, I found this out the hard way- I bought a Leica M2 body, and planned on using my M39 Jupiter-3 lens with it. The lens screwed in perfectly, But it was always a bit out of focus, even though the rangefinder patch was aligned. Thus it was non-usable on the Leica.

I could have got a 58!

@zenography7923

11 ай бұрын

There are still plenty around!

don't get wait a 58

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

😁

Your helios simbol is Valdai Yours might be a good copy but that factory has the worst reputation:)

I've got a 58mm sausage

@zenography7923

Жыл бұрын

You will need a 59mm frying pan at least - trying to squeeze it into anything less will result in burns. Go cautiously.

a wider lens with similar swirly characteristics? no mir 37 lol

Parked at the back

You've aged quite a lot in just these 5 years based on your videos. I hope its not them radioactive lenses in your collection you were playing with that causing this?