The Helios 44-2 58mm f/2, from the series of Helios-44 lenses made by KMZ, MMZ, and other factories in Soviet Russia from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, is a renowned Soviet-era cult classic M42 mount preset aperture lens. The compact and durable all-metal and glass design, based on the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2, has a 6-element, 4-group construction with 8 aperture blades. It offers a minimum focus distance of 0.5 meters with a magnification ratio of 1:6.5 at the closest focus point, accepts 49mm filters, and weighs about 270 grams. The often stiff and click-less preset ring is featured at the front of the lens.
The lens is known for its distinctive 'swirly' bokeh, strong center sharpness, and vintage rendering, characterized by moderate contrast and vignetting at wide apertures. It was introduced as the kit lens for the Russian-made Zenit 35mm SLR film camera series and features a well-recessed front element, which is almost a semi-hood to help protect it from stray light. On PentaxForums, the lens has a Sharpness rating of 8.8, an Aberrations rating of 8.4, a Bokeh rating of 9.5, a Handling rating of 8.4, and a Value rating of 9.7.
The Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 is also said to be the most mass-produced lens ever, seen in many versions and iterations, including an early 44 with 13 blades, the 44-2 as shown here, the 44M-4, 44M-6, and 44M-7. While the 'M' designation indicates a M42 mount version, the lens is also available with a 'K' designation for PK-mount versions. Often regarded as the best in terms of image control is the MC 44M-7, which has many fake versions circulating.
On a 2x crop sensor Micro 4/3 mirrorless digital, the 58mm focal length lens is almost equivalent to a 120mm short-telephoto lens on a 35mm full-frame, a useful focal length for everyday use, travel, landscape, wildlife, and event photography.
 |
 |
Just as well, if you are into portraits, the focal length allows for a comfortable distance between the camera and subject for detailed, flattering images with a pleasing background blur.
On its own, the focal length, which can be considered a versatile 'all-in-one' lens, is ideal for photographers who want to pack light and treat the lens as a go-to option for a single-lens setup. The focal length is also excellent for macro photography, for close-ups of small subjects like insects and plants, and has the potential to highlight intricate details.
The Olympus PEN E-P5, a compact premium Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera released by Olympus in 2013, comes with an advanced 16MP Live MOS sensor, a top mechanical shutter speed of 1/8000 second, an ISO Range from 100–25600 (native 200–25600, extended 100), TruePic VI Image Processor, supported by a 5-axis in-body image stabilization similar to the system on the OM-D E-M5, focus peaking for manual‐focus precision, 9 fps continuous shooting, built-in Wi-Fi, and a tilting 3.0-inch 1.04 million-dot touchscreen. The Olympus PEN E-P5 was succeeded by the Olympus PEN E-P7 in 2021.
No comments:
Post a Comment