Album images with the legendary cult classic M42 mount Helios 44-2 58mm f/2, on a 2x crop sensor mirrorless digital camera with peak focusing.
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The Helios 44-2 58mm f/2, a pre-set manual focus legacy, said to be the most mass-produced lens ever, is a legendary Soviet-era cult classic M42-mount preset aperture lens from the Helios-44 series, produced by KMZ, MMZ, and other factories in the Soviet Union from the early 1970s through the late 1980s. Its compact, solid all-metal and glass design, based on the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2, features a 6-element, 4-group construction with 8 aperture blades. The lens has a minimum focus distance of 0.5 meters, with a magnification ratio of 1:6.5 at its closest focus point, accepts 49mm filters, and weighs approximately 270 grams.
The lens was introduced as the kit lens for the Russian-made Zenit 35mm SLR film camera series and features a well-recessed front element, almost within a semi-hood, which helps protect it from stray light. It is known for its distinctive 'swirly' bokeh, with low-contrast images that have a soft, film-like quality and a pleasant roll-off to sharpness, especially at wider apertures. Its pre-set system is managed by a clickless aperture ring at the front of the lens, and the push-to-turn pre-set ring is reversed to it.
On a 2x crop sensor 4/3 digital SLR, the 44-2 a field of view almost equivalent to a 120mm short-telephoto lens on a 35mm full frame camera, a useful focal length for portraits, travel, landscape, wildlife, event photography, or as versatile 'all-in-one' lens for photographers who want to pack it light and treat the lens as a go-to option for a single-lens setup. Images here were shot on the Olympus PEN E-P5 with the 'peak focusing' assist.
For portraiture, the focal length allows for a comfortable distance between the camera and subject for detailed, flattering images with a pleasing background blur. 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.
Album Images
The Helios-44 series lenses are 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 PentaxForums, the Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 has a Sharpness rating of 8.8, Aberrations at 8.4, Bokeh at 9.5, Handling at 8.4, and Value at 9.7.
Olympus PEN E-P5, Helios 44-2 58mm f/2
The Olympus PEN E-P5, a compact premium Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera released by Olympus in 2013, comes fitted 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), and a TruePic VI Image Processor. Image capture with the camera is further supported by a 5-axis in-body image stabilization system, similar to the one 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 camera was succeeded by the Olympus PEN E-P7 in 2021.
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