Why Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 is Special?

Many various lenses have been manufactured in the Soviet Union. Speaking of Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 you will be pleased with experience while playing with sunlight. It allows you to receive wonderful flares that allow you to create interesting images. However, it is important to remember that this lens is not suitable for everything.

Another feature that is important to highlight is sharpness. While capturing close up images the focus quality is really impressive and Helios copes with that at f/2 maximum aperture with low light shots. However, at the corners, you may notice that objects fall out of the focus and become a little bit blurry.

With a clickless aperture adjustment, it is not difficult to adjust the focus while the objects are moving and the light is changing. This feature in most cases present in the cine lens, therefore you will be surprised to have it in Helios 44-2. That is why it is suitable not only for taking pictures but also for making wonderful videos.

A great number of modern lenses have an auto-focus system with short through. It ensures that internal motors focus automatically on the object very quickly. If you take photos, it is a good feature, however, for video it is not. You simply lose control over the manual focus and with unprecise movement, you need to start shooting all over again. While with the manual focus system like Helios 44-2 has, you may not worry about that. It also has a hard stop, which is particularly useful when using a follow focus with the distance marks.

There is an idea that in order to make a good quality of image you need to buy modern and expensive glass. It is not actually true and Helios proves that. In most cases, lenses with an autofocus system are expensive due to their internal motors. Manual lenses may be less convenient to operate for photographers but they great for cinematographers who prefer to focus manually anyway and they will save you money.

  • HELIOS 44-2 58mm T2.1 – MKII Rehousing Iron GlassHELIOS 44-2 58mm T2.1 – MKII Rehousing Iron Glass 2
    From $2,900

    Important: The estimated delivery for MKII lenses is 16-18 months.

    The all-new and improved MKII Rehousing. Same legendary, unique Soviet optics, but even better mechanics, improvements and new features, including:

    • Completely New & Improved Design
    • Internal Focusing System
    • Full clip-on Matte Box compatibility
    • Shimmable Stainless Steel PL / EF mounts
    • Increased 300-degree focus ring rotation
    • Unified Focus and Iris Ring positioning on all lenses
    • Improved Close Focus
    • T-stop markings
    • Reverse direction focus scales

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