Helios 44-2, a vintage lens produced in USSR starting from the 50s. Why on earth would you use it for travel photography?! Well, this is a lens with a character and it can be adapted to almost any modern camera.

For its low cost, it can bring some new look to your work. So, here is my Helios 44-2 review, I would explain how and why you can use it for travel photography, as well as give some practical pieces of advice.

This post contains affiliate links at the very end.

About the review

Many of my readers are here because of travel photography, so I decided to start making posts about photo gear. It is not a “classic” review about specs and sharpness (etc.). Professional reviewers have time, resources and the audience for that. Instead, I will share my thoughts about the gear and what it can add to your travel photography. All images in my review are retouched.

This is my first gear review, and it is about the product I really love using. I would really appreciate hearing your feedback, it would help to develop this review further.

Why vintage lens?

Well, most of the people shoot with popular cameras and lenses, as a result, the images look similar. As soon as you use some sort of non-ordinary equipment – your photos stand out. The vintage lenses don’t have image quality as modern ones, they may have some optical imperfections and are optimized for the film. But the image you get has some interesting, different look.

Helios 44, swirly bokeh and more

Helios 44 is extremely popular because of its low price and strong character. People love it mostly for its swirly bokeh and low contrast. These qualities made it popular for portraits. Lack of sharpness hides skin imperfections (when modern sharp lenses may emphasize them). Out-of-focus areas look unusual and swirly effect adds additional accent to the subject in the center.
In this post, I talk about Helios 44-2 since it is the most popular modification and that is the one I have the most experience with.  I bought mine for around 35 euro.
NOTE: 44-2 is the model number, the focal length is 58mm, f2

Helios 44-2 review for travel photography

Travel photography is a bit of everything, street, landscape, portraits, documentary. Basically anything, that can bring an atmosphere of a remote location. Travel photographers have a lot of freedom in selecting the tools, compared to photographers specializing in one thing. I think Helios 44-2 can be a good addition to any interchangeable lens camera travel kit.
I carry my Helios in my bag most of the time and I personally like using it for several cases:

• Low contrast portraits, including portraits in low light
• For adding an additional accent to the subject in the center
• When I feel like I can benefit from the swirly bokeh
• When I want to give to the image the low-contrast vintage look
  (for the vintage look, at daytime, I often prefer another soviet lens – Industar 50mm 3.5, it is wider and sharper in the corners)

Here are some examples:

Here is a comparison with Canon 50mm 1.8 STM, taken with the same settings. On Canon lens, the highlights got a little blown out, but on Helios 44-2 not. I guess because of the low contrast. The similar processing was applied to both images.

Again, compared to Canon 50mm f1.8 STM. On this image, the swirly bokeh effect can be hardly seen, but still, subject in the center gets more attention. (Images have similar processing).

The swirly effect can make extreme weather conditions look more dramatic. Imagine how it would look at snowstorm or heavy rain.

Out of focus areas and Helioses famous swirly bokeh

Helios 44-2 swirly bokeh effect is achieved primarily with the aperture around f2-2.8. This is a manual focus lens, so getting things in focus can be quite challenging. I use DSLR, which means no focus peaking. I decided that I only focus on subjects that stay in place.

If I shoot a scene a few meters away from me – I can focus reasonably fast. When I shoot a tight portrait – it is quite a challenge, a slight movement can get a person’s eye out of focus.

The swirly bokeh effect comes out the best on a full-frame camera. It is more difficult on an APS-C sensor, but still possible. The out-of-focus areas would still look nice though

There is a cool feature on the lens, that allows you to lock the range, in which you can change the aperture. Since I have it mostly around 2-2.8 – I keep the maximum aperture as 2.8. At f4 it gets sharper in the corners and I occasionally use it for landscapes.
I think it is all beautifully explained in this video:

Flare and work against bright light

There is no modern coating and the lens flare is huge. I either avoid working against bright light or try to incorporate the flare into the composition. I haven’t achieved much of success, to be honest. But if you google “Helios flare” you would see some beautiful examples.

Handling

When we talk about a good travel camera – many will think about size and weight. I think the same applies to the vintage lenses. You don’t want to carry a large lens, which you use only occasionally.
I carry a full-frame DSLR + lenses and I hate the idea of adding more weight. Helios 44 is compact, weighs around 200 grams and fits in any bag.

Everyone has their own way of traveling, but I think your gear has to be ready for a sudden rain and has dust resistance (imagine going to a beach). This is a simple manual focus lens, although it is not splash resistant – there isn’t much that can go wrong, there are no electronics. Helios 44-2 is not dust resistant, so be really careful, the sand can easily get into the mechanism.

Also, I was unlucky to find out, that vibration can break it. Once, I have quite carelessly put the lens to the bottom of my photo bag. Because of vibration (in an old bus in Russia) – all the glass elements felt out of the lens. Since that, I am trying to be more careful with it.

Maintenance

If you deal with vintage lenses, at some point, you have to think about maintenance. Type in the search: “vintage camera shop” and call them. They will do repairs or recommend someone who does. In Russia, I got the glass elements put back into the lens body for 5 euro. Helios lenses were produced in very large quantities, and since Helios 44-2 is very popular, there are many spare parts around the world.

Adapting Helios 44-2

Note that there are different modifications of Helios 44, some have different than M42 mounts.
You can find more information here.
The majority are using Helios 44-2, but there are also people, who prefer bokeh and build of other modifications.

On full-frame. The swirly bokeh effect is most visible the full-frame cameras at f2-f2.8. Further f-stops reduce this effect significantly. Lens center is quite sharp.

On APS-C. On crop sensors, the bokeh is less visible, but still possible to achieve. Lens center is still quite sharp.

On micro 4/3. I haven’t seen any good examples of swirly bokeh on micro 4/3. But despite that, I saw many people adapting Helios.

Helios 44-2 filter size

The filter size for Helios 44-2 is 49 mm. It is cool because you can use the same filters as Sony 50mm 1.8 and Canon 50mm 1.8 STM (post about this lens will come)

Soviet lenses Facebook group

I have crated a Facebook group, where we exchange pictures made with Soviet lenses. Be a part of our community!

Affiliate links: lenses, adapters, accessories

If you liked the review and would like to purchase the lens, please consider using the link below. It doesn’t cost you extra but helps this blog to bring more content.

HELIOS 44-2 ON EBAY (except Nikon)

Helios 44-2 has M42 mount, which can be easily put onto a DSLR or a mirrorless camera with an adapter. There is no communication between the lens and the camera so you can get the cheapest adapter.

Helios 44-2 for Canon EF. My adapter for Canon costs 1 euro.

M42 TO CANON EF ADAPTER ON EBAY

Helios 44-2 for Nikon F mount. By default, there is an issue with infinity focus. To make it work, the lens has to be modified. The modified copies can be found on eBay.

HELIOS 44-2 WITH NIKON INFINITY FOCUS ON EBAY
M42 TO NIKON F ADAPTER

Helios 44-2 for Sony E mount. Because of the short flange distance on mirrorless cameras – the adapter is slightly larger.

M42 TO SONY E MOUNT ADAPTER ON EBAY

Fuji X mount. M42 TO FUJI X MOUNT ADAPTER ON EBAY

Micro 4/3 mount. M42 TO MICRO 4/3 ADAPTER ON EBAY

Lens case. To keep the lens save, I would recommend getting a small protective case. I got mine for less than 3 Eur. It doesn’t take much space but would keep the vintage glass safe.

SMALL LENS PROTECTION BAG ON EBAY

Let’s connect

If you want to discuss, exchange experience with Soviet lenses – join the facebook group.

Helios 44-2, more sample images

Helios 44-2 on APC-S camera, sample images

Images provided by Anna, check out her instagram. 

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