Shooting with a Russian Lens

I am the kind of person who will want an item but sit on the decision for months if not years before I am finally ready to commit. However the exception - and my weakness - relates to film SLRs. A month ago I decided to purchase the popular Helios 44-2 58mm lens and also a lens adaptor for my Sony A6000. Legacy lens are considerably cheaper than modern lens and since I could use it on both cameras it must be a more worthwhile purchase. Right, right?





In all seriousness, I was interested in purchasing another lens for my Sony. However the Helios does not fit my requirements at all as a) it is a manual focus lens (it is so difficult trying to get strangers to take a decent photo let alone with MF) and b) I wanted a wider lens and this lens is the equivalent of 87mm.

I took the lens for a day out to La Perouse and Waverley Cemetery. My boyfriend and I have actually visited 4 cemeteries over the course of three weekends now. A little strange I must admit.







The Helios 44-2 is known for swirly bokeh however, on my cropped sensor you are unable to see the full effect. This is a positive as it removes a lot of the ultra blurry / soft edges. The focus ring is 300 degrees which will definitely require some adjustment as I found it a little awkward when trying to focus from infinity to something closer.


Not sure if anything is in focus - just need practice!


Edges are quite soft (see left hand side). You can see Festival of the Winds in the background (check out Mani's post)



I am in love with this lens.