Really enjoyed your lens review and I’m glad that you changed your mind. I was lucky enough to purchase this lens about 3 weeks ago. My copy was manufactured in 1964 and came with a similar case and the three filters. While I’m very much a stills photographer, your beautifully produced video really portrays the dream like imagery from this lens. As you explained, it’s the combination of shallow depth-of-field, sharp centre and slightly blurred edges as well as the swirly Bokeh that appears in the right conditions. Definitely a heavy, almost over-the-top lens - it justly sits at the pinnacle of my vintage lens collection.
Thank you for the nice review. Old USSR chemical blue coating makes it render warm white balance, newer versions of this lens do not have it, but be careful this blue coating is very easy to scratch, or even remove with acetone or isopropyl alcohol ... It is fun lens to use with big draw backs of size and weight... I sold my version of the lens... Because I found much lighter and more versatile "Swirly bokeh monster" - nikkor Ai-s 85mm f1.4 stacked with 0.7 speed booster F to Z mount, this one swirls even more than Helios, but only 1:1 ration on the FF, but nikkor Ai-s 105/1.8 and 135/2 already covering full FF sensors...
It is a really lovely lens and self defense device. You may find yourself enjoying the Canon FL 58mm f/1.2. It also exhibits swirls and usually costs a lot less than other f/1.2 lenses and definitely a lot less than the Helios-40 (albeit isn't 85mm).
One of my favourite old lens with the trioplan 100, but unfortunately I don't use them as often as I want. Superb footage, I really like the story telling and the colours.
Your video was breath-taking! Loved the way that lens rendered everything form skin tones to foliage etc. Really nice work, and your scenes selections were outstanding. You really have a good eye for cinematography. I just got the Helios 44M-5 and it seems very nice as well so maybe it will pair with my Takumar 85 1.9? You have me thingking, which is awesome! Thanks for sharing this and your thoughts on the lens.
I take my Biotar 75 everywhere. Actually I got used to it so much that any other focal length feels weird. I even bought the samyang 75 for more sharpness wide open and autofocus when needed. And the biotar it is very sharp starting from f4. Happy to know I am not the only one carrying bokeh monster with me. Also, biotar is much lighter.
@@MathieuStern Biotar 75mm f1.5 It's more expensive, but colours and contrast are better... The only issue, the price is very much exaggerated ... For what it can do, It doesn't cost the money asked for it... That's why I didn't buy it after using for 2 days rental...
@@gheorghiualex unless some Chinese company will pick up the design and make it under other name... Like tt / 7 artisan, or mitakon do by utilizing classic Sonnar, tweeked and boosted Gauss etc designs for their lenses.... Or someone like Meyer optics will announce restart of Trioplan production...
I got one of these lenses about 2yrs ago after watching a video you did on these lenses, I used it on a Sony a6000 with a speed booster to eliminate the crop factor. I have since upgraded to the Fuji GFX 50r, and I really want to see if its image will fit properly on the medium-format sensor, but I don't want to buy an adapter and then find out that the lens won't work properly and can't cover the large sensor. So if anyone has experience with the Helios-40 on a Fuji GFX please let me know if it works or not!
One of the few things that picked my interest in the ɑ system was the community that started exploring all these older lenses with the sony bodies, while before we all mostly stayed in our own "walled gardens". I haven't invested on a ɑ camera, but love to discover new lenses in your videos
Yeah that lens can do a lot more. I made very nice macro photos and video with it. It can also make a very dreamy look when filming details, like you showed here very nicely. I never used it for portrait at all.
Yeah I also love it for it's flexibility! I got the 40-2 which might be around the same, except the color. But I think it's not coated at all, so you get a strong loss of contrast when you get close to the lightsource. But still a great lens! 👌
I have long admired the Helios 40 for its imaging capabilities, and although I have seen many pictures made with this lens, only a few have really stood out as exceptional. There is more to the Helios 40 than bokeh. It is now a very expensive lens, with very few copies in good condition for sale, and it bothers me that it has become a cult collectors item. I don’t have one, although I can achieve the same Biotar type of optical rendering in the shorter focal length 58mm Helios 44.
I have this lens and love it! I actually just shot a short film using it, the Helios 44-2, and Mir 1B with my Great Joy 1.35x anamorphic adapter, however the adapter needs you to really be at f/2.8 - f/4 at the widest, otherwise it's way too soft. Which unfortunately meant losing a lot of the lovely swirl.
I have the same version as you, mine has a srn: 624117, though the glass is a bit less yellow. Lovely lens, it s rendering is really much more rich than just the swirly bokeh and you showed it very well.
Very dreamlike. Not sharp, but gives a cozy mood. I like it. Definitely show us what you get with the anamorphic adapter. I know you'll be limited to f/2.8, but I'm curious to see what you'll get with it.
I should use this lens more. I just don't really like the 85mm focal length. Even on the GFX (about a 67mm equivalent), it's too tight for my shooting style. Maybe if I use it more I'll grow to enjoy that focal length more.
I noticed the "face-on" shot of the lens on a white background seemed to show the elements have a distinct, warm filtration effect from the "radioactive" glass. Do you find this a strong part of the lens' appeal, or have you considered U.V.-ing it to make it clear again? Seems to me that a neutral starting point would allow for warming in post but would avoid *having* to remove it in post if it's *not* wanted, but taste is subjective. Just wondering...
Beautiful film, you really get a soft, dreamy look with this lens. I would love to see you try out some French lenses like Angenieux or SOM Berthiot. Im a happy owner of a Angenieux 17-68mm f2.2 Type 4x17B (for 16mm film) it has simular dreamy anolog film look too it.
@MathieuStern how did such early lens makers test or get such fine results? the rendering it can produce was overkill for anything even two decades later!
we used this lens extensively on the 'To Outlive The Gods' video for My Dying Bride in conjunction with a rathenower anamorphic scope. it's an absolute tank and the weight is quite the limitation.
You have the helios-40 with blue coatings, try to find a silver one with purple/orange coatings - the glass is not as yellow and it has much better colours.
I loved mine, and I have many nice memories of portraits taken either it, but the weight killed me. My bad back punished me every time and after a few years I sold it. I miss it, but it would just be sitting on a shelf, if I had kept it.
PRODUCER/CLIENT/CUSTOMER: Hey, we showed that last edit to the team and everybody thinks it looks great, except we've all agreed that swirly-blurry effects filter you used on some of the clips is a no-go. Delete that and re-render and we think we're ready to release! YOU: Uh, there's a problem with that...
I own this lens and it is a BEAST. Very heavy and, if I am honest, cumbersome. But, it's so beautiful that I just can't be mad at it. I do not like how uneven it feels on my mirrorless cameras, however, so I usually shoot it on an old Canon 5D Mark II. Sure, that makes the whole set up even heavier, but it just feels better in the hands that way and manual focusing is not a problem with the right adapter and a good focusing screen.
Amazing photos and videos as usual. I bought my lens a few months ago and only used it a few times 😢. However, seeing your video inspired me to use it more 🙏
I brought one of these back from Ukraine with me, and love it. Sadly that one was stolen. So I had a friend in Ukraine send me another one, and that one is sitting on my workbench needing repairs. Holy cow do I need to get that lens working again it is easily in my top five lenses ever
I believe that many of the internal components are machined from steel or brass, which may contribute something like 30-45% of the lens weight. The cyclop 85 1.5 (same glass, stripped down body) weighs significantly less, and still has an excessively robust aluminum lens body.
thank you for the nice video. I have a Helios 40 but never use it, tbh, favoring a Tak 85 but now i'm inspired. I'm going to spend a day with my Helios
J ai trouvé un 44M4 attaché à son boitier pour 30 euros. J ai passé une semaine avec et effectivement il y a bien plus à decouvrir que le bokeh caracteristique. Vos images sont superbes et les couleurs ❤❤❤. Avez vous connaissance d un grand angle (adapté sur mirrorless)qui pourrait completer une serie dans ce genre ? Meme sibje conçoit bien que le royaume des grands angles vintages s adapte mal en nulerique
Hi Mathieu, Love your work.... I'm a big fan of the helios 40-2. There's a certain 'je ne sais quoi' that keeps bringing me back to it......I think no one would dispute that wide open, it is a low contrast lens and that probably contributes to it's dreamy look. What if one was to line the inside of the lens with Musuo dark paint/ flocking material. It would still flare, it's swirl, the 3d pop, the softness, the colour reproduction would still be there but more contrast. Would love to hear your opinion.
I had this lens and sold it because I couldn't stomach the cost. The contrast sucked, the colours sucked, it weighed over a kilo, and it was $300 sunk into a lens I hated using. Honestly though, somehow I still regret letting it go, and not because the prices have since increased.
My Patreon : www.patreon.com/mathieustern
This was a beautifully shot video. And it’s not because of the lens.
Really enjoyed your lens review and I’m glad that you changed your mind. I was lucky enough to purchase this lens about 3 weeks ago. My copy was manufactured in 1964 and came with a similar case and the three filters. While I’m very much a stills photographer, your beautifully produced video really portrays the dream like imagery from this lens. As you explained, it’s the combination of shallow depth-of-field, sharp centre and slightly blurred edges as well as the swirly Bokeh that appears in the right conditions. Definitely a heavy, almost over-the-top lens - it justly sits at the pinnacle of my vintage lens collection.
Ordinary things become extraordinary through this lens. I use it very often. Very special with extension tubes for dreamy flower macro.
Totally agree!
lovely footage!
Wow thanks a lot, Have you ever tried this lens before?
Thank you for the nice review.
Old USSR chemical blue coating makes it render warm white balance, newer versions of this lens do not have it, but be careful this blue coating is very easy to scratch, or even remove with acetone or isopropyl alcohol ...
It is fun lens to use with big draw backs of size and weight... I sold my version of the lens... Because I found much lighter and more versatile "Swirly bokeh monster" - nikkor Ai-s 85mm f1.4 stacked with 0.7 speed booster F to Z mount, this one swirls even more than Helios, but only 1:1 ration on the FF, but nikkor Ai-s 105/1.8 and 135/2 already covering full FF sensors...
I have this lens And I like this lens the most.😍😍😍
wow, did you make a video about your lens ?
I really enjoyed the footage! Looks dreamlike
New video! A lovely way to start the day. Always happy to see you highlight beautifully strange lenses, Mathieu.
Wow! The video shot on this lens is just simply ethereal and dreamy! Amazing! Really loving the beautiful images!
It is a really lovely lens and self defense device. You may find yourself enjoying the Canon FL 58mm f/1.2. It also exhibits swirls and usually costs a lot less than other f/1.2 lenses and definitely a lot less than the Helios-40 (albeit isn't 85mm).
Haha that’s a lethal weapon ! Thanks for the tip
One of my favourite old lens with the trioplan 100, but unfortunately I don't use them as often as I want. Superb footage, I really like the story telling and the colours.
Loving your channel, from a fellow vintage lens addict 😊
Your video was breath-taking! Loved the way that lens rendered everything form skin tones to foliage etc. Really nice work, and your scenes selections were outstanding. You really have a good eye for cinematography. I just got the Helios 44M-5 and it seems very nice as well so maybe it will pair with my Takumar 85 1.9? You have me thingking, which is awesome! Thanks for sharing this and your thoughts on the lens.
I take my Biotar 75 everywhere. Actually I got used to it so much that any other focal length feels weird. I even bought the samyang 75 for more sharpness wide open and autofocus when needed. And the biotar it is very sharp starting from f4. Happy to know I am not the only one carrying bokeh monster with me. Also, biotar is much lighter.
I am waiting for the new biotar 75mm by Meier optic
@@MathieuStern unfortunately they will never make this lens.
@@MathieuStern Biotar 75mm f1.5 It's more expensive, but colours and contrast are better... The only issue, the price is very much exaggerated ... For what it can do, It doesn't cost the money asked for it... That's why I didn't buy it after using for 2 days rental...
@@gheorghiualex unless some Chinese company will pick up the design and make it under other name... Like tt / 7 artisan, or mitakon do by utilizing classic Sonnar, tweeked and boosted Gauss etc designs for their lenses....
Or someone like Meyer optics will announce restart of Trioplan production...
Beautiful lens, beautiful scenery and beautiful production as always.
Glad you like them!
I got one of these lenses about 2yrs ago after watching a video you did on these lenses, I used it on a Sony a6000 with a speed booster to eliminate the crop factor. I have since upgraded to the Fuji GFX 50r, and I really want to see if its image will fit properly on the medium-format sensor, but I don't want to buy an adapter and then find out that the lens won't work properly and can't cover the large sensor. So if anyone has experience with the Helios-40 on a Fuji GFX please let me know if it works or not!
What a cool lens, it almost makes you feel like you're watching a dream.
a very heavy dream
One of the few things that picked my interest in the ɑ system was the community that started exploring all these older lenses with the sony bodies, while before we all mostly stayed in our own "walled gardens". I haven't invested on a ɑ camera, but love to discover new lenses in your videos
Beautiful video. I actually don't love the swirly look but I loved how you used it in other ways 🙂
Glad you liked it!! thats was the point, I wanted to force myself to not stop at the swirly bokeh aspect and discover more about it's capacities
I have this lens in M42 that I use on an APS-C camera. Unfortunately the crop makes it very hard to take a swirly bokeh photo
♥️✌️🇺🇦 RetroFotoHouse from Ukraine ROCKS! One of the best vintage lens workshops
I have many old vintage lenses like this one - Keep telling myself I should use this one a bit more as well
Yeah that lens can do a lot more. I made very nice macro photos and video with it. It can also make a very dreamy look when filming details, like you showed here very nicely. I never used it for portrait at all.
Yeah I also love it for it's flexibility! I got the 40-2 which might be around the same, except the color. But I think it's not coated at all, so you get a strong loss of contrast when you get close to the lightsource. But still a great lens! 👌
Thanks for sharing!!
I have long admired the Helios 40 for its imaging capabilities, and although I have seen many pictures made with this lens, only a few have really stood out as exceptional. There is more to the Helios 40 than bokeh. It is now a very expensive lens, with very few copies in good condition for sale, and it bothers me that it has become a cult collectors item. I don’t have one, although I can achieve the same Biotar type of optical rendering in the shorter focal length 58mm Helios 44.
I have this lens and love it! I actually just shot a short film using it, the Helios 44-2, and Mir 1B with my Great Joy 1.35x anamorphic adapter, however the adapter needs you to really be at f/2.8 - f/4 at the widest, otherwise it's way too soft. Which unfortunately meant losing a lot of the lovely swirl.
I have the same version as you, mine has a srn: 624117, though the glass is a bit less yellow. Lovely lens, it s rendering is really much more rich than just the swirly bokeh and you showed it very well.
Helios lenses , general, are a magic on the earth. Thanks for beautiful video
Very dreamlike. Not sharp, but gives a cozy mood. I like it. Definitely show us what you get with the anamorphic adapter.
I know you'll be limited to f/2.8, but I'm curious to see what you'll get with it.
This was so utterly dreamy. I feel like I've watched a Terrence Malick film.
I should use this lens more. I just don't really like the 85mm focal length. Even on the GFX (about a 67mm equivalent), it's too tight for my shooting style. Maybe if I use it more I'll grow to enjoy that focal length more.
I was thinking the same, so you should try
I noticed the "face-on" shot of the lens on a white background seemed to show the elements have a distinct, warm filtration effect from the "radioactive" glass.
Do you find this a strong part of the lens' appeal, or have you considered U.V.-ing it to make it clear again?
Seems to me that a neutral starting point would allow for warming in post but would avoid *having* to remove it in post if it's *not* wanted, but taste is subjective. Just wondering...
Beautiful film, you really get a soft, dreamy look with this lens. I would love to see you try out some French lenses like Angenieux or SOM Berthiot. Im a happy owner of a Angenieux 17-68mm f2.2 Type 4x17B (for 16mm film) it has simular dreamy anolog film look too it.
I'll check it out!
Over the decades, I have avoided lenses with swirly bokeh. However, this video has inspired me to add one to my lens inventory.
That blue metal coating 😍
I just love my Helios 85mm. One of my favorite lenses:-D
@MathieuStern how did such early lens makers test or get such fine results? the rendering it can produce was overkill for anything even two decades later!
we used this lens extensively on the 'To Outlive The Gods' video for My Dying Bride in conjunction with a rathenower anamorphic scope. it's an absolute tank and the weight is quite the limitation.
Your work is fantastic!! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
thank you so much
Beautiful lens. My first thought before you said it was "flashback lens". Love the colours too
Right?! it made me say wow everything i was looking in the viewfinder when i was shooting, it was like living a flashback but right in the moment
I wish I could use such a lens for weddings so beautiful 😍
Merveilleux! Merci Mathieu! Un coucou de Berlin!
Merci ! J’adore Berlin !
You have the helios-40 with blue coatings, try to find a silver one with purple/orange coatings - the glass is not as yellow and it has much better colours.
Got the chance to use this while traveling. It's truly insane but, since im studying, the 800USD price tag is off my charts :(
I’m an Olympus m/ft shooter, but keep a ff z6 just for lenses like this. I hate to lose any bit of character in the crop.
I loved mine, and I have many nice memories of portraits taken either it, but the weight killed me. My bad back punished me every time and after a few years I sold it. I miss it, but it would just be sitting on a shelf, if I had kept it.
I call it the Ibuprofen lens.
if you drop it on your foot, you will need a lot of it :)
PRODUCER/CLIENT/CUSTOMER: Hey, we showed that last edit to the team and everybody thinks it looks great, except we've all agreed that swirly-blurry effects filter you used on some of the clips is a no-go. Delete that and re-render and we think we're ready to release!
YOU: Uh, there's a problem with that...
I own this lens and it is a BEAST. Very heavy and, if I am honest, cumbersome. But, it's so beautiful that I just can't be mad at it. I do not like how uneven it feels on my mirrorless cameras, however, so I usually shoot it on an old Canon 5D Mark II. Sure, that makes the whole set up even heavier, but it just feels better in the hands that way and manual focusing is not a problem with the right adapter and a good focusing screen.
Great video! I can see what you mean when you say this lens captures the perfect memory
Amazing photos and videos as usual. I bought my lens a few months ago and only used it a few times 😢. However, seeing your video inspired me to use it more 🙏
Great to hear!
I brought one of these back from Ukraine with me, and love it. Sadly that one was stolen. So I had a friend in Ukraine send me another one, and that one is sitting on my workbench needing repairs. Holy cow do I need to get that lens working again it is easily in my top five lenses ever
The metal isn't what makes that lens so heavy; it's the glass. The lens elements are chunky.
I believe that many of the internal components are machined from steel or brass, which may contribute something like 30-45% of the lens weight. The cyclop 85 1.5 (same glass, stripped down body) weighs significantly less, and still has an excessively robust aluminum lens body.
thank you for the nice video. I have a Helios 40 but never use it, tbh, favoring a Tak 85 but now i'm inspired. I'm going to spend a day with my Helios
Glad it was helpful!
Imagine using the Jupiter 6 lens
Stunning
Très belle vidéo et ce n'est pas seulement grâce à l'objectif ,bravo .
Lovely! :)
Thanks for the video!
Glad you liked it!
Good specimen. Do enjoy the yellow that the blue coatings give.
I do!
Awesom! can't wait to see it as anamorphic!
Hope One day i Will own this lens
J ai trouvé un 44M4 attaché à son boitier pour 30 euros. J ai passé une semaine avec et effectivement il y a bien plus à decouvrir que le bokeh caracteristique.
Vos images sont superbes et les couleurs ❤❤❤.
Avez vous connaissance d un grand angle (adapté sur mirrorless)qui pourrait completer une serie dans ce genre ? Meme sibje conçoit bien que le royaume des grands angles vintages s adapte mal en nulerique
Hi Mathieu, Love your work....
I'm a big fan of the helios 40-2. There's a certain 'je ne sais quoi' that keeps bringing me back to it......I think no one would dispute that wide open, it is a low contrast lens and that probably contributes to it's dreamy look. What if one was to line the inside of the lens with Musuo dark paint/ flocking material. It would still flare, it's swirl, the 3d pop, the softness, the colour reproduction would still be there but more contrast. Would love to hear your opinion.
Interesting Idea ! I will check if thats possible
I had this lens and sold it because I couldn't stomach the cost. The contrast sucked, the colours sucked, it weighed over a kilo, and it was $300 sunk into a lens I hated using. Honestly though, somehow I still regret letting it go, and not because the prices have since increased.
Did you know you can flip the Helios front and rear elements to give a very cool bokeh
the helios 44-2 ?
It would be nice if you mentioned the lens in the description too
You mean a link or just the name ?
I used this lens for anamorphic. 1.33 is ok but 2x will never work. I used iscorama 2x deep focus is only use.
The lens is so good
Beautiful video!
Thank you very much!
Does that lens have thorium?
Pls do more videos like this just like in the good old days...😢
Well it’s not the good old days if I am still making these videos today
@@MathieuStern well that's true 🫠
Can u make review of most common of old Helios lenses?
I did a comparaison video of all the Helios 44-2 but i can make a broader one
@@MathieuStern ya I watch this video and it’s was super helpful! Thx
I wish someone would tell me what the "right conditions" are for the Helios to produce the swirls
Bright lights in the background or lots of detail
If your photography revolves around ' broken ', then this is useful lens, otherwise it is best left at home.
broken lens will not work :)
This lens is the Monster!!!
1st 4k upload on this channel, right ?
not really, but maybe the ones before where not properly compressed
dang 00:20
Watch in 4K !
Big love from Kurdistan 💚☀️❤
Certains disent que la Biotar 75mm était le king of Bokeh?… sinon l’hélios 40 est super rétro… j’adore mais j’ai déjà trop de M42 lens ;)… 4 en 58 mm
J’ai besoin de tester celui là aussi !
Nice vidéo bro try test flectogan ziss jena ddr 35mm f2.4 is Great lens
Will try
nice one.
Amazing
Лучший для портретов !
Do you re spool your own 126 film cartridges or was your wife shooting with no film?
I had some expired 126 film to shoot in the camera
Obviously it’s a tank, it’s russian🥰
Dreamy
mmm blurry
me want . . .
trust me, I know the feeling, i wanted this lens for so long
@@MathieuStern im in korea, and the import taxes will kill me, if not for that, i would have grabbed one :/
First view!
Yes you are!
26th lol