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Helios-77M-4 50mm f/1.8 MC
This camera glass has a maximum aperture of f/1.8, which means it can capture more light than other lenses, making it great for low light photography. It has multiple lens elements and lens coating to reduce glare and improve image quality. The build quality is good and it is made to last for a long time. The resolution is sharp and clear, making it perfect for portrait and landscape photography. It is a manual focus lens, which means you have to adjust the focus yourself, but it gives you more control over the final image. This lens is a great alternative to other lenses in the market and it is worth considering if you are looking for a budget-friendly option. The manufacturing time is not mentioned, but it is a well-established lens that has been around for many years. The bokeh, which is the quality of the out-of-focus areas in the image, is good and creates a pleasing effect. There is no autofocus option, but this is not a problem for those who prefer manual focus. Overall, this photographic lens is a great option for those who want a budget-friendly, high-quality lens for their camera.
Sure, here’s my revised version of the review:
I recently acquired the Helios-77M-4 50mm f/1.8 MC lens and I must say, I’m thoroughly impressed with it. The image quality is simply fantastic – it produces some really stunning shots that have a unique character to them. The microcontrast is especially impressive, giving a sense of depth and dimensionality to the images.
However, this lens does have some quirks that you need to be aware of. Firstly, the aperture is not electronic so you’ll have to figure out the lens’ native aperture and set it manually. This can take some getting used to, especially if you’re used to working with modern lenses. Secondly, manual focusing can be a bit tricky, especially at larger apertures. I would recommend getting an adapter that has focus confirmation to simplify this.
Despite these minor challenges, I would still highly recommend this lens to anyone who is looking for that vintage look and feel in their photography. At $50, it’s a steal for the kind of output it produces. In conclusion, the Helios-77M-4 50mm f/1.8 MC lens is a fantastic piece of equipment that can enhance your photography in unique and exciting ways.
Optical design
Wide open, subjects located outside the depth of field are shown very blurred. Has 6 aperture blades, this number of blades are commonly used. Having rounded blades provides out of focus circle shape closer to a circle.
Physical characteristics
With a lens filter diameter of 52 mm commonly filter size, gives you a variety of filter options. 41 mm long, this small lens should be always in the camera bag. Weights 250 grams so consider putting to your camera bag.
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ebay.com –
71 ebay.com user rated as 4.67/5
lens-club.ru –
57 lens-club.ru user rated as 4.12/5
Ebay.com Mar 26, 2018 –
Beautifully Swirly! This lens reminds me of the 1980’s – the years of Lomo and Zenit cameras. Helios 44 was standard on the Zenit and – if I remember correctly – optional on a Zorki.
I have a drawer full of 50mm lenses, from modern Sony’s and Canons through Sigmas and all manual SLRMagic f/1.1 to older Maxxums and Rokkors all the way to classic Yashicas and Takumars. My all-time favorite is the 50mm f/1.2 Tomioka, the fastest 50 for m42 mount ever. I love the Tomioka not just for being a 1.2 but for its magic bokeh producing an impression, or rather a suggestion of gentle concentric rings capturing the viewer’s focus onto the eyes of the subject.
Now the Helios can somehow do the same trick, but at f/2 instead of f/1.2, and at 10% of the price. If you shoot mirrorless or canon or A-mount, you have no excuse. Buy one today and have fun!
One thing that I don’t like about the Helios is it’s ergonomics: the aperture and focus rings seem to be in the wrong places: aperture near the front of the lens and focus on the rear, opposite of most lenses you can encounter today. After a few minutes you will get used to it though and the lens will be pure fun!
Ebay.com Mar 21, 2013 –
Excellent lens for the artistic photographer This lens is excellent for portraits or other low depth of field work wide open. At f/2, assuming you are using it full-frame, expect blurry corners, and a sharp center. This is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on your subject and how you want to portray it. At f/5.6 and higher, the entire image will be extremely sharp, on par with the best 35mm lenses.
The quality of the out of focus areas is one of the main reasons to get this lens. Like many former USSR lenses, it is excellent. It can produce swirling out of focus highlights in some situations. The background looks as if it was painted with brush strokes.
Flare for this lens is greater than most other lenses of similar focal length. This may vary depending on your copy. My copy is single-coated. On the plus side, the front element is recessed, providing an ad-hoc lens hood. Still, it’s better to also attach a real lens hood if flare is a concern. Then you won’t need to worry about flare, unless your light source is in the frame.
Build quality is good – solid metal, and compact.
If you are looking for absolute sharpness wide open, I don’t recommend this. It excels at artistic effect. If sharpness is what matters to you, you’d be better off buying a good 50mm f/1.4 and using it at f/2.0 or f/2.8.
In summary, you get two lenses in one – a super sharp f/5.6+ and an artistic low-dof f/2.0.
Ebay.com Feb 03, 2020 –
Excellent value, widely available. A no-brainer! All lenses in the Helios 44M series are known to be spectacular value for the money, giving images a great deal of character due in large part from the highly sought-after swirly bokeh. In the case of the 44M-4, the lens is better known for its more desirable contrast and sharpness, while the 44M-2 is better known for the quality of the “swirl” in the bokeh. Still, though, you can never go wrong with either of these lenses, whether you’re shooting on APS-C or FF, though the evidence of swirl will be less prominent on the former. Build quality is second-to-none; if you get the right copy, the focus ring is smooth as silk, the aperture ring clicks nicely at each stop, and the compact size of the lens makes it all the better. You’ll see some softness wide open from both members of the series as expected, and considering the issues of quality control during the many years of manufacturing, each lens tends to offer different results. Nonetheless, as iterated previously, the character provided by these lenses is truly astonishing. Simply put: both models are must buys!
Ebay.com Sep 20, 2014 –
Beautifully made European lens and image quality. Easy to use on Canon DSLR A classic European lens; the Helios 44M series is possibly the MOST mass produced standard lens in the history of photography. It’s a German design refined by the Russian optical industry. It was the standard lens on Zenit 35mm SLR cameras for decades. It has been rediscovered in the last few years as a brilliant lens to adapt to modern DSLR digital cameras. The soft quality and extraordinairy “bokeh” of this lens is legendary. But make no mistake, if you stop it down to f/8 it’s a sharp performer too. it fits well to my Canon EOS 5D Mk I body. The one I bought from a Ukraine seller was a Chrome model from 1960. This all metal lens will blow you away with its size, weight and durability. F stop clicks are nearly silent for shooting video, and focus is smooth, though a bit stiff on my copy. You may find some scratch marks or imperfections on your lens as I did. This means you got a good one! Back in Soviet Russia production numbers were more important than quality construction. So often a photographer would take home a Zenit SLR with 4 or more copies of a lens to test! When he found the best one he would return the others. Often photographers would lend each other a good sample of a lens. So a heavily used lens meant it was good from the factory. So don’t be afraid of a few small scratches. The seller I bought this from adjusted focus for Canon DSLR mounts. He also included an M39 to M42 lens thread adaptor so I could mount it right to my Canon and shoot. Great for low light portraits since the focal length is a bit longer than 50mm and helps minimize spatial distortion. It focuses close too. Just put your camera in “M” or “A” mode and make some old school low light photos. It’s one tenth the price of a new Canon 50mm 1.4, and though not as fast, it has a unique image quality modern lenses can’t match.
Ebay.com May 01, 2018 –
Fantastic piece of equipment Awesome image quality. The way the lens handles light can get you some really sick shots. The microcontrast is fantastic.Can be a bit hard to figure out exposure with the aperture not being electronic at all, you’ll have to figure out your lens’ native aperture, and the manual focusing can be hard with larger apertures so you’ll want to make sure to get an adapter with focus confirmation but once you get used to it it’s not too bad and totally worth it. Definitely a great buy for $50.