Vintage Lens on a Mirrorless Camera
I don't know about you but I couldn't find very much information on the Helios Lens with the Fuji x camera. I have a Fuji XT3 and wanted to try a vintage Russian lens because of the lens flare and unusual bokeh. My lens was from the 1990's and I bought from a Russian seller on-line. I've seen several Helios lenses on eBay and Etsy and most are shipped from Russia and the area around Russia. Make sure the lens does not have fungus or is too dusty and scratched. The Helios is a M42 lens mount so unless you have a native film camera (like a Pentax) that size you will need to buy an adapter for the lens. I bought one on eBay or Amazon and it does the job. The adapter does make the lens longer, but it is what it is. The adapter isn't too heavy and the lens itself is pretty small and light weight. This is the lens without an adapter.
Lens Flare and Bokeh
What I love most about this lens is the lens flare and bokeh. When you shoot wide open at f2 the lens flare and back ground blur are amazing. The lens isn't super tack sharp, but with the Fuji XT3 it has an old school film feel. My Helios 44-2 is a 58mm prime lens. Helios lenses were first made in the 1969 until the 1990's. I looked it up and there are more than 100 different Helios lenses. The 44-2 is pretty common to find for sale on-line and I really like the 58mm on the fuji crop sensor. Some of the bokeh swirl might be missing, but it's a fun lens with personality. Of course it's a manual focus lens. The Fuji X cameras have focus peaking, which helps to have your focus point sharp. I also zoom in with the camera dial button when I'm focusing to get the focus point just right. This is a photo from my garden with the Helios 44-2 58mm. On a crop sensor it's more like a 93mm lens on a full frame so you get some compression in the image.
Golden Hour Glow
I love to use the Helios lens before sunset. The circular lens flare is fun and I don't get this look with other lenses. I guess you could use a copper tube to make a ring of fire, but it's really not the same as the Helios lens flare you get in camera.
Vintage Lenses
What do you think of vintage lenses and the Helios lens? It's an inexpensive lens ($50 or so plus an adapter), it has a unique look, and I would recommend you trying it out!
