the Helios 44-2 2/58 is probably my most underutilized lens in my repertoire. difficult to manually focus in the night time, but it produces incredible bokehs if you're willing to work for it (and by working for it, i mean taking several shots until you get the properly focused shot). prior to my residency in the realm of manual film photography, the Helios generally stayed in the dry box on account that i simply wasn't digging it as much as i thought i would - only taking it out a handful of times for some half-baked experimentations. manually focusing through the dim viewfinder of my EOS 400D means i get wrongly focused shots half of the time, plus the general narrowness of a 58mm lens in a crop sensor camera meant that this was ultimately a purchase for novelty's sake.
fast forward to 2015 - a little more seasoned in the manual focusing department thanks to my year in film photography, a full frame arsenal in my bag, and a deep sense of ennui all culminated into my digging out the Helios from its premature resting ground once again. it is as how i remembered it - still a bitch to use, especially in low light. that being said, when the shots came together, the results leave me incredibly satisfied. the shallow f/2 depth of field takes some work, but once you make the correct focus, the pictures come out sharp, though there is a hint of softness in the focus. generally the pictures have a layer of grey tint that softens the images, and when focused directly into a moderate light source produces a sort of "light leak" which occurs at the center of the photograph. the light leak - useful as it may be for certain aesthetics - can be rather frustrating at times, though it can be easily circumvented if one reduces the exposure or adjusts the position of the light source. being a non-native lens, proper exposure may be a little bit tricky as intentionally over- or underexposing may unexpectedly produce correctly exposed images, i've also taken pictures when the exposure is accurate as represented by the camera's exposure meter. makes for fun experimenting if you're generally up for it.
some years ago, another lens captured my imagination - the Helios 85/1.5. following the images down the rabbit hole ultimately led me to the Helios 44-2, and film photography in general. looking back, the Helios was meant to be a permanent fixture for the EOS 500N, though that camera wasn't as long lived as i expected it to, no thanks to the Flexaret VII - a minor distraction that completely overshadowed the prowess of this Russian lens. maybe i'm just going through yet another photography equipment phase, but judging by the first batch of photographs, it feels like i'm getting out of a photography funk i've been enveloped in since the end of 2014. but that's for the next entry (if i ever get to it).
