HELIOS 44-2 58mm f2 Lens for M42mm or digital SLRs

Listing is a Helios 44-2 58mm f2 lens 7607944 made in USSR...........................................This is one of the early versions with a manual diaphragm. There are some light oil smears on diaphragm blades but as this lens does not have an auto-diaphragm there is no effect on operation, the manual diaphragm works normally (oil has migrated onto blades over time from internal lens lubricant, which happens sometimes) ...................................................................There is very little wear to original black enamel, lens has been well looked after, so overall safe to say that external cosmetic condition is excellent with no dents and filter thread still circular to accept filters. The scale markings are all clearly visible. .............................................................................................. Lens all working, fit for purpose. Specifically on camera infinity focus spot -on............................................. View through lens at full aperture at distant scene shows glass crystal clear no haze/misting. ............................................. A more critical viewing check is to view through lens with sidelight on lens, this confirms lens free from any internal misting/cloudyness, and very few if any dust specks (dust specks unavoidable as dust is drawn into all lenses even new ones as soon as lens is used). No fungus spots or filaments. Front and rear external glass surfaces look intact with no visible cleaning marks by way of rubs or scratches that I can see, a great result for an older lens pointing to high contrast performance even with against the light shots. .....................................................................Originally for Russian Zenit and other 35mm SLR film camera with 42mm screw throat, but will now fit most if not all digital SLRs via an adapter (regularly advertised on eBay), such as Canon Eos or micro 4/3 systems such as Panasonic Lumix G2 or GF2.............................................................The Helios 44-2 58mm lens is one of the best budget lenses available, much cheaper to buy even with adapter than any of the dedicated large aperture autofocus lenses ................................Can be used on manual/aperture priority with digital SLRs. Especially good for close-ups where wide aperture settings on this lens can be used to give restricted depth of field and bokeh effects with ultra close-ups of plants, flowers etc .............................................................................................Numerous internet references to how good this lens is, just google Helios 58mm to find out, with this one being a very good example ............................... Take a look at /vilva/retro/eos350d_helios44-2.html lots of close-ups showing bokeh and where the author gives results of tests on prime lenses and concludes the Helios 58mm f2 lens tested was giving results as good as a much more expensive Zeiss Planar f1.7......................... Another one worth a look is /review-of-mc-helios-44-3-58mmf2.html .................................................... I have used this lens with Eos film cameras and digital Lumix G2, with very good results high contrast sharp photos. It is easy to use with any SLR camera on aperture priority setting ....................................On a digital SLR with adapter the 58mm Helios lens acts as a medium telephoto wide aperture lens when compared with the standard zoom lens supplied. Also wide aperture allows faster shutter speeds and low light level photography without flash ..........................................Another virtue of this model is that the front element is deeply recessed so the surrounding part of the barrel acts as a lens hood, no need really to use a separate lens hood as front element is already well shielded from sidelight ...........................................................So a good working example of this lens .................................I am quite sure above is accurate description but please ... read more