Julia Martin Photography
Putting some flare into Friday HFF!
Vintage flare.
At a flea fair last Sunday I couldn't resist buying a cosmetically and optically perfect Zenit B with a Helios 44-3 f2 lens for just £10!
It was the lens I was after and I've had fun trying to get to grips with it ever since! Russian built, and of solid metal, to say it's quirky is no understatement and here's why:
-Firstly, although called Helios 44 it's 58mm not 44mm.
-When aperture is set at f16 it's really at f2 and vice versa, and anything in between is pure guesswork.
-EXIF reads f3.2 regardless.
-It's only sharp in the middle
-It doesn't focus to infinity on a DSLR, so hyperfocal distance needed for landscapes.
-When the histogram looks good the image is 2-3 stops overexposed-Correct exposure makes live view too dark to see properly. Might try an ND filter.
-At it's sharpest between 1-3 meters, so good for still life and portraits.
-Flares badly into the sun as seen here. An effect sought after by some.
-It's famous for it's swirling peripheral bokeh when wide open, although this photographer has yet to achieve this effect!!
Other than that it's fine and quite cool :)
Putting some flare into Friday HFF!
Vintage flare.
At a flea fair last Sunday I couldn't resist buying a cosmetically and optically perfect Zenit B with a Helios 44-3 f2 lens for just £10!
It was the lens I was after and I've had fun trying to get to grips with it ever since! Russian built, and of solid metal, to say it's quirky is no understatement and here's why:
-Firstly, although called Helios 44 it's 58mm not 44mm.
-When aperture is set at f16 it's really at f2 and vice versa, and anything in between is pure guesswork.
-EXIF reads f3.2 regardless.
-It's only sharp in the middle
-It doesn't focus to infinity on a DSLR, so hyperfocal distance needed for landscapes.
-When the histogram looks good the image is 2-3 stops overexposed-Correct exposure makes live view too dark to see properly. Might try an ND filter.
-At it's sharpest between 1-3 meters, so good for still life and portraits.
-Flares badly into the sun as seen here. An effect sought after by some.
-It's famous for it's swirling peripheral bokeh when wide open, although this photographer has yet to achieve this effect!!
Other than that it's fine and quite cool :)