Greeting from USA ! Do you take the blades completely apart and clean them like this on the lens you sell on Ebay titled "HELIOS 44-2 2/58mm Canon EF mount *TUNED FOR FILMMAKERS!* *CLA'd* *Mint!*" ???? please let me know as soon as you have time. thank you !!!!
Thank you so much for posting this video. I had really messed up the focus ring and the aperture ring was unable to turn but after disassembly, it was a breeze!
+Retro Foto House fantastic actually. Where do you live? I am just getting into DSLR photography and enjoying it. My job as a chauffeur has me going to all kinds of nice places and my cell phone camera isn't cutting it anymore.
Hi! Thanks for the informative video. There's a lot of old radioactive lenses, do you know if the Helios 44-2 is radioactive or not? It can't be good for your health to open up this lens if it's radioactive.
Retro Foto House are you sure that that helios lenses are not radioactive? Have you tested the radiation your self? I tried to find answer in Google whether it's radioactive or not but couldn't find any answers
Hello! Thanks for the video. I have a question, My helios has the f ring inverted...so i tried to unmount My helios 44 2 But it ' s blocked... The frontal Group doesn 't move... how can i do? Thanks!
The very first operation - unscrewing the inner part of the lens, is there a locking screw or something to loosen first ? I have two of these lenses and neither will unscrew simply like your video shows.
No, there is nothing. You just need to apply a force. Sometimes, barely though, it is screwed up so tightly that it is impossible to unscrew it even with a lot of force.
Hello, I love your videos they are very helpful. I have a Helios 44-2; the focus ring came off of the focusing block not to long ago, do to the tiny screws being striped. I was wondering if you know the size of those slotted set screws that hold the focus ring on the focus block? I'm also not sure where I can get screws that tiny.
The oil is used as a lubricant to reduce friction from the shutter blades, no? If this is the case, is there any downside to removing it, and if so, what would prove to be a viable substitute (could graphite be used, or would it be too reflective)?
Thanks for the great tutorial. Helps a lot. I see that reassembling the blades is a problem. To avoid that can I just immerse the entire housing in alcohol and clean with a light brush delicately ? It may not remove the oil entirely. But most of it can be removed by repeated attempts. Have you tried it ? Any problem in this method ? I need not open the blades this way.Your reply will help. Thanks
It seems to me that pure 100% acetone oil free would probably do a great job at removing all the oil, I would cycle the aperture blades in the acetone so it gets into every little crack and crevice. I use acetone on a lot of projects mostly involving guns and gun parts, what can I say I live in the pro gun state of Arizona USA.
thank you so much for sharing this! is a very well made video. HOwever, I have some problem. If you look at min 4:22, my heliuos 44-2 has only 1 screw. After remove it, I still cannot go further. The ring seems stuck. What to do? Thank you very much... Solved with a big tool. Indeed, force is the only solution... but it will damage it.
Do you think the blades can be cleaned without removing them? My helios has just a tiny bit of oil on them but im afraid of not being able to put it back together again
Retro Foto House Thanks! I checked and it looks like there is just 1 screw there, the others are either stripped or missing - you are right on the money. I noticed that when I started unscrewing one of the three, that sleeve almost came off. Any chance these screws can be found anywhere? Like getting a bunch on ebay or something like that... I have no idea where to look. Cheers!
Shoot Vintage Thank you! Me too! It is best lens by quality/price ratio.By the way, i have in my ebay shop modified version of helios 44-2 with square iris aperture, very similar to famous zenitar me1 2 blades iris lens. It allows to obtain very beautiful irregular square bokeh. If you're interested please check it up here- www.ebay.com/itm/HELIOS-44-2-58-2-SQUARE-IRIS-SHAPE-Zenitar-ME1-analog-/321705813612?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT
I have an Helios 44M 6 but I can not open the front cover because there are not 2 holes as in all the ones I see on You Tube videos. How do I remove the front lens to clean it?
Hello my friend! Now I own a wonderful collection of Helios 44. My favorite one is my M39 Zebra version. The aperture rigs is quite stiff at maximum aperture, so I tried to open the lens to fix it, as I did following your tutorial with a 44-2. Unfortunately, the lens does not open, even if I make quite a strong force. mightthis version opening procedure be different? Im afraid I'll broke something ... Thanks again! Ezio from Italy
Hi, I need help i took my helios 44 apart and the rear lens element did not come out as one piece put in seperate piece . I was able to clean all the glass elements front and rear but i can not figure out the order in to put back gthe rear elements. Do you know where i can find the order or the diagram
Thanks for the video. Very informative. Do you know anything about MMZ BeLOMO 44-2 58mm? I can't find any information on this lens. Thank you. In my latest video, Daisho Con 2015, I used a Helios 44m 58mm with anamorphic adapter.
+Byron Yang Hello! OptIcally it is the same, but production quality is better and there is no oil on the blades. But if you can, find 44-2 by KMZ, it is best one among all 3 versions
Hello! Thanks for this wonderful tutorial. Therefore, I'm having some trouble in re-assembling last blades. I also noticed that three of the eight blades are different from the other five ones. They do not have a pin on their rounded side, they only have a small hole. Might you help me? Thanks a lot in advance! Ezio form Italy.
Ezio Falco Hello! it means that your blades are broken. You need to have these little pins, they should move in the grooves of the ring you put on the blades, otherwise it will not work....
Thanks! I've taken away all blades, and now I've a perfect "bookeh-only" lens!. You have a new subscriber, now, 'cause you are so professional and kind. Ciao. Ezio
Hello ! My helios 44-2 seems pretty clean, but when the aperture blades are fully open, I get some flares that reduce a lot the contrast (blacks become greyish), but when I close the aperture by rotating the ring on 5mm (probably to f/2.5), the flares disappear. I think light is reflected by a metallic ring when fully open, or maybe the edges of one glass element, and when I close the aperture just a little bit, this reflective part gets hidden by the blades and the contrast gets great again… Is this a well known problem ? I know this lens flares a lot, but this very small aperture difference can change the whole image contrast.
It depends of piece, as manufacture quality was varying wery largely. Try to get one from Belomo factory. Manufacture quality is much higher as from Valday one.
@@RetroFotoHouse hi, I haven't done the markings as you showed. I tried to orient on your position from the video but is there no other way to know how far to screw it in ?
I have a helios 44-2 too, with really oily blades, but i'm stuck at the very beginning, i can't open it!! Rotating the diafragm rings, ccw and the focusing ring cw, it remains as is, even with a great amount of force.. Should i use more force? I don't want to damage focus grip, i tried removing it also, but is difficult having grip on the inner flat ring on the elicoid.. Please help me,
Hello! it is the matter of force, all the helioses 44-2 are opening like i showed in the video. Just it happens sometimes, that optical block is screwed inside helicoid with big force and it is really hard to unscrew it. I had more than 50 opened helios in my practice and only 2 of them i was unable to unscrew... It could be yours also.... Good luck!
Since this was designed with oil from the manufacturer, would be better to clean off all the old oil and replace with new oil? I would imagine no oil is more friction and wearing out the base of the blades after some years of use. Also adding oil is catching some small dust partials to keep if off the lenses.
Здравствуйте! Подскажите пожалуйста как можно открутить линзоблок у Helios 44-22 (валдайский) если по всем признакам резьба пникипела и откручиваться линзоблок не хочет?
Just bought a “mint” condition Helios - item arrived to my surprise with the diaphragm ring marker in reverse. Manufacturing error? Or someone opened the lens up like this, cleaned it and assembled the ring in reverse? I now have to guess my apertures... where the marker shows f16 it’s actually f2 and vice versa. Any way to fix this?
If it was me, I'd have all screws in a small tray as I go, I'd clean bench regularly, I'd use non metal tweezers so not to scratch lens parts, my screw drivers would be the correct size for the screw, I'd have all unassembled parts laid out in order, and would align screw driver with screw direction. So many frustrating things here.
my aperture ring is really lose, what should I do to make it a little bit more tight? у меня кольцо диафрагмы очень очень легко ходит, что мне нужно сделать, чтобы сделать его чуть потуже?
Well if you're still interested two years later, there are probably small screws on the side of your lens. I would imagine those need to be taken out before the lens can be unscrewed as seen in the video.
Thank you for the much helpful videos! I have a Helios 44k-4 with Pentax K mount. Would be needing some help putting the pieces together. I have been googling all over but no disassembly instructions anywhere. It is similar to the 44m but not the back part, up to the apperture blades. I could also make a donation on PayPal for that :) Thanks in advance!
One mistake - To completely clean out the oil is a mistake, the oil has a specific function there. The manufacturer PROVIDED for lubrication of the aperture blades, as in almost every lens with a preselective aperture. Completely removing the oil is a mistake. A "professional" should know this :)
Hello, I love your videos they are very helpful. I have a Helios 44-2; the focus ring came off of the focusing block not to long ago, do to the tiny screws being striped. I was wondering if you know the size of those slotted set screws that hold the focus ring on the focus block? I'm also not sure where I can get screws that tiny.
