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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Helios 44-2 58mm Matching Wide Lens?

I completely agree that Richard knows his stuff but doesnt it rattle you a little that he is putting a wide angle or tele adapter infront of a lens that cost him $20 and some other little optic gadgets and blowing people away? I cant get my head around it and this is the ultimate time in history to be doing what he is doing. As our sensors are all such high resolution and crisp and sharp yet we want things to look more low con and filmy adding digi-con and pro mist filters and funky OLPF on everything to soften the image, he is making bespoke lens options and really really really affordable lens options with countless little gadgets to really rock the system! I love it! I spent a long time and paid higher tha retail to get hold of some of his original flare factory 58s in EF mount (which he doesnt do anymore) and only wish he wasnt so busy and hard to get hold of because I was (am) ready to order a set of trumps if only the range was a little wider. 38mm is hardly a wide angle.

Back to the topic. The Helios is king but these others dont do such a bad job of complimenting it and for a few hundred dollars offer a nice lens range in a similar 'style' and although not perfect, will cut together fairly well with the helios I hope.
 
he doesnt do the FF58 anymore?
wow, im glad i have two of the very first ones he made, one in ef and one in pl.
i like these small versions for personal use because im mostly doing some art with them :)
 
I really like these russian still lenses when i want something cool and vintage. I sold all my vintage spherical glass so I have been working on this as a side project. Pl mounts 80mm fronts and gears. Got the 37mm mir and the 85mm jupiter roughed in, next is the helios 58mm. I basically just wanted to do it to see if I could. So far it's been fun ;-)
 

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jordan levy said:
he doesnt do the FF58 anymore?
wow, im glad i have two of the very first ones he made, one in ef and one in pl.
i like these small versions for personal use because im mostly doing some art with them :)
Click to expand...

Yes agree, he made us a "golden" Flare factory. with some red nail polish inside and a brass 3x oval iris. That one with a wide adapter and a tele adapter is possibly the nicest and the trumps are more moderate and does not have the internal housing flare stuff going. But for some reason we usually chicken out and go for the trumps instead then when in edit I usually regret that we did not put the FF on instead :)
 
Sorry guys, I may have misled a little in a previous post. I believe Richard still does flare factory just not in EF anymore, only PL. Thats what I saw on his site and facebook. He offers an interesting PL-EF adapter.

I got myself 2x flare factory lenses with different things going on to see which I prefer. Now that I think about it, these may very well one day be very rare as they were all essentially hand made.

Nick Gardner, your builds look great! Is this something you would consider doing for a client like myself? Reduser mates rates of course!
At the moment I am just going with a boring m42-EF adapter for my old russians but a dedicated PL and fronts etc would be quite handy if youre interested once you feel that you have it dialled?

Bjorn, man up and bust of the FF58!!! It is the same thing as the trump, only more interesting because its so different. Funky anamorphic looking bokeh, hectic flares and colours and like nothing else. I have a couple of projects in the pipeline that I am going to do as a single lens shoot with my FF58 or maybe throw on the WA but I cant wait to just get silly with it.
 
Lee, I would certainly consider it. The hard part is making the first ones. I am using the original focusing helicoid, and finding lenses with ones that don't have all kinds of image shift and wobble is a pain. I think I went through 4 37mms. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to get them open without a band saw and I'll be able to repack them ;-)

Nick
 
Nick Gardner said:
Lee, I would certainly consider it. The hard part is making the first ones. I am using the original focusing helicoid, and finding lenses with ones that don't have all kinds of image shift and wobble is a pain. I think I went through 4 37mms. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to get them open without a band saw and I'll be able to repack them ;-)

Nick
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hey nick this looks real good, i have some mint versions id love to get housed as well! let us know when you got it down pat!
 
If this winter is slow, and I have the next 2 lenses done, I'll probably hire a machinist friend to bang out parts in my shop. In the mean time, if I get the next one done, and you want to check them out, send me a PM and if you pay shipping I'll send them to whoever wants to check them out for a week.

Nick
 
@ NICK


I would be interested too in having my russian M42 lenses rehoused. Please keep us updated with how your build is going.

I'll PM you as well to sign up as a beta tester

josh
 
Richie Allen said:
yes, i waited a long time too. so i know what you mean. taking an older cheap leans like and Olympus OM 24mm F2 and removing the coatings from the front element will give you a low contrast looks and ding at the sharpeness to give you something in the ball park.
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How long waiting time are we talking about here? Weeks, months or years?
I'll buy a set of lenses soon but are a bit torne between DSO Trump and Celere... I really like the look of the DSO's - but are affraid they might be too weird for some of what I'm shooting (TVC's) The Celere's seem really nice, but are they too clean and possibly a bit boring...?
 
Mathias Erichsen said:
How long waiting time are we talking about here? Weeks, months or years?
I'll buy a set of lenses soon but are a bit torne between DSO Trump and Celere... I really like the look of the DSO's - but are affraid they might be too weird for some of what I'm shooting (TVC's) The Celere's seem really nice, but are they too clean and possibly a bit boring...?
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I shot a 3 day TVC for pillsbury using DSO lenses.
 
I paid upfront when the different options were being developed, sat back patiently and waited for Richard Gale to develop the 38, which was close to a year and then the 88. And trusted Richard Gale as he had worked on a few other lenses for me.
I don't know what the current wait times are, but one thing to remember is this is a small bespoke operation in the UK, using as much locally made material as possible. All assembled by hand by one guy. And they are popular.
As for how they compare to Celere, i'd have to leave that to the professionals on the forum to give you that info.
Cheers
 
I think its awesome what Richard has been doing and I am sure others will follow. It is a shame that it takes such a long time to deliver especially in this insta time in history.
I do appreciate what goes into making these lenses but I didnt have the patience to wait months and months especially without any word.
I think some others are frustrated that he will update facebook and add posts in various forums (so hes on the computer) but not replying to potential customers emails doesnt make sense?
I grabbed a couple of his FF58s second hand and paid retail for them (as you cant exactly fuck them up any more right???) and theyre awesome!
Oneday some of his Trumps may pop up for sale too...
 
Ok, so this may take some time :)
I se he´s making these as Optikov lenses too. Anyone tested them and think they are worth the premium over the Trump´s? Focus scales are nice...
 
Lee Kelly said:
I am not sure what the optikov lenses are? Are they base helios (like trumps) with WA and tele converters just rehoused?
Do they still have the same de-focus and bokeh options I wonder?
Or has he rehoused some other russian lenses like we are talking about here?
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they are optically the same as trumps and work exactly the same, just cooler barrel design obviously and focus marks.
 
I see now that with the Optokov's you can choose what type of coating you want. Warm - Single coating (1960-1972), cool - Single coating (1972-1985) or neutral - Multi coated (1985-1993) That is pretty nice! :)

I got a respons from Mr Gale within hours and he wrote that he expect the 28mm will be manufacturerd and shipping by the end of summer 2016.
 
Mathias Erichsen said:
I see now that with the Optokov's you can choose what type of coating you want. Warm - Single coating (1960-1972), cool - Single coating (1972-1985) or neutral - Multi coated (1985-1993) That is pretty nice! :)

I got a respons from Mr Gale within hours and he wrote that he expect the 28mm will be manufacturerd and shipping by the end of summer 2016.
Click to expand...
you can order the trumps that way too, all of his lenses are custom to what you want. yeah the 28mm wont even really be worked on until olivia is shipping, hopefully some time this year.
 
Mathias Erichsen said:
I see now that with the Optokov's you can choose what type of coating you want. Warm - Single coating (1960-1972), cool - Single coating (1972-1985) or neutral - Multi coated (1985-1993) That is pretty nice! :)

I got a respons from Mr Gale within hours and he wrote that he expect the 28mm will be manufacturerd and shipping by the end of summer 2016.
Click to expand...

Thats great news, I then etimate to have it 2018 :)

The optokov is a real face lift for the trumps. Focus scales is not a bad thing think thats what scares the rental clients off a bit from the trumps... Or possibly the name it self. Trump is pretty bad pick of a name these days if you as me.

Little trump test https://vimeo.com/172556334

4k file: https://vimeo.com/172556334/download?t=1467342499&v=556751915&e2337044a8737c87fad6444208183f77
 
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