Helios 44M7 58mm on Canon 5D Mark III - Does the lens hit the mirror?

[Ishan Sadwelkar]

Hi,

I found a nice deal from a nice chap online, who wants to sell his Helios 44M7 58mm f/2.
I've seen some interesting results of old m42 mount lenses and Canon DSLRs.
The thing is, I shoot mainly video, and some of these Helios lenses when focussed to infinity seem to
hit the mirrors of CANON FULL FRAME bodies. Most work fine with cropped sensors.

I want to know if the Helios 44M7 in particular hits the mirror of a 5D Mark III/II or no.
There's not a lot of info on the net about this lens, the 44-2 and 44-4 seem to popular.

44M7 is great no doubt, but this is an important detail for me as I do a lot of focus pulling.

Help needed!

-Ishan

 

[quod]

My Helios 44M6 (M42 screw mount) does not hit the mirror of either the 5D2 or 5D3.

 

[Ishan Sadwelkar]

Are the 44M6 and 44M7 similar in that regard?

 

[gazzo]

http://www.panoramaplanet.de/comp/

 

[quod]

http://www.panoramaplanet.de/comp/

This doesn't answer the question because there is no entry for the 44M-7. You could just answer the question... assuming you know the answer.

Ishan - I am speculating here, but I think you are probably fine with the 44M-7. The 44M-6 does not have a protrusion in the mirror box, and I think all of the Helios 44 lenses are nearly identical. If it matters, I have a Cyclop 85/1.5 (Helios 40) and it does not have any protrusion that extends into the mirror box either. You will need an M42-to-EOS adapter, which is easily (and cheaply) acquired on ebay.

The 44M-6 renders a 1970's sort of look with low contrast and Instagram-filter look. It's definitely unique by today's lens standards. It also has the characteristic Helios 40 swirly bokeh, but it's much more controlled.

 

[Ishan Sadwelkar]

Thanks quod!

Lets see how it works out then. I think I should be fine.
I'm really looking forwards to having that unique look in my video, which is
why I'm trying to collect some of these old lenses.

 

[Snodge]

I have a 44m-2 which is also fine - not the 7, I know, but as has been said they're all very similar...

 

[Ishan Sadwelkar]

@Snodge

Have you used your 44m2 on a Canon 5D Mark ii or Mark iii? No problems?

 

[Snodge]

I use it on my 5d3 with no problems

 

[dgatwood]

I have a 44m-2 which is also fine - not the 7, I know, but as has been said they're all very similar...

The original 44M hangs badly on my 6D. The 44M-4 hangs ever so slightly precisely at infinity. However, lots of other folks say that theirs don't hang on the 5D Mark III, which has an even bigger mirror, so this may be a case of my adapter being just a tiny bit too thin.

 

[Andy_Hodapp]

Mirror hangs on 5d mkii with 44m-4. Just my two cents, it really doesn't matter if it hangs, just put a rubber band around the lens mount and screw it onto the adapter. I used a thin rubber band and it gives it about a finger nails width of room. I lose infinity focus at f/2 but if I'm going to be shooting close to infinity, I'm going to be using my 50 1.8, the helios is all about the bokeh. This also lets you focus just a bit closer for even more bokeh.

Here are some photos I've taken with mine and a couple of tips, while it is super sharp in the center, anything off dead center will be so so. I don't know if the 7 is multicoated but either way, these lenses like to flare.