great article, I have this lens, still didn't try the swirly effect, but it's also good for portraits and details.

if you're into M42 lenses, I'd recommend trying something longer like 135mm, also called bokeh monsters - I have Tair 135mm, 2.8 and it's capable of creating some great images (image of my kid taken with135mm).

The one to watch out for is the Jupiter 9 at 85mm and f/2.0. I've used an awful lot of sometimes very odd old lenses. https://www.facebook.com/Ca... Oldest of all being a Thornton and Pikard "Amber" lens of 1890.

This is the most belligerent thing I've ever seen...I LOVE IT!!! lol

Did somebody say swirl?

Very Cool! I just bought this lens on ebay and can't wait to try it out.

damn... it's moving!

And what was the lens? As it was not the Helios if it had f1.4

Rainbow Imaging 25mm F1.4 C Mount Lens

If you love photography and art try to http://spiralpic.com It is great free tool.

Have your website published for free with unlimited posts!

Love that swirly bokeh! Just picked one of these up myself. Quick note though... The Helios is not an "M" mount (that would imply Leica or Voigtlander bayonet mount). It's an M-42 mount, which is a screwmount not compatible with rangefinder cameras. The screwmount for rangefinder cameras like the Canon 7, early Leicas and Russian Fed and Kiev cameras is the LTM or M39 mount (LTM meaning Leica Thread Mount).

So if anyone is buying the 44, they'll want an M42 adapter (obviously with the other end being compatible with whatever camera they're using).

I live in Slovenia former yugoslavien republic that was known as very close to USSR.So i find a lot lens and very cheep.Helios m44-4 or m44 or m44-2 or m44-3 are so cheep about 10€.
For my purpose i Use
Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.4 MC
Tair 11A 135mm F2.8
Helios 44-2 58mm f/2
Helios 44-4 58mm f/2
And very rare Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 2.8/45-100
Olympus OM-System Zuiko MC Auto-S 1:1,8 f=50mm
OLYMPUS OM SYSTEM ZUIKO 28mm F/3.5
I love Manual lens
photo bellow
Tair 11A 135mm F2.8

here is my swirly bokeh with helios

https://www.flickr.com/phot...

Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35mm f/2.4 MC

tnx Mike Newton.means a lot
this photo was made Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 2.8/45-100
I love this lens becouse it have double iris.
Down side of lens it is heavy 14 elements but good lens

I idolize you mike Newton I don't have a camera to but I'm trying my self to be a photographer like you. I'm using my phone to take some photos because I can't afford to buy camera so sad but it's true😢.

Here is my photo using my oppo a37 camera phone

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

Here is my photo using Fuji finepix , a wonderful camera and easy to use

Shot with a tamron 90mm manual focus f2.5 macro lens with a tamron 2x teleconverter - my mum had owned the lens since I was a child and used it on an Olympus OM, I bought a converter and put it on a nikon D90!

https://www.flickr.com/#/ph...

And the photo:

Thank you! :)

fortunately for me my dad found this lense in my grandpa's attic)
so now im using it on my Sone NEX 5n camera
i didnt try swirl bokeh yet, cause i just found out about it from your article which actualy was pretty informative for myself. thank you
but here are some pics i took with it

"These lenses were created for the Leica M-mount so I needed to get an M mount adapter for the Sony A7. I picked up a $10 Fotasy M42-NEX adapter which works perfectly."
I hate to be pedantic but these lenses are not "Leica M Mount" they are M42 mount which is something completely different. M42 is an old screw mount commonly used on Praktica and Pentax SLRs, the Leica M Mount is a bayonet fitting. You correctly bought the M42 mount adapter but if someone wrongly bought the M Mount adapter it would be useless.

only just catching this as im looking into buying my own helios - i have a mintola mc rokkor 50mm f1.7 and that thing can take some lovely pictures!

Totally off the swirly bokeh subject..... A few says ago I turned my Helios 44-2 around using a reversal ring, and tried a macro shot. I opened the aperture ring wide to focus then shut it right down. This link http://flic.kr/p/of4gRo is my second shot straight out the camera taken on a canon 5d3. Love it. I'll be doing more macro now I've got this setup. The lens cost 50p at a charity shop.

The Petzval lens has a similar bokeh swirl, but much more expensive...thanks for the share!

Mark, Mike:
does the Petzval know anything extra compared to the Helios? I just discovered about this bokeh and i'd like to experiment with it, but in fact, the petzval looks incredibly expensive and the helios really cheap. i dont know if there's a reason for that....?
See you :)

I have a Helios 44-6, but can't adjust the aperture, think I'm going to have to get the 44-2. I've been using some old Sears lenses manually. They also create some beautiful bokeh, and they are easily adaptable. And inexpensive!

Oh man I'm so getting this les. Now. I've wanted it for years.

Lovely shots. I gotta ask, what did you do in post? It looks like a bit of curves... but you nailed it.

I feel dizzy.

i love m42 lenses, i started with them on my older Canon DSLR as they were cheap. i have a yashica 50mm 1.7, vivitar 135mm 2.8, pentacon 35mm 3.5, pentacon 29mm 28, zeiss tessar 50mm 2.8, and this particular helios you speak of which i got quite recently, didn't know it could do this! thank you for the tip.

Well, if you're a cheapo like me you may listen to my measly recommendations, hehe.

Since you have a Sony, it would be nice to pair it with a Zeiss, and the Tessar 50mm is the cheapest Zeiss ever. It might only be 2.8 but the colour it produces looks really nice. If you like Telephotos the Vivitar 135mm has really creamy bokeh, I found it at a car boot sale, cost me only 7 pounds along with an extender!

Pentacons 50mm / 35mm / 29mm are good too, they're really sharp. And you can have a wider angle with the 35mm and 29mm. I think when I'm doing street photography I tend to end up using the Pentacons a lot, here are some pictures from the 50mm:
https://www.flickr.com/phot...
https://www.flickr.com/phot...

I use Pentacon 50mm with M42 mount and love the quality and colours in the picture.

Not forgetting the Industar 61 L/Z 50mm f2.8. Supposedly the slightly radioactive Lanthanum lens coating increases the contrastyness. I think the bokeh can be a bit different too, which I like. It also has odd shaped aperture blades that introduce a star shape on highlights (not on these examples though)

Aargh I've not managed to attach some example photos!

I have the Helios 44-2, and 44M-4, a Derek Gardner 28mm f2.8 which I use on Sony A mounts.
I also have an Industar_61 which has been adapted into a bendy (Lensbaby spark type) for tilt shift by a Ukrainian seller. This is on the E mount Sony A6000. All were very inexpensive but still great lenses.

I just love using this lens on my Nikon Z6 sometimes I find it can be a bit hit and miss (you don't buy this lens expecting tack sharpness). But with subjects the results are just wow! I have some photos from a recent shoot om my own very amateur photography website

Excellent read, thank you! It's weird that we strive for swirly bokeh as bokeh is out of focus. But I am fully with you. It looks damn beautiful!

It's M-42 mount instead of M mount, you should probably correct that for people who are going to buy the lens with the adapter.
I have both helios 44-2 and minolta md 50mm 1.7 and to be honest, helios is substantially sharper and keeps more details when while wide open. You do get a little more light with minolta, and nicer colors, so it's a trade-off.
Both are great lenses, but I started carrying helios more with me, since it's easier to change the colors in post production, especially when you retrain great details and sharpness.
To be honest, I was not expecting this level of clarity with such a wide spread cheap lens. It's amazing!

Good read for me. My first intro into bokeh came with the Meyer Optik Gorlitz 200/4. Just recently I bought a Helios 44-2 for $3 , and a MOG 100/2.8 Trioplan N for $25. No images from the MOG 100 yet.First image 44-2 (can u say 'swirly'?) and second 200/4 Both on an A7, I only own 1 e-mount lens-the rest are all manual primes. https://uploads.disquscdn.c... nly https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

I use manual lenses on my NX500 and NX2000 cameras. I use the same Helios 44-2, the soviet Jupiter 37A, 135mm, the Canon FD 50, f/1.8, the vivitar 28mm, f/2.8 FD mount, the Sigma 35-135mm, Pentax K mount and the soligor 28-70mm pentax K mount too. I am looking for the soviet MIR 1B 37mm prime lens and the Jupiter 9 85mm f/2. Both M42 mount.
I prefer old manual lenses, they have great glass, the bokeh is amazing and when i use them i feel the long history they are carring. I imagine the pictures they have created with the eye of another photographer, in those years they are on duty.
I suggest to all photographers, new or veterans to use a manual lens for at least a period in their lives.
It's an amazing feeling.

Some of my photos with manual focus lenses:
https://www.flickr.com/phot...

Dear friends! Send us your best photos taken with a Helios lens for publication!
https://www.facebook.com/He...

Using a Zenit you don't really need to go that far if you get your shutter speed right and focus a little above the center.

M4/3, for anyone wondering if this lens will give that same swirly bokah using a M4/3 sensor the answer is no. Because the sensor is so small only the center of the lens forms the image and the nice bokah comes from the distortion around the edges of the lense.