I got the cheapest lens adapter in the world to other day ($8), for the Helios 44-2 screw mount. It does not convert the 58mm to a full frame focal length equivalent like a Metabones or similar, so 116mm f2, here we come.
I must admit, I skimped on the adapter, for two reasons.
1) The lens is a little long to be super useful and I have shorter options.
2) The lens is a little rough. The camera it came off, an old Praktika, is a bit mouldy and smells as such, so I assumed a little haze would have crept into the lens. They can be self cleaned, but I will see first.
Technically only an upgrade of “1” I guess (M42 to M43).
My first bit of footage was eye opening. It has a similar look to my Olympus half frame 25mm. The colour is cool and muted, the contrast high and the Bokeh……odd, swirly, maybe jittery? Not sure, but certainly full of character.
It looks sharp also. Not modern “perfect” sharp, more clear and old school sharp.
The images below are; f2, then closer to show the quality, f4 and a portrait at f2.8. The portrait is a little subject movement and/or focus miss soft, but has a snappy look I like. I added the same small amount of de-hazing and saturation to the files, but did nothing to the natural colour of any of them. The f2.8 and f4 images look a little different becasue the aperture ring is quite stiff, so I had to reframe.
Some Oly lens images for comparison, both lenses shot at their minimum focus distance. F2.8 first, then closer then f4. The Oly needs some de-hazing at f2.8 (applied). Notice the jittery Bokeh on this lens, which looks similar to the helios, but in this image is more pronounced. I feel the colour is pretty close, but contrast is heavier on the Helios (more testing needed). Overall I rate the Helios as the better lens for contrast and colour, the Oly slightly sharper.
Below a simple Bokeh test, all wide open for each lens (Helios on top). Slight magenta caste to the Oly, but that may have been the angle.
A FHD video frame lift. No filter added, showing the gritty nature of the lens.
The adapter is tight and sure, being as simple as a tube needs to be. There is no play nor any aligment issues.
The one issue I may have to deal with though is excess oil on the aperture blades. This looks to be a common issue and one I can likely find a fix for, but so far, it has not actually made any difference, only being noticed very recently. The lens is manual only, so as long as they move when pushed, no issue.