
Take a look at Mark Holtz’s informative video about the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f2 classic lens The Helios 44 58mm f2 family of lenses, produced in the millions, are probably the most widely produced analog lenses in the world. The Helios 44 lenses were in production for 34 years in several versions and served as the standard kit lens for their Zenith 35mm SLR cameras. The Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f2 lens was produced in several versions from 1936 until 1960, while the Russians produced their own versions of this lens as Helios 44 58mm f2 from 1958 until 1992. In 1949, Carl Zeiss released the world’s first 35mm SLR camera with an eye-level prism viewfinder and exchangeable lenses, the Contax S camera with the Biotar 58mm f2 as kit lens In 1949, Carl Zeiss Jena introduced the Contax S camera, the world’s first 35mm SLR mirror camera with an eye-level prism view finder and interchangeable lenses, and the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f2 lens became the standard “kit lens” of the technically advanced Contax S camera. The Kine EXACTA camera, which started being produced in 1936, and the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f2 lens as kit lens He died the following year after a short illness in Dayton, Ohio.

Merté went to the Unites States at the offer of the Institute of Optics of Boston University. Merté left Jena for Oberkochen in 1945 to help establish Carl Zeiss West Germany he was under American protection, as were many of the company’s employees. For the mathematical calculation of the Car Zeiss Biotar 58mm f2, 480 calculation steps were necessary, which resulted in a manuscript of 3200 pages closely described with numbers, on which 2 “human computers” worked for 3 years (Johannes Steiner: Fototaschenbuch 1959, Halle, 1958, page 156 and page 256).ĭr. It was an optimized successor of the Planar lens, which was designed in 1936 as the Biotar 58mm f2 “kit lens” for the Kine EXAKTA 35mm camera - the most innovative 35mm film camera before World War II. Willy Merté created the Biotar at Carl Zeiss. Here you can see all three lenses, the Carl Zeiss Biotar 58mm f2 classic lens made in 1953 (right), the Helios 44M-4 58mm f2 classic lens made in 1990 (middle) and the modern Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM lens (left) Both classic Biotar 58mm f2 lenses are an important part of lens history We’ll also check both lenses for a swirly bokeh.
#Helios lens flowers full#
To judge if both Biotar type lenses are still good for daily usage with modern digital cameras, both are adapted and tested on a Sony alpha 7ii full frame camera and compared with the modern Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM lens. How does this well-preserved copy of the legendary Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f2 lens made in 1953 compare with a Russian Helios 44M-4 58mm f2 lens in MINT condition made in 1990? The Helios lens is a Russian copy of the German Biotar lens. Renato & Meliha Edelstein – Hochzeitsfotos.Kramerladen “beim Schneider” in Tegernau, Ebersberg.Fast PRIME vintage lenses – 24mm to 50mm.Fast PRIME vintage lenses – 85mm to 200mm.Classic Lens Buying Guide and 10-Point Checklist.Wet on Wet Bokeh! and the Raynox 135mm f2.8 lens.



