Character Lenses

The copy reviewed here is a double-zero serial. This is rumored to signify one of the preproduction models distributed to high-ranking communist party members prior to the official start of lens production in 1957. The lens is effectively a clone of Zeiss Biotar 75mm f1.5 using soviet materials. Some copies around this time incorporated glass taken from post-war Zeiss factories as war reparations.       1. Bokeh 2. Aberrations 3. Flares 4. Handling 5. Overall 1. Bokeh The trick to produce the famous Helios-40 bokeh is 3/4 length portraits against a high-contrast stippled background. The classic approach is illustrated below, with heavy backlighting shining through foliage.   Bokeh can be busy, with significant outlining, cats-eye shaped, with monstrous swirl. Bokeh ball size diminishes at the edges. Without pronounced specular highlights or backlit foliage, bokeh is busy but not overly distracting, producing a genuine vintage feel. Natural settings with str...

1. Bokeh 2. Aberrations 3. Flares 4. Handling 5. Overall 1. Bokeh Despite an apparently novel lens design, bokeh is unmistakably vintage in character. Reminiscent of some Sonnar designs, there is strong outlining on the outer edges of bokeh balls, with weaker outlining on the inner edges. At the extremes of the frame bokeh balls take on a gum-drop shape. The bokeh imparts a dreamlike movement to the background; not the swirl you would see in double-gauss/planar designs, but something more chaotic and magical, like trees moving in the wind.    Bokeh can reach expressionist levels with the right background. "Whimsical"most succinctly describes the 1.4/35's bokeh.  2. Aberrations Vignetting is present but not substantial. Central sharpness is very good, and overall sharpness is almost always sufficient for artistic photos. There is some softness in the corners, so positioning the subject in the extreme corners at mid- or full-body distances can make a photo unusa...