Your Premium Destination for Serviced Vintage Soviet Photography Equipment
Glory Ukraine is extremely proud to present a true masterpiece of custom optical engineering: a professionally modified Soviet Helios 44-2 upgraded from the standard 8-blade design to an ultra-rare 16-blade preset aperture!
While factory Helios 44-2 lenses are legendary for their swirly bokeh, they unfortunately suffer from "stop-sign" octagonal background highlights as soon as you stop down past f/2. To solve this, our master technicians have completely redesigned, rebuilt, and fine-tuned the aperture assembly, installing 16 micro-thin, high-grade matte blades.
This yields a lens that retains its classic optical soul while performing like a premium cinema prime worth thousands of dollars. It is the ultimate dream lens for artistic portrait photographers and modern videographers.
The Perfect Circular Iris: Whether you shoot wide open at f/2 or step down to f/2.8, f/4, or f/8, the aperture opening remains a mathematically perfect, flawless circle. Your background light sources (light blobs, specular highlights) will always stay beautifully round, organic, and soft, with zero geometric angles.
Ultra-Creamy Out-of-Focus Transitions: With 16 blades working in perfect harmony, the background bokeh melts away with incredible smoothness. The transitions from the sharp focus plane to the completely out-of-focus areas are buttery-soft and painterly.
Enhanced "Swirly Bokeh" Control: You still get the breathtaking, dramatic swirly background character of the classic 1970s Soviet glass formula (derived from the Carl Zeiss Biotar). However, you now have the freedom to stop down for extra sharpness without sacrificing the circular, cinematic background look.
Thanks to the classic M42 screw mount, this lens is incredibly versatile. It mounts directly on vintage M42 film cameras (Zenit, Praktica, Pentax Spotmatic) or can be adapted effortlessly to any modern digital system—including Sony E, Fujifilm X, Canon EF/RF, Nikon F/Z, Leica L, and Micro 4/3—using a standard, inexpensive M42 adapter.
This item is in Excellent Cosmetic & Flawless Mechanical condition. It has undergone a full professional overhaul and technical maintenance. Each of these lenses is handcrafted with surgical precision in our professional workshop.
Expert Iris Alignment: Rebuilding a 44-2 mechanical housing to fit 16 overlapping blades instead of 8 is highly complex. Our master technicians manually align and test each blade to ensure they glide seamlessly without friction.
Deep Cleaned & Relubricated: The lens was completely disassembled. All old, dried-up Soviet factory grease, dirt, and dust have been meticulously washed away and replaced with premium modern lubricants for a buttery-smooth operation.
Pristine Cleaned Glass: The optical elements are carefully cleaned and inspected. The glass is crystal clear — free of fungus, haze, separation, and deep scratches. You get clean, clear optics ready to capture brilliant imagery (as seen in the listing photos).
Factory Defects Eliminated: Any minor imperfections left behind by the original Soviet conveyor-belt assembly have been carefully corrected and calibrated to meet modern high-performance standards.
It performs even better than the day it left the factory!
Please Note: You are purchasing a genuine vintage item, not a brand-new factory product. Because of its age and history, the lens body may show minor, normal signs of previous use and cosmetic wear.The optical elements may have light cleaning marks (faint hairline wipes on the coating) or minor internal micro-dust particles. This is completely standard for lenses of this era and has absolutely zero impact on image quality, contrast, or final photo results.Rest assured, every lens in our shop has been professionally inspected, fully serviced, and thoroughly tested by our master technicians. It is in excellent technical and cosmetic working order, ready to perform beautifully straight out of the box!
We are a specialized professional workshop with extensive, long-term experience in the maintenance, repair, restoration, and modernization of vintage Soviet photographic equipment (lenses, cameras, and accessories). Our passion is breathing new life into legendary classic gear.
Every single item in our store undergoes a meticulous overhaul by seasoned experts. We carefully disassemble, clean, relubricate, and calibrate each piece, completely eliminating decades of aging and original factory assembly defects. When you buy from us, you get a fully functional, reliable artistic tool ready for the modern era.
We ship our products worldwide! All orders are handled with care, packed securely, and processed quickly without any delays.
Import duties, taxes, and charges are not included in the item price or shipping cost. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding or buying.
Your satisfaction is our absolute priority. We want you to be completely happy with your purchase, which is why we always accept returns. If for any reason you are not satisfied with your item, please contact us immediately before leaving feedback, so we can resolve this unpleasant situation. We will gladly accept the return and issue a full refund.
Have questions, comments, or special requests regarding an item? You can contact us at any time through eBay messages.
We respond within 24 hours and will do our absolute best to help you!
We warmly encourage our customers to reach out with any questions or concerns. We want to ensure you are 100% satisfied with your buying experience!