Copies coming from the KMZ, Valdai and Belomo plants.
The Helios 44-2 is possibly the most popular vintage lens around, and righteously so, because it offers so much for very little money.
A copy of the Zeiss Biotar, its popularity has recently increased due to it being used by DOPs in popular Hollywood productions such as "The Batman" and "Dune - Part II". The lens offers very good optical quality alongside its main quirk, a "swirly" background blur, the trait that made it popular. Because the Helios 44-2 was produced in different plants at different times, differences in sharpness and even flare color can be found across different copies. The common belief is that those produced at the KMZ and Belomo plants have the best build and optical quality, and those produced at the Valdai plant tend to be of lower standard. In my experience I can generally confirm this, but I did also come across not so good KMZ copies which were in great aesthetic condition but didn't have very sharp glass, despite having been serviced. The best copy I own is a 44-2 made at KMZ in 1972, it is sharp, has great contrast and color, and a blue flare. The Valdai copy I own is more prone to flaring, has a red flare and had to be serviced to clean oily blades and hazy glass. My Belomo copy is sharp but has bloom in the highlights, possibly due to degradation of its coating. The very first KMZ copy I bought had a stiff focusing ring and was not so sharp, until I serviced it. So, finding a good Helios 44-2 might take some effort, but the best copies are really fantastic.
Why use the Helios 44-2:
1) Famous swirly and painterly background blur
2) Sharpness (copy-dependent)
3) Beautiful colors
4) The 58mm focal length is unique
5) Bright enough aperture for low light shooting
6) The clickless aperture ring is good for video work
7) Built like a tank
Weaknesses:
The Russian "reverse" preset aperture mechanism can be confusing for some
