Topic: what lens is this?

[astrobeck]

Hello all!
I've been reading about Zenits and other older clunky style cameras and came across this article about a woman that makes really nice photos with a Zenit ET...
Proof that it really is the person behind the camera and not the gear.
Midway down the page is a selfie, and I'm trying to figure out what lens this is.
I've magnified it and blown it up, but it's not real easy to read the lettering on the lens, so thought maybe one of you would recognize it.
Here's the link to the article.
https://shootitwithfilm.com/stockholm-travel-story-by-marta-karcz/

I really like the color she gets with Kodak Gold, an old standby for many for years.

[Pete_R]

Pretty sure it's a Helios 44 58mm f/2. That was the standard lens that came with most of the Zenit E series.

[Bryan]

I agree with Pete, MC Helios 44-3 2/58.

[Francois]

I was about to say the same.
Here are the Helios line of lenses.

On the mystery camera picture, you can count that the text is in six blocks around the lens. When mirrored in Photoshop, you can see the MC label on the top and some logo on the bottom, just like the Helios-44-3

[astrobeck]

thanks !
Now that I see them side by side, and can tell what it is.

I have the Helios 44m-4, so didn't consider it was one of the others.

[Francois]

On the site where I found the picture of the four lenses they made a side by side comparison of the bokeh of all of them.
Honestly, the difference is minimal to my eye.
Some of them are a bit more swirly, some are a bit more bubbly, but that's about it.

[Jeff Warden]

I was about to say the same.
On the mystery camera picture, you can count that the text is in six blocks around the lens. When mirrored in Photoshop, you can see the MC label on the top and some logo on the bottom, just like the Helios-44-3

Good sleuthing!

[Francois]

Thanks!
I just love solving puzzles like that