Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f/2

We don’t have a vetted photo of this one yet. Own a copy? Send us a packshot and we’ll credit you.

The original that the Helios-44 was copied from: a 6-element/4-group double-Gauss with the same swirling background but usually a slightly more refined, glowing rendering. Post-war versions differ a lot — the early manual version has 17 blades, a 40.5 mm thread and only focuses to 0.9 m, while the preset and semi-automatic versions listed here have 10–12 blades, a 49 mm thread and 0.5 m close focus; weights run roughly 140–215 g depending on barrel. Most were made in Exakta mount (also Praktina), with M42 the minority, so check the mount carefully.

Key specs

Focal length

58 mm

Max aperture

f/2

Mount

M42 screw

Image circle

Full frame

Close focus

0.5 m

Filter thread

49 mm

Field of view by sensor

Full frame

34.5° horizontal · frames like 58 mm on full frame

Super 35

24.2° horizontal · frames like 83.9 mm on full frame

Micro Four Thirds

17° horizontal · frames like 120.7 mm on full frame

What it goes on

M42 copies take a glassless adapter to EF or mirrorless; the manual and preset versions have a stepless-feeling iris well suited to video, and the 17-blade version keeps perfectly round highlights. Exakta-mount copies (44.7 mm register) need an Exakta adapter instead and are easiest on mirrorless. Soft aluminium barrels and old coatings scratch easily — check for cleaning marks and haze.

• Canon EF camerasWith adapterALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Pocket Cinema Camera 6K G2 +14 more

  M42-EOS flanged ring. Cheap and common. Pick a flanged ring that presses the auto-aperture pin. On full-frame EF DSLRs a few lenses (Helios 44-2, some Takumars) can catch the mirror at infinity.

• Sony E camerasWith adapterRonin 4D-6K, Ronin 4D-8K, Alpha 1 II, Alpha 7 IV +13 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 27.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Canon RF camerasWith adapterEOS C400, EOS C50, EOS C70, EOS C80 +10 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 25.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• L-Mount camerasWith adapterCinema Camera 6K, PYXIS 12K, PYXIS 6K, Ronin 4D-6K +6 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 25.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Micro Four Thirds camerasWith adapterMicro Studio Camera 4K G2, Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Lumix BGH1, Lumix GH6 +1 more

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 26.2 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Nikon Z camerasWith adapterKOMODO-X 6K S35, V-RAPTOR [X] 8K VV, V-RAPTOR XE

  Novoflex · K&F Concept · Fotodiox. 29.5 mm of room — a plain mechanical adapter. Manual focus and iris.

• Leica M camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, Ronin 4D-6K +1 more

  17.7 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

• LPL camerasWith adapter· by flange mathsALEXA 265, ALEXA 35, ALEXA Mini LF, URSA Cine 17K 65

  1.5 mm of room for a plain ring. Check rear-element and mirror clearance before buying.

See every camera this lens fits →

Sources: japb.net, allphotolenses.com, casualphotophile.com