KMZ Helios 40-2 85mm f/1.5

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A big, heavy 6-element/4-group Planar/Biotar-type portrait lens; the 40-2 is the M42 version of the earlier M39 Helios-40. At f/1.5 the centre is soft-sharp with a glow, the edges fall apart and the background spins more violently than on the 44-2. It has a 10-blade preset iris, a tripod foot on most copies and close to 0.9 kg of metal. Quoted weights vary by source (roughly 820–880 g), and Zenit re-issued it in modern mounts after 2012.

Key specs

Focal length

85 mm

Max aperture

f/1.5

Mount

M42 screw

Image circle

Full frame

Close focus

0.8 m

Filter thread

67 mm

Weight

880 g

Field of view by sensor

Full frame

23.9° horizontal · frames like 85 mm on full frame

Super 35

16.7° horizontal · frames like 122.9 mm on full frame

Micro Four Thirds

11.6° horizontal · frames like 176.9 mm on full frame

What it goes on

Standard glassless M42 adapter to EF or any mirrorless mount; because of the weight, support the lens by its own tripod collar rather than hanging it off a thin adapter. Preset aperture ring is stepless, which suits video, and the 85 mm on a focal reducer keeps the full-frame swirl on Super 35. IronGlass offers a rehoused version and it is a frequent donor for oval-iris anamorphic-look mods.

• 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: allphotolenses.com, pentaxforums.com, ironglassadapters.com