helios 103

nzeeman

nzeeman

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im very interested in performance of this lens. please put some h103 photos in this thread.
i recently got it with kiev 4am from 1982 for 3 euro . it looks like both are in good condition. i noticed one more thing - in older kievs viewfinder has rectangular window on its back side, and on 4am it have circular window. that really made brightness and visibility better.
 
Wide open:

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Brian Sweeney said:
The Menopta 53/1.8 is basically an export version of the Helios
Click to expand...

This might be splitting hairs, but I remember reading recently, perhaps on another forum, someone quoting Princelle, no less, that the Menopta is actually a Helios-94, not a Helios-103. (Different formula?) In fact if I look at my trusty FSU bible, Princelle 2nd edition p212, the Menopta is listed under Helios-94 and the accompanying picture is actually of a Menopta. I own examples of both. The only visible difference is the milling on the aperture ring, but that may only be because they were made 11 years apart - the Helios-103 in 1983 and the Menopta in 1994.
 
I recently got a Helios from Brian Sweeney. It's a surprising lens. I think much less contrast than the Nikkors I am used to shooting, but with very pleasing results overall.

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This is one of the lenses that Brian modified to focus properly with Nikon RF, which differs a bit from the Kiev/Contax mount. Interestingly, it doesn't quite fit onto my S3-2000 but fits quite well on my original 1958 S3.

I didn't have high expectations when I got the lens. But after a test roll, I'm very pleasantly surprised by the image quality.

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