Helios 44-2 mod for Nikon SLR

Austintatious

Austintatious

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( Will the Mods please move this to the Brian Sweeney sub forum ?😀)


There are a few vendors on Ebay offering the Helios 44-2 that has been machined to allow infinity focus on a Nikon SLR. The flange focal distance has been pushed back in the mount to allow for this with the use of an adapter without glass lens to correct the point of focus.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Legendary-...apted-for-Nikon-Biotar-from-USSR/112186145274

My question is if I get one of these will it still be useable (with correct adapter) on a Sony or other mirrorless camera? I reached out to some of the vendors with this and some said yes and some said no. I would love to be able to use it on both cameras with correct adapters.

What say ye?
 
I can't see why it will not work with a Nikon Adapter to a mirrorless camera. The rear group does not extend much farther back than the edge of the F-Mount.

I have the Helios 44 in 42mm Pentax mount: I think all they needed to do was polish/cut down the 42mm threads, maybe some of the base of the lens, and screw it into a custom glass-less adapter for F-Mount.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance

You need 1mm. That's about what you need to use an Industar-69 on a Leica. I've done that. I also wonder if there is an internal stop for the infinity focus that can be filed down or otherwise modified.

The other way to do it is to move the rear element farther back, to cover the extra required distance. For "a silly millimeter longer", I'd file the base and screw the adapter in deeper.
 
Hi Brian, here is a video of the mod that is being done. Turning on a lathe a bit more than two mm so that the lens is indeed deeper in order to focus on Nikon. The lens is changed permanently. The Nikon to M42 adapter works on Nikon.
I want to use it that way but also to remove the M42 and put on a M42 to NEX (E-mount)I'm wondering if this will still focus on a Sony mirrorless camera even though the whole lens group has been moved back. See below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHXMXRhoMNI

Thanks
 
You are best off to buy a Nikon F-Mount to Sony mount adapter and use it that way.

You need to back the lens out 2mm for an M42 mount. You could use a spacer, play with it until it works. The lens, screwing in 2mm deeper to the M42 to NEX adapter will focus past infinity, and will not focus as close as it is supposed to.
 
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