Helios 44-4 on Spotmatic F - metering?

[iamthejeff]

I got one of these on ebay for cheap and it looks to be in good shape, but when I screw it onto my Spotmatic F I notice there is some spring resistance near the end of the thread. If I continue to screw it on, I feel something "release" and the spring tension is gone and I can continue to mount the lens just fine.

When using the camera, I notice the needle does not move unless I put it in stop down metering mode.

I am wondering if this is normal for that lens, or if it should be metering with the aperture open?

 

[BMbikerider]

I believe a Spotmatic F has open apperture metering whilst the Helios lens is not set up for this, I would proceed very carefully until you find out for certain.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

I got one of these on ebay for cheap and it looks to be in good shape, but when I screw it onto my Spotmatic F I notice there is some spring resistance near the end of the thread. If I continue to screw it on, I feel something "release" and the spring tension is gone and I can continue to mount the lens just fine.

When using the camera, I notice the needle does not move unless I put it in stop down metering mode.

I am wondering if this is normal for that lens, or if it should be metering with the aperture open?

The Spotmatic F has wide open metering only with the appropriate Takumar lenses. Be sure nothing on the Helios is interfering with anything on tha camera, specifically the stopdown mechanism at the bottom front of the mirror box - mount the lens with the aperture open.
Is it a preset or an auto-diaphragm Helios?

 

[iamthejeff]

I am not sure how to tell if it is a preset or auto lens. Moving the aperture ring with the lens not mounted does not open/close the aperture unless press the little metal peg on the rear of the lens, if that's what you mean.

 

[iamthejeff]

I think I may have found the cause of the issue. Here is a photo of the Helios on the right and a SMC Takumar on the left:

Dead Link Removed

See how on the Helios the aperture pin is recessed down inside the lens body but on the Takumar, it comes up out of the body by several millimeters?

I think the spring resistance I am feeling with the Helios is the recessed pin just barely making contact with the aperture lever inside the camera body, and then it loses contact and springs back.

There is no manual/auto switch on this lens.

 

[iamthejeff]

I just noticed the pin on the Helios moves in and out of the body along with the rear element when you adjust focus. So at the closest focus distance, the pin is deep, deep inside the lens body making it impossible to catch the cameras's aperture index lever at all. The Takumar stays at a constant depth regardless of focus. Is this shoddy Russian manufacturing, or was the lens designed for other M42 mount cameras?

 

[iamthejeff]

For sure, I just wanted to play with some cheap M42 glass.

Looks like the Helios is an automatic lens but for some reason is manufactured weird making it incompatible with the Spotmatic F. It works in stop down metering mode just fine, so I will continue to use it like that.

Thanks

 

[Bill Burk]

The full aperture mechanism on the Spotmatic F is a ring around the lens mount that catches a small block on the lens, not the push pin.

The push-pin that stops down the lens is used for stopping down the lens.

You need to use stop-down metering with such a lens.

And when you take the lens off and put the lens on it is a good practice to turn off the stop-down metering.

I think that's the spring resistance that you feel. I think you can get away with it occasionally to forget to turn off metering and try removing lens... But if you are rough with it and do it all the time you might bend the pin or damage the stop-down mechanism.