Was i fooled? Fake Helios 44m-7?

redstarjedi · Jan 20, 2017

Well, i won a Helios 44m-7 for cheap. 28 bucks. Or so i thought, it seems that the first two digits of the serial number indicate the year of manufacture, and that if this link is to be believed then it seems that the helios 44m-7 came out in 1993 http://www.ebay.com/gds/Beware-of-Fake-Helios-44m-7-lenses-/10000000202458174/g.html

Well, here is the lens i just bought, it seems that it's serial begins with 90, so it must not be a helios 44m-7?

Is it is real helios 44m-7? If not, then which version do i actually have?

AgX · Jan 20, 2017

Who would want to fake a Helios 58mm lens?

Fixcinater · Jan 20, 2017

It's cheap and it's a Helios. Don't worry about it.

thuggins · Jan 20, 2017

AgX said:
Who would want to fake a Helios 58mm lens?

Best reply ever! LOL

A number of years back, shortly after the Soviet Union fell, these big, clunky Soviet era military watches became widely available and were quite popular. I bought one that ran for about three days. They were so popular that the Italians started making knock-offs of them. I read an article about all of this and the author made the point that the Italian knock-offs were a far better quality than the Russian originals.

redstarjedi · Jan 20, 2017

Fixcinater said:
It's cheap and it's a Helios. Don't worry about it.

Yes, there is always a bright side.

choiliefan · Jan 20, 2017

According to one comment, the older version has better bokeh...

4season · Jan 20, 2017

I'm inclined to think that this "1993 or later" rumor is simply wrong.

Dali · Jan 20, 2017

redstarjedi said:
Well, i won a Helios 44m-7 for cheap. 28 bucks. Or so i thought, it seems that the first two digits of the serial number indicate the year of manufacture, and that if this link is to be believed then it seems that the helios 44m-7 came out in 1993 http://www.ebay.com/gds/Beware-of-Fake-Helios-44m-7-lenses-/10000000202458174/g.html

Well, here is the lens i just bought, it seems that it's serial begins with 90, so it must not be a helios 44m-7?

Is it is real helios 44m-7? If not, then which version do i actually have?

Yeah, we are prone to believe a lot of things, isn't it? Who said that what you link proclaims is true?

Sirius Glass · Jan 20, 2017

At $28 why worry?

redstarjedi · Jan 20, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
At $28 why worry?

Oh, i agree! i'm just wondering what version i have.

redstarjedi · Jan 20, 2017

4season said:
I'm inclined to think that this "1993 or later" rumor is simply wrong.

Please explain!

pdeeh · Jan 20, 2017

You've got the $28 version

4season · Jan 20, 2017

redstarjedi said:
Please explain!

Mostly a hunch, but it hardly seems worth the bother to fake this. 4th photo in this auction seems to suggest a 1992 44M-7, for instance.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/162347205785
Wish I could compare with my own 44M-7 + Zenit 122 kit and certificate, but I gave the set away some time ago.

Huss · Jan 20, 2017

pdeeh said:
You've got the $28 version

And because of that the price he paid for it was fair and correct.

Helios 1984 · Jan 21, 2017

4season said:
I'm inclined to think that this "1993 or later" rumor is simply wrong.

+1

It was what we knew ''so far'', doesn't mean this information is definitive.

Gerald C Koch · Jan 21, 2017

thuggins said:
Best reply ever! LOL

A number of years back, shortly after the Soviet Union fell, these big, clunky Soviet era military watches became widely available and were quite popular. I bought one that ran for about three days. They were so popular that the Italians started making knock-offs of them. I read an article about all of this and the author made the point that the Italian knock-offs were a far better quality than the Russian originals.

Some years ago the FBI caught a man who was making counterfeit silver dollars. Funny thing was he was putting more silver in them than the government was. I guess he hoped to make a profit with quantity.

darkroommike · Jan 21, 2017

As others have said, converting a Zorki to a Kriegsmarine Leica Fake or a Kiev into a Contax Fake makes economic sense but to fake up a lens and then sell it for $28 bucks, who the heck does that. And as far as the bokeh thing, keep staring at your pictures long enough and the bokeh will look much better.

summicron1 · Jan 21, 2017

never been quite clear on why someone thinks of the word "quality" and "russian lens" in the same sentence. Considering that folks are very literally giving away high quality pentax, zeiss, schneider and a whole range of other lenses, it seems odd.

But, whatever. Good luck.

darkroommike · Jan 21, 2017

summicron1 said:
never been quite clear on why someone thinks of the word "quality" and "russian lens" in the same sentence. Considering that folks are very literally giving away high quality pentax, zeiss, schneider and a whole range of other lenses, it seems odd.

But, whatever. Good luck.

But, but, but, the bokeh...yeah, me too, most of the mysterious bokeh comes from poor lens designs, old lens designs, or lousy quality control.

onre · Jan 21, 2017

Yeah these must be all crap. No one in the FSU was sane.

flavio81 · Jan 21, 2017

onre said:
Yeah these must be all crap. No one in the FSU was sane.

All russian lenses are crap. Please send all copies of the Helios-40 to me for disposal.

flavio81 · Jan 21, 2017

redstarjedi said:
Well, i won a Helios 44m-7 for cheap. 28 bucks. Or so i thought, it seems that the first two digits of the serial number indicate the year of manufacture, and that if this link is to be believed then it seems that the helios 44m-7 came out in 1993 http://www.ebay.com/gds/Beware-of-Fake-Helios-44m-7-lenses-/10000000202458174/g.html

Well, here is the lens i just bought, it seems that it's serial begins with 90, so it must not be a helios 44m-7?

Is it is real helios 44m-7? If not, then which version do i actually have?

The 44M-7 did not came in 1993. In 1992 i was gifted a Zenit 12XL camera and it came with this very same Helios-44M-7 lens.

onre · Jan 21, 2017

flavio81 said:
All russian lenses are crap. Please send all copies of the Helios-40 to me for disposal.

I, as an environmentally responsible person, can accept the lenses that you don't have the facilities to dispose of.

removed account4 · Jan 21, 2017

flavio81 said:
The 44M-7 did not came in 1993. In 1992 i was gifted a Zenit 12XL camera and it came with this very same Helios-44M-7 lens.

seems like you got a fake too

onre · Jan 21, 2017

jnanian said:
seems like you got a fake too

pre-emptive forging, the best kind!

Was i fooled? Fake Helios 44m-7?

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