Sjoerd wrote:I just got a Helios-44 - and my problem is that focus is stuck at 0,75m. I also succeeded to remove both front and back lenses (I'll need to clean them anyway), the aperture control is in perfect order, but the focus ring does not want to move at all, nor can I remove it.
Do you have any idea what could possibly be blocking it?
Time solves all problems... my Helios-44 got unblocked!
I assumed that it was stuck because of grease only, and had applied some solvent to the focus ring (front of the lens pointing down, i.e. standing on the table). It took some hours for the solvent to do its job... after this I succeeded to start moving it. Now it just needs some more cleaning and new grease!
Well, also in this aspect the Helios-44 is like the little brother of the Jupiter-9 - both need regular exercise!
What puzzles me is that this lense is a Helios-44, while the Helios-44 page at Zenit does not mention a Helios-44 in M42 mount. So maybe this is one of the last Helios-44, just before KMZ started to use the Helios-44-2 designation.
The other thing that surprizes me is the serial number - I thought at KMZ it was always linked to the year of production. Apparently this is not the case for the Helios-44. My lense has number 4601xx, yet it must be from the end of the fifties or beginning of the sixtees. Too bad they don't have a register with production numbers on the net like the one for the cameras (http://www.zenit.istra.ru/catalog/cameraproduction.html) - they just mention that this is the most massively produced lense of the KMZ factory, and one of the most massively produced in the world.
Edit: Indeed, the Yahoo group "Zenitcamera" has instructions of how to open the Helios-44! There is a Dutch article from "Camera magazine", Aug/Sep 2003, and an english translation. The article is part of a series on camera repair, and explains how to take apart the diaphragm and clean it. Btw. it's a very active discussion group!
Last edited by Sjoerd (2005-12-08 16:49:35)
