A Photographer’s Notes | Mixing Vintage and Modern Gear for Distinctive Portraits

One wonderful facet of images that many individuals overlook is the distinctive qualities classic lenses can convey to photographs taken on fashionable cameras. I personally shoot professionally with my Nikon Z9, with a cornucopia of contemporary lenses that render flawlessly stunning pictures. But some days “flawlessly beautiful” may also appear boring and missing a sure character. The imperfection of classic lenses, their distinctive character, their tough edges, may help convey a brand new look lacking from fashionable images.

One such lens that I’ve not too long ago acquired is the Russian-made Helios 44-2 58mm F/2. A small guide focus prime lens developed within the Nineteen Sixties, it offers “swirly bokeh” that’s not like any fashionable lens out there. And though fairly a preferred lens, it’s simply out there on-line for a particularly reasonable worth. 

Testing the Helios 44-2

I needed this lens, primarily as a portrait lens. So, to offer it a very good take a look at, I met up with my pal B-Girl MYW and headed to a park in Yokohama. 

Our first location was a brilliant cool spiral staircase with blue partitions that was numerous enjoyable to shoot in. It had nice pure mild, however because it was fairly slim inside and never the perfect spot to watch the Helio’s well-known swirly bokeh. Still a brilliant enjoyable place to shoot although. 

For our second spot, we headed up and into the again of the park and located a cool house, way more open with nice backlight. Here we have been capable of get numerous completely different pictures that showcased the distinctive look of the lens. 

Not solely did the lens make B-Girl MYW look wonderful, however I additionally love the look of the background within the pictures the place there’s backlight coming via the leaves. 

It is, actually, only one small facet of the pictures, and possibly one thing most individuals would must be advised about to note. However, as somebody who has shot for 30 plus years, I simply love the look this lens offers and might’t wait to get out and shoot with it once more quickly. 

Between Vintage and Modern

As I write this, I really feel just like the distinction between classic and fashionable lenses might be likened to the distinction between vinyl data and CDs. Both are nice for those who simply need to hearken to music. But there’s simply one thing about vinyl data and classic lenses that will get into the hearts of some folks, like myself.

Just one factor I ought to observe about utilizing classic lenses on fashionable cameras. The fundamental design of lenses has not likely modified over the a long time. However, the lens mounts on fashionable cameras should not the identical as these on cameras from the Nineteen Sixties, for instance. Because of this, for those who want to use classic lenses in your fashionable mirrorless or DSLR digital camera, you have to to choose up an adaptor. These will differ from maker to maker. 

It’s finest to totally examine that the mix you need to use is feasible earlier than buying any lenses you might be contemplating. 

RELATED:

Author: Jason Halayko

Jason Halayko is an expert photographer specializing in portraits, motion sports activities and portrait images. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.