In order to use the lens with my Fuji system I had to order an adapter, I went with the Fotodiox, mainly because of their price point and my previous experience with the company. If you're someone who wants to shoot this at its natural focal length then give one of these focal reducers a try, they'll allow you to shoot at 58mm, while providing an extra stop of light as well.

Image Quality

Let's be honest, this is the main reason you're all reading this right? I know it's the reason I purchased the lens, that swirly bokeh! The Helios 44-2 is one of the few lenses to produce this look, and if I'm not mistaken it's definitely the cheapest, but is it worth it?

In my opinion, hell yes. When I purchased this lens I really wanted to replicate the swirl that previous owners before me had showcased. It was unique, amazing and unbelievable. When I got the lens into my hands I was the most excited I've ever been, especially when it came to photography. I didn't have to work hard to achieve the look, I took my Canon 6D outside and after a few snaps, I had what I wanted. I noticed later on though that the swirly bokeh wasn't always going to be prominent in my images. This was even more noticeable when I made the switch to Fujifilm, with the APS-C sensor you lose a bit of the image quality, and that can cause the cat-eye effect to slightly be less visible.

After the bokeh craze wore off I decided I wanted to take the lens out to the streets. This is an odd move considering the 87mm focal length it presented, but to my surprise, it actually handled itself very well. Stopped down the lens produced sharp images, not corner to corner sharp, but sharp from a first glance perspective. I shot anywhere from f/2 to f/8 in the images below, check them out and judge for yourself.