1.3.24

HELIOS 40-2 85mm F1.5 Joins IronGlass' MKII Set

HELIOS 40-2 85mm F1.5 Joins IronGlass’ MKII Set

The legendary Helios 40-2 85mm f/1.5 is joining IronGlass’ MKII rehousing lineup. While its little brother, the Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 get all the fame, the 40-2 is actually the true king of swirly bokeh, which makes it a perfect addition to the IronGlass’s Soviet MKII series. Helios 40 85mm F1.5 in action The Helios 40-2 has an interesting history, being based on one of the most famous Carl…

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Right now, my neighbour's roses are in bloom. My hanging Boston Ferns are looking fresh. It's the perfect time to capture this beauty garden day! Today I decided to mix things up by using 3 different vintage lenses on my Olympus Mini Pen + my iPhone (13 pro). I used 50mm, and 28mm Olympus lenses, and I also used my Helios 58mm. All three lenses are manual focus. It can be challenging, especially with bright mid-day sunlight and vibrant colours. I absolutely love the way the bright pink pairs with the greens found in abundance these days!

buddy's kind of heartbreaking, actually.

no question, the kid's a victim of a cult, and because of that, he was targeted as easily manipulable for whatever scheme kipperlilly's going going on with sol/helio and raising dead gods.

his worldview is narrow-minded, black and white, and filtered through some deeply harmful lenses, but there's naivety and innocence there, too. unquestioning belief that people's lives would get infinitely better if they listened to him. that he is doing good for the world.

i'd be shocked if he has any idea of what the rest of his party is really up to.

So, wow…I think I’m a little heartbroken over that ending guys..fhjy ramblings after the cut..

I truly didn’t think kipperlilly was that conniving..like I thought she hated the bad kids in a way that we knew would be wrong but under the lenses of modern high school bureaucracy would show that capitalism/standardized tests/student loan debt/etc. and the way people feel they have to tear each other down to succeed was the true enemy.

I thought that the party was influenced by the corrupted rage god or possibly aligned with whatever chess game sol and galicaea are playing, but that it’s their party, their friends, so of course they loved Lucy and of course they tried to make Buddy comfortable.

I thought that since kipperlilly hated Riz since freshman year, of course it was something small and silly ossified into something large and unyielding.

But as we get closer to the end and see more of the rat grinders I think I’m absolutely wrong. To sacrifice your own cleric? The betrayal of trust is unimaginable.

Current, galaxy brain, paranoid theories now:

We seem to be lining up multiple gods who fall in two tracks - sun/bounty (Sol, Ankarna, Helio) and dark/cold (Galicaea, Cassandra, Ruvina)

We’ve heard about the games they play in domains and the fact that no one wants to share..but also that so below so above, I think there is a human enacted and god enabled conspiracy by a pair of unnamed gods trying to streamline the domains. Think of the conflict in Galicaea.

I think they wanted Lucy to switch to be both a follower of warmth and cold and when they murdered her they only counted the dark and always planned on killing Buddy (the last stand just accelerated it) as a sacrifice.

I think at least some of them intentionally killed Lucy (new thought for me as I was sticking to my surely the rat grinders loved her as we love her)

For a while I thought they might be using the devil’s honey in the cloud machine for a large area effect but I can’t imagine the sheer amount of honey you’d need based on Gertie’s baklava comment.

Maybe it’s my background showing but I wanted Buddy to see the metaphorical light and become more nuanced. I wanted him to have the room to grow.

I think the devil’s honey is going to be used to make people think the Bad Kids killed him and that’s why there is the worry about Fig and Bobby Dawn.

For real though the rest of the battle? The Bad Kida at their finest! No one went down, they fought connected and inspired and like a well oiled machine. If kipperlilly saw that I hope she was rattled. I hope she saw them pass something literally no one has before and realize their accolades are not empty and she’s going to have to get up earlier in the morning to get them.

Beautiful episode though, the last stand really showed their experience in all the best ways and was just really enjoyable to watch!

Y'all!!

I got a film camera! And a Helios 44-2!

Kalimar SR200 cameras are just Zenit E cameras, rebadged for sale in the US.

I just wanted the Helios 44 58mm lens so I could adapt it to my Fujifilm XT4 and get swirly bokeh. I was kind of on the fence about spending $120 plus shipping (was looking on ebay). But then I found a listing for a camera and three lenses. One of which was listed as a 44mm lens.

The Helios 44 is a 58mm lens, but this seller missed that, and didn't know they had a $120-170 lens. I bought everything for $99.

The lenses are beautiful.

One is a zoom and one is a telephoto. (The visible dust is on the outside of the lenses).

All three lenses are pretty sharp! Coatings are in good condition, everything works, no oil on aperture blades, glass is clean and undamaged, barely any dust inside the lenses themselves. It's incredible.

The camera works, mechanically, and I just shot a roll of test shots using all three lenses to check for light leaks and shutter misfires.

I love that it's fully manual. There's a light meter that doesn't take batteries to work. Everything else is mechanical. I kept thinking I needed to power it down to save on battery life between shots. Nope! Kinda crazy.

Anyway -- now I just have to wait a couple weeks to get the negatives and scans back to see if the camera works.

So I made some realizations about Helio and Helidea and I'm not sure if I like them or what to do with them. So I'm dumping these thoughts and opinions here

I really did not like Helio and Helidea for a really long time. Like among the main five characters, Helio was my least favorite, and his relationship with Medea was my least favorite between any of the five.

My opinion of Helio was "just another case of shounen love interest syndrome". Basically the thing with het romances where the love interest sucks ass and the mc's friendship with another character of the same gender is honestly way more romantic and meaningful? Cuz heteronormativity and gender roles and misogyny (for male mcs) and blah blah. He spends most of his screen time being a Medea simp, being Medea's right-hand man/assistant/servant/dog?? We're given hints of his backstory but it felt like most of it was just to support the Medea simping. I found him really boring and bland compared to the other four main characters.

And his relationship with Medea? It's toxic, which was pretty obvious way before the story started spelling it outright in chapter 100+. The relationship was stalling his character development in favor of what... some mid one-sided romance? (See, shounen love interest syndrome) His entire character was just his devotion to Medea, and we barely see Medea give a fuck about him. I lost all respect for him at that one scene where he kissed Medea's foot and called her his god. Like, gurl get the fuck up??

However, I did recognize back then that Helidea actually had tropes that I really like if they were handled differently. Even more now, that my taste has changed a bit from when I was reading Your Throne back in 2020-2021. I'm a sucker for devotion and loyalty actually. I fucking love "I'd do anything for you, I'd die for you, I'd go to hell and back for you." Dependency and toxic relationships are actually things I'd sometimes enjoy. So there was an inkling of "maybe in a different world or handled differently" even back then.

I said I enjoyed those kind of relationship in fics because usually the ships/characters I like are the ones where I'd root for them to be in a healthy relationship over a toxic one, cuz usually those are the type where you're rooting for what's "good". I do enjoy them outside of fics and headcanons, but it's usually when the story actually is the kind of story that tells and explores a toxic relationship. But with Your Throne, I didn't think it was that kind of story. Given Medea's development, I was rooting for her success and happiness and for her to end up in a good relationship (if there is an endgame ship). So whenever I looked at Helidea I was like "this is supposed to be canon???"

I do want Your Throne to break the norms, not just in terms of tropes but also societal norms (like a not heteronormative romance or queer characters), but I didn't really expect much from it. Even if I didn't want Helidea to be canon, I still judged them through the lenses of "this is supposed to be canon???" cuz I expected it to be, and that was my mistake.

Yes, Helidea's kinda fucked up. They're pretty ass if you judge them on the basis of a good healthy romantic relationship. But as a toxic fictional relationship between morally dubious mentally ill characters, they're great actually. That's what the author intended to portray (I think so anyways), they're doing their job? They're interesting as a concept, something I'd wanna poke around at when I have brain worms. Kind of similar to how I feel about Medea x Eros (Mederos?). I never wanna see them in an actual relationship though, unless there's some huge development at Medea's end.

Speaking of Medea's end in their relationship: one of the reasons why I disliked it was because Medea never treated Helio like an equal. She cared for him to an extent, but that's more of how a master would love their favorite servant, nothing like the devotion Helio had for her. I would've been fine with that toxic master/servant dynamic if that were the point. But seeing how Medea treats Psyche, how she treats her like an equal and encourages her growth, while with Helio she just enables that toxic behavior and let him worship her? It really just didn't feel like she cared for Helio at all. But with rereading, and the more recent chapters with Helio's backstory (i havent caught up to it tho), I can see now that that behavior wasn't just a "she really don't give a fuck", but something more complicated. I don't think Medea could ever love Helio back the way he loves her, but she does care?

Anyways, as frustrated I am about Helio's backstory being way too long, he kinda needed it. He hasn't developed much for nearly the entire story, so like thank fuck he has an arc? The fact that it's so late tho?? I've had a negative opinion of him and Helidea for such a long time that idk what to feel about them even when my views are kinda changing.

what camera and filter do u use ???? 👀

I’m actually just shooting on my shitty iphone camera lol no filters going on here!

A lot of the work i do in the industry when it’s not on set is in post, so I’ve encountered a variety of different ways to create a certain look to just about any footage. What i’ve found works best for me is simply shooting at a lower exposure and bringing out things like highlights in post, to help create those deep colors and harsh shadows without having to alter those two settings themselves. Gives it a more flat and painterly feel that I try to strive for as my personal look while also not looking too artificial in camera. Natural colors babyyy! (i use this tactic all the time, not just for my feedism stuff. if you’ve seen my regular photography and cinematography, same stuff going on there).

I DO however use a special app on my phone, since iPhone’s imbedded camera app is kinda shit, user-interface-wise. It’s called FilmicPro, and pretty much lets you manually alter exposure, ISO, shutter speed, zoom and lens changes just like a real camera right there on your phone. A bit pricey, but it has literally replaced my phone’s camera app, i use it for everything. 100% worth it, in my eyes. (I bet I could make my stuff look even better with a more recent phone, i only have 2 lenses to work with.)

That said, the app can only work within the limits of the imbedded camera, so i’d personally like to get a nice fancy camera for myself. Saving up for one now, thinking about a black magic 6k camera with a helios 44 russian lens, both of which are some of my favorites to work with.

GREAT question, i’ll talk your ass off about cameras and cinematography if you’d let me.

Canon EOS 300D Digital, Zenit Helios 44M-4, f/8, 58mm, 1/1000s, ISO 100; 24.09.2023

[ENG] This photo shows a fragment of the village where I live. It's a typical tourist village where farmers are the exception, and many people rent rooms to tourists or don't live here at all; they just come for the summer from their homes in Warsaw, Olsztyn, or other cities.

An interesting thing about this photo is what I used to take it. I don't know if you're one of those people who pay attention to technical details that I've been providing recently with each photo here, but if not, take a look. This is this year's photo taken with a camera that might be older than you and a lens that certainly is. I enjoy these kinds of experiments, reminiscing about how it used to be when you couldn't set everything to auto. Manual focus settings? Sure thing. Sometimes it's especially challenging because ever since cameras have had autofocus systems, they come with brighter focusing screens, but without the split prism or microprism collar that made working with manual lenses easier. It also happens that the autofocus system in a new camera can be misleading. I had this issue with the Helios lens attached to my R6. Canon's autofocus assist showed that the focus was spot on, but it was actually beyond the subject. Anyone who has dealt with these things should give it a try. Having this perspective helps not to get caught up in today's shortcomings. From the perspective of someone who has been taking photos for a few decades, arguments about the superiority of one camera over another seem funny to me. Yes, I see the differences, but I once had a camera with only one functional autofocus point. So, the difference between 2500 points and 500 points seems insignificant to me in both cases. In both cases, it's more than enough and shouldn't limit anyone.

And besides... it's a beautiful village, isn't it? Because that's what this hobby is mostly about. So, I apologize for my equipment digressions. I'll wrap it up for today. Greetings.

[PL] To zdjęcie przedstawia fragment wsi w której mieszkam. Jest to typowo turystyczna wieś gdzie rolnicy to wyjątek a mnóstwo ludzi wynajmuje pokoje turystom lub w ogóle tu nie mieszkają tylko przyjeżdżają na lato ze swoich domów w Warszawie, Olsztynie czy innym Bytomiu.

Ciekawostką jest to, czym zrobiłem to zdjęcie. Nie wiem czy jesteś jedną z tych osób które zwraca uwagę na dane techniczne które od niedawna podaję pod każdą fotką tutaj ale jeśli nie to popatrz. Oto mamy tegoroczne zdjęcie robione aparatem, który być może jest starszy od Ciebie i obiektywem który z pewnością jest. Lubię takie zabawy. Przypomnieć sobie jak to było kiedy nic nie dało się ustawić na auto. Manualne ustawianie ostrości? Proszę bardzo. Czasami jest to wyjątkowo trudne bo odkąd aparaty mają układ AF to wyposażane są w jaśniejsze matówki ale za to bez rastra czy klina które ułatwiały pracę z manualnymi szkłami. Bywa, też tak, że układ wspomagający ostrość w nowym aparacie przekłamuje. Tak miałem z tym właśnie Heliosem podpiętym od R6. Wspomagacz Canona pokazywał, że ostrość jest w punkt a była już za obiektem. Kto z takimi rzeczami się nigdy nie zmagał ten powinien spróbować. Posiadanie tej perspektywy pomaga w nieprzejmowaniu się dzisiejszymi niedostatkami. Z perspektywy kogoś kto fotografuje już pare dekad śmieszne są dla mnie spory o wyższości jednego aparatu nad drugim. Tak. Dostrzegam różnice ale kiedyś miałem aparat z jednym funkcjonalnym punktem AF. Więc taka różnica między 2500 punktów a 500 punktów wydaje mi się nieistotna. W obu wypadkach jest to dostatecznie dużo i nie powinno nikogo ograniczać.

A poza tym... Ładna wieś, nie? Bo to bardziej o to w tym sporcie chodzi. Także przepraszam za wynurzenia sprzętowe. Kończę na dziś. Pozdrawiam.

Follow up on the last post I made about an Umbra Witch Ben: I've had some ideas for the Umbra Witch Ben variant and I thought I'd put them out here. Also, I will not be taking Bayo 3's version of the multiverse as canon. Rather, each world has their own Paradiso and Inferno, so there can be variants of characters like Rodin.

-As is typical of the witches, this Ben uses a pair of guns. Green of course with some white stylings and the usual bells and whistles that Bayonetta's guns tend to have. Collectively, they're called Greensleeves after the 1580 song by Richard Jones, but individually they're Helios, Selene, Polaris, and Comet. Rodin decided to give them space-themed names since Ben works with the Plumbers. I also liked the idea of him using something like the Yo-Yos from Bayonetta 3, so I like to think he uses both and might swap depending on his mood.

-His Beast Within forms inclue: Dragonflies (his bat within), an Eagle (crow within), and a Leopard (might change in the future, dunno) Fuck it, he's getting a tiger form. I wanted to give him a unique one (so not a Lynx, Panther, Tiger, or Wolf), but he seems like a Tiger man to me. So he has Tiger Within now instead of Leopard Within.

-He does dance, but his style leans more into breakdancing.

-Not much of a foodie like other Bens, but he is a music lover. He likes electronic and poppy music most. 

-Like I said, he’s not much of a foodie, but he does chew gum a lot.

-He made a pact with the demon Monsieur Dragonfly, King of Carnage (name is WIP). Like his name suggests, Dragonfly is the king of the Carnage (the dragonfly demons in 2). He's like the Madamas in that he's human-like and bug themed. He sports four arms that end in dragon-like claws, a cape that turns into his wings, and of course, he has a large head piece formed from several horns. He does have poison/acidic-based abilities along with good basic melee and control over the Carnage. His summon chant is MOMAR VOVIN, which means Crowned Dragon in Enochian.

-The way he dresses isn't that far off from main Ben, but he's got more of a stylistic sporty look to him. Those converse boots that go up the shins, jeans, the usual hoodie but unzipped, and probably a different shirt than what Prime where. I also imagine him with some kind of sunglasses or glasses with tinted lenses. He doesn't have vision issues, he's just extra (and it helps when the angels come down). Idk exactly how he'd wear his Umbran Watch tho. What I'm thinking right now is just a chain around his neck with the watch attached, like Bayonetta's 2nd game design or B1's or he has a chain on his belt where it resides (tho that's an awfully easy way for it to get snatched).

-His Umbran Watch has the Omnitrix symbol on it. The moon is also there with the Omnitrix symbol inside it.

-He's picked up some traits from Bayonetta and Jeanne, so he's pretty sassy, even by Prime's standards. What's more, he's very overconfident in his own abilities, so it takes a lot for him to actually feel like he's in over his head. He's showy as well, and he definitely feels like he has to make a show to stand out compared to his transforming counterparts. Finally, I think he'd be pretty charismatic and a tad flirty (that part was also Bayonetta's influence).

-He's not exactly a new Witch/Warlock, but he's not as experienced as Bayonetta or Jeanne. He started when he was 10.

-He actually doesn't have the Omnitrix. I haven't decided who has the Omnitrix in his world yet, but he definitely knows about it and has been exposed to all the alien stuff, too, on top of the demons and angels. He actually fills a role similar to Ben Prime, where he works with the Plumbers and stops threats, intergalactic or not. He just uses Umbran magic and techniques instead of the Omnitrix.

-He was recently partnered with Rook, who is largely the same as he is in Prime's world. His Proto-Armor is a bit more ornate, though, and his Proto-Tool has been modified by Rodin so it's got self-contained demonic energy in it to assist in angel killing.

-Though he is very skilled, he has his limits and doesn't really compare to Bayonetta or Jeanne. For instance, he doesn't have demon masquerade down yet and he not even close to being able to use demon slave. He can use demon masquerade, but since he doesn't have the technique down pat yet, sometimes Dragonfly can sort of take hold.

-Max is still instrumental in his development. Bayonetta and Jeanne play a role as well, but more so as teachers for his abilities, not for morals.

-Gwen still practices magic, but she practices Lumen magic. There aren't many Lumen left, but there are a few stragglers who have survived the centuries. Gwen has had help, but she's done a lot of her studies by herself. She's contracted a Glamor and uses a Glaive (what Balder uses in 2). The blade of hers is skinnier though and she has two folded blades on her heels as well. She uses magic to make them extend for attacks.

-Ben and Gwen have a friendly rivalry with one another. They enjoy sparring, but sometimes they can get out of hand as they both grow more competitive.

I think that's all I got for now. I'll update if I think of anything.

1.3.24

Hills

Hey all! A photo collection of hills and pine trees and more. These are my first photos on the XT20 shot with the Helios 44-2! I was intrigued to see the results and actually think the detail from the camera helps but I almost want the EOS M’s more smoothed approach. Definitely interested in how the XT20 handles different lenses, I went through a similar process with the EOS M to determine which…

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A Pair of Helios 'PNB-2' Military Observation Binoculars with tripod and accessories,

Russian, mid-20th century,

60 degrees vertical elevation, 360 degrees rotation, with spirit level to the top, each lens 13cm in diameter, on adjustable wooden tripod painted green with pointed feet, the binoculars with two rubber lens caps, in fitted pine case, together with a small latched metal tin containing eight lenses and accessories.

Bonhams

☼ SOLOMON GILBERT ☼ + helios

age: 24, b. 09. august. 1997 ( leo )

nicknames: sol

gender identity & pronouns: cis man, he/his

sexual orientation: bisexual

birthplace: manchester, england

nationality: british

languages: english, french

occupation: travel photographer for the oracle

living arrangement: white poplar village

pets: ginger cat named solaris

vices: overthinking, sensitive, destructive

virtues: nurturing, observing, trustworthy

THE DEITY WITHIN ;;

deity: helios, titan god of the sun, sight and keeper of the truth. the personification of the sun.

power traits: increased vitality and better mood in clear skies and sunny weather; not bothered by heat, able to produce small flickers of light through his fingers usually with the help of a mirror or another reflective surface

locked powers: control bursts of light on will, physical and mental power on sunny and warm days and clear weather, fully resistant to extreme heat, the ability to add or subtract light from small areas

PINTEREST

biography & connections under the cut ;; ( cw: fertile issues, cancer, parental death, depression )

          if your parents are your heavenly sky, you are their radiant sun. after years of trying they finally have you and they shower you with much more love that two human hearts can hold. they’re rich, you don’t know how much exactly, but every comfort and joy on the world is yours to behold. with the titan helios residing in your soul, you adapt powers you’ve had ever since you knew yourself, powers that went unnoticed because you are used to their normality. mirrors gleam around you, sunny weather makes you energized instead of exhausted. manchester is your home for thirteen years before they decide to move their real estate business to australia, anchoring themselves in magnetic island so they can spread their empire from an unclaimed territory. they thought that would be uneasy for you; that perhaps you’ll change, but on the island you gleam. your little sister eliza comes into the world and joins the family, claiming her spot as the gleaming stars in the sky of the gilbert family. your sunny personality brings you good reputation in school and your wealthy parents don’t turn you into the usual high school bully. you put your classmates and friends before yourself and you thrive in the shadow of their happiness. 

          your father wants to teach you the way of his business but you don’t seem to pick up, so when graduation rolls around you hear his proposal. ‘you have one year to live your life to your heart’s desires, but then you will build your own life’s empire by yourself.’ you don’t mind it, but his voice is trembling, sorrow-like. your fleeting heart pays little attention and goes on a worldwide trip paid for by your father and you see the world with your own two eyes and your camera. photos through the eyes of your lenses and stories written from the bottom of your heart accidentally get scouted by an editor who offers you a career as a photojournalist and you see this as your empire; your little piece of the universe that you can flourish to success.

          you return and your father is ill. turns out your heavenly sky was suffering from storms inside; ichor-like, irreversible and non-curable. it’s been kept from you that cancer has been slowly taking your father’s life for years now and in your despair, your radiance comes to a dusk. you fall victim to the darkest thoughts your mind can explore, for where there’s blinding light, there’s also endless darkness. you lose yourself and your hope, friends try to help you, but you refuse. why burden them and force your own healing unto their minds? one day you see your mother trying to pick her husband’s legacy and raise a child alone and you can see it now; the light of the tunnel. you take charge of raising your little sister and she saves you from the darkness that you never knew your mind can hold. you move into your own apartment and take turns with your mother taking care of her and making sure she lives an even better life than you did.

Tecno Spark 20 Pro In Philippines 120Hz Display Helio G99 SoC: Starting this month, Tecno introduced the Spark 20 smartphone. The company introduced a new Spark 20 model for the Philippines. The Spark 20 Pro debuted this year. The Spark 19 Pro successor features modest enhancements.  Tecno Spark 20 Pro Specifications A punch-hole cutout in the center of the 6.78-inch IPS LCD screen displays status and warnings like a moving island on the Tecno Spark 20 Pro. The refresh rate is 120Hz, and the quality is FHD+. The flat device contains a fingerprint reader on the power button. The rear has a square iPhone-like camera with three sensors.  Three cameras on the rear of the Tecno Spark 20 Pro include a 108MP primary sensor and two QVGA lenses. Selfies are taken using its 32MP front camera. The Tecno Spark 20 Pro uses MediaTek Helio G99. A microSD card slot adds storage. It includes 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. The phone's 5,000mAh battery charges swiftly at 33W. HyperOS aside, the tablet runs Android 13 out of the box.  Aside from 4G VoLTE, the Tecno Spark 20 Pro offers a USB-C connector, a 3.5mm jack, an IP53 rating, and two speakers. Tecno Spark 20 Pro costs $100, or PHP 5,599. Moonlit Black, Frosty Ivory, Sunset Blush, and Magic Skin Green are available. Magic Skin Green feels like matte leather.