Helios & Industar · M42 screw mount · About 1969–1990, reissued from 2012
The Helios-40 is an 85mm f/1.5 that KMZ built on the layout of Carl Zeiss Jena's Biotar 75mm f/1.5. D. S. Volosov calculated it in 1950 as a six-element, four-group Planar type, and its optical block first went into tank night-vision sights in the early 1950s. The M39 Helios-40 came out in 1956, and the M42 Helios-40-2 followed around 1969–1970 and ran until 1990. KMZ restarted the 40-2 in August 2012 with multicoating and no tripod collar, then added Nikon F and Canon EF-fit versions in 2013. It's a big lens. Most copies take 67mm filters, the 10-blade preset aperture runs from f/1.5 to f/22, and KMZ's own figures put the original at over a kilogram with its collar. On mirrorless you're focusing a fast 85 by hand, so turn on focus magnification and take your time.
On a mirrorless camera
It’s a M42 screw mount lens, and its mount sits 45.46 mm from the film. Every mirrorless mount below sits closer than that, so a plain adapter ring fills the gap and the lens still focuses to infinity. On a smaller sensor it frames tighter, like a longer lens.
Versions
The Helios-40 (from 1956) has an M39 thread made for a 45.2mm flange distance, and the Helios-40-2 is the M42 version. Original 40-2s are single-coated and came with a tripod collar, and a few have a 66mm filter thread instead of 67mm. Close focus is 1.15 m on most and 0.8 m on some. KMZ restarted the 40-2 in 2012 with multicoating and without the collar, later marking it MC Helios-40-2, and from 2013 added the 40-2-N for Nikon F and the 40-2-C, which fits Canon EF bodies but has no electronic contacts.
Old copies are now 35 to 55 years old, so stiff focus grease, oily blades and haze are the usual problems. Big front glass also shows cleaning marks easily.
New to old glass? How to check a used vintage lens covers haze, fungus and the rest in detail.
Buying guide
We'd buy the 40-2 at $640 delivered from a 99.5% seller in Ukraine, which shows its tripod collar, a case, three color filters and caps, or the glossy black copy at $537 if you'd rather keep $100. Only four are for sale, asking $537–690 delivered, so that band is what these four ask, not a market read. Originals ran about 1969–1990 with a tripod collar, and KMZ reissued the lens from 2012 with multicoating and no collar, so look for the collar in the photos to tell which you're getting. It has a preset aperture, so a plain M42 adapter works, and the model page lists the adapters by camera. Ask for a flashlight-through photo of the glass, since the big front element shows cleaning marks easily, and skip the zero-feedback seller whose photo is a retail box.
$537.00est. delivered
The lowest delivered 40-2 here at $537, from a 100% seller in Kazakhstan, with a case and strap in the photo. The title makes no condition claim, so ask for a photo of the glass with a light behind it and one of the blades at f/8.
Glossy black Helios-40-2 85mm f1.5 M42 USSR king bokeh
$640.00est. delivered
A 40-2 with its tripod collar, a leather case, three color filters and caps in the photo, at $640 delivered from a 99.5% seller. It's $100 over the cheapest, but everything's there, so ask for a backlit photo of the big front element.
Vintage Soviet HELIOS-40-2 85mm f/1.5 Lens M42 Biotar Copy USSR
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Snapshot
Checked . Some may have sold.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 12, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ. eBay shows yours before you pay.
Used$537.00est. delivered
$527.00 + $10.00 shipping
Buy It Now$527.00
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Good buy
Titled glossy black, with a case and strap in the photo. Ships from Kazakhstan.
Seller: magiclenses
100% positive
Used$640.00est. delivered
$600.00 + $40.00 shipping
Buy It Now$600.00
Good buy
Tripod collar, case, three filters and caps in the photo. The seller calls it a Biotar copy.
Seller: vintagephotostore_ua
99.5% positive
Used$690.00est. delivered
$650.00 + $40.00 shipping
Buy It Now$650.00
Our take
Same seller, $50 more. Case, filters and caps in the photo.
Seller: vintagephotostore_ua
99.5% positive
Used$544.00est. delivered
$499.00 + $45.00 shipping
Buy It Now$499.00
This seller takes offers, and many sellers accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Check the seller
Zero feedback, and the lead photo is a retail box, not the lens.
Seller: dostupz-21
No feedback yet
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Zeiss Jena · M42 screw mount
1939–1969
$1,275–$2,200 typical ask
Helios & Industar · M42 screw mount
From 1966
$110–$180 typical ask
Pentax · M42 screw mount
$330–$525 typical ask
Canon · Canon FD
From 1974, New FD from 1979
$270–$410 typical ask