Dog Schidt Optiks Sample Showreel – Lenses now For Sale!! from Melting Bloke (Richard Gale) on Vimeo.
We have a new announcement to make and yep, the name of these new lenses is “Dog Shits Optics“!
These are Vintage 58mm f2 lens based on a classic 1960’s Zeiss optical design ([shoplink 17425 ebay]here on eBay[/shoplink]). The mount will be modified after your purchase and you can have it in A or E-mount. Check out for more info at Etsy.com.
38 Responses
so its basically a stripped russian helios lens that can be bought for 30 bucks
To be fair, if you read their site they claim to make other modifications to the lenses. For example, adding a tinted lens coating, reshaping the aperture blades for different bokeh, and adding scratches for increased flare.
I think I’ll be sticking with my vanilla Helios 44 (£10 on ebay) though.
adding sratches to increase flare…wow. nice way to ruin a fine lens for future generations to come.
there should be some law of some sort to ban mass modification of vintage lenses for commercial use
I wander if they would do this with Leica lenses for example Dog S*at Summilux
from their confusing site they’re actually selling it for 100 GPB ($130 USD) + shipping, they do different coatings too to give different flaring effects supposedly
130GBP is 150USD, not 130. Then add another $24 for shipping. $175 for this piece of shidt? Pass.
30 bucks? You can buy them for 5 Euros on any flea market.
I wonder what that bright metal bezel does to its contrast and flare characteristics.
Are the lens elements actually made by Krasnogorsky, or is it a newly produced Biotar derivative?
Given the Helios 44 is one of the most produced photographic lenses in history, simply adding a new mount to one is hardly exciting, especially when they already come in easily adapted M42 mount.
This is a lie – if you go to the website and click on the bottom image with 9 lenses, look at the one in the front in the middle and you can CLEARLY read “Made In USSR”.
All they’re doing is buffing out the paint and probably at most giving each lens a minor service. It’s just an expensive aesthetic modification. This is just as bad as that Russian ebay user who sells old 58mm f/2 44m-‘?’ lenses but changes the name plate to the most valuable and sought after 44m-7.
Thanks for sharing info about our lenses SonyAlphaRumors:)
For those here who seem to be a bit confused about what we actually do:-
Info:- http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85427217/Flare_Factory_58_Info_PDF.pdf
FAQ:-http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85427217/Flare_Factory_58_FAQ.pdf
Options List:- http://dl.dropbox.com/u/85427217/Flare_Factory_58_Options_ETSY.pdf
It’s up to you to decide whether or not the modifications are valuable to you. Our lenses are certainly not for everyone, and we certainly don’t want to sell to everyone because the average photographer who craves a clean image will not be happy with the results. These lenses are a niche item, custom assembled to the buyers specification. As stated on our documentation, these are not simply polished. We do various modifications. Some of them basic, some a lot more complicated than most could comprehend or understand.
We love the look from the Biotar design and actually recommend owning a standard Helios-44 alongside a Flare Factory 58 for when you don’t want very low contrast, coloured flare tints, or custom bokeh.
The music is… mind blowing!
I could almost see Flash Gordon coming up to me… trying to hold my hand. I think he wanted to give me a hug, to give me a sense of safety.
So you don’t deny that you lied about not machining the metal parts?
guys, you’re on a site who makes a commission each time you click and buy. let the dude make a buck. he is a small operation and transparent about his products.
He is liar.
Saying that all the metal parts are machined by hand, when in fact they’re the original Russian Helios lenses that have been modified isn’t transparent.
“Dog Sh*ts Optics for A and E-mount.
LMFAO. Wish I had a dog like that, although sh*tting a 70-400mm might sting a bit.
Hahahahaha that’s a good one. If you’ll ever find that dog, can you ask him to dump somewhere a 500/f4? 😀
You’d probably need to take it to the vet if it had one of those inside it.
+1 😀
Oh Schidt! 🙂
Greetings,
I understand that everyone should try to do something to earn money and they have done it as they did. But why we are reading about it here? Is anyone going to buy it after reading about it at SAR? I own mint- copy of CZJ Biotar, I thought some time ago to buy Hellios 44 (and which version?) but I decided to buy best available copy of orginal Biotar (postwar, lasted version). I believe that only lomography admires could try to invest some money here.
best regards, WZ.
I don’t know much about optics, but I think some people in this thread are jumping to conclusions a bit too quickly. Apparently this guy is removing the original optical coatings on the Helios 44 lenses to change the flare characteristics. There are options to entirely replace the aperture or put tints on the lens that show through on flares.
Some of the discussion on this thread is interesting…
http://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/2138-now-available-custom-taking-lenses-for-anamorphots/
Why don’t they adapt the Canon FD 50 f/1.2? the FD 24 f/1.4? or the FD 35 f/2?
Why not customize mounts on any lens people want?
the modifiers of these lenses made a post on dpreview the other day. Someone commented that it was the Helios 44 and not worth it. Then they went berserk and started calling the person who commented an idiot. an admin came in later to shut down the thread because the lens modifier was making a fool out of himself
Looks like a few people may have missed the point of these lenses, they are intended for creative use as they have been heavily modified internally to create unique flare/tint/glow and bokeh characteristics not found on any other lens out there. They are built upon the excellent Helios 44 but are not a simple ‘spit and shine’ cosmetic re-work, but rather some very ingenious modifications that allow for some pretty amazing results. How do I know?…I have two of them and so far I’m very impressed.
The point is, they lie about “hand machining each lens” – they’re just re-worked Helios lenses.
Lying about your product is illegal.
Lignten up and accept these lenses for what they are: something to have fun with. With all of the special affects on cameras these days, this lens just adds another dimension to photography. Pixel peepers need not apply.
This isn’t about ‘lightening up’. I just want people to know that the company is falsely advertising extra work and materials it hasn’t done to produce this lens.
Why is that so hard to understand? That kind of practice is simply illegal.
I don’t see why they don’t just call it a ‘mod’. Then I would be fine with it.
Admin……. you made my day…..haaaaaaa…….
It appears someone read sar comments about putting a label on dog turds and selling it.
Good luck.
Perfect for my Hassy Lunar!
Sorry, I’m holding out for the Dog Pisdt line. 😛
what does the different colour tint does?
Despite the name, it can not be worse than the fabulous and discontinued Sony E 16/2.8. It is cheaper than the plastic crap too! 🙂
For what it’s worth, I think this is a great idea. Sure they are surfing on the “vintage” wave, and what if they are buying old helios lenses to do their changes. I say they added value to the lenses, at least for some people. Why are you complaining if they provide us with a new photographic experiment ?
I for one am grateful to SAR for posting these kind of news. It doesn’t always have to be “mainstream” news to be “worth” posting, and thank god it isn’t.
As for the IQ argument, the lensbaby has terrible IQ, but who cares ? It’s not the point. It still makes it an interesting alternative optical element to explore your creativity.
And honestly, there are so many helios 44 on he market that their little recycling can’t seriously harm the photography archeologists among you.
I just ordered one!