View Magnification with Manual Focus Lenses (Canon R8)

[mmbrombe]

I have an old Helios 44m 58mm F 2 which I enjoy using with my Canon R8 via adapter. It's not the sharpest lens around but I just love its "analog" look and feel. To help focusing I am able to set focus peaking to red-high, however I am unable to magnify the view while manually focusing. I've searched the manual and internet for any help, but no success so far. If my memory serves me right (no guarantee) I am pretty sure I could use magnification on my old Fuji camera with the same lens. Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,

Marcelo

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

I haven't tested this with a 3rd party MF lens, but here are the instructions for using magnification in live view on the R8.

https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/s/article/ART182317#:~:text=If%20focusing%20is%20not%20possible,vie....

[mmbrombe]

Thank you for your tip. It caused me to explore this a bit further and it worked! Tapping the cursor position button brings up the "Info" symbol. Once I tap the Info button the view is magnified. Perfect. Many thanks!

[justadude]

I was going to comment, but I see Rick provided the same answer I was going to give.  But I did want to say that I share your love of using the Helios 44M 58mm F/2 lens on any of my digital cameras.  It is such a fun lens to use, and the results are great!

On the other hand, as much as I love shooting film - this lens is a bit less forgiving on film.  It's too bad because it looks great on the Russian built Zenit camera.

Have fun with the R8 / Helios combo!

[mmbrombe]

Gary,

Thank you for your feedback. I'm still coming to terms with focusing the Helios. I struggle a bit with the correct exposure too - the "dual" aperture rings confuse me (the ring at the very end clicks firmly at each aperture setting, the other inner ring is loose and appears to open/close the aperture without clicks), but when I get it right I really love the output. Great fun. Thanks again for your comments.

Marcelo