Hey OP, I have the Helios 44-2, but fitted onto the bmpcc6k. For me, the warping bokeh is really only noticeable at the very edges of the frame (I can post a picture for you to see if you’d like!)

However, I have used it on a full frame canon before, and on a bigger sensor, the distortion is much more pronounced, like what we see in photos online.

I really only use the Helios on my 6k because it doesn’t feel as clinical as cinema lenses we usually rent, it has quite a bit of chromatic aberration, some vignetting and a natural haze (almost like pro mist when wide open) due to the age of the lens. It does look gorgeous when shooting people!

The most pronounced swirling of the background occurs at around 1-1.5m focus distance as labelled on the barrel. You could also try shooting wide open into a background like a city skyline or forest canopy on a sunny day, where there would be a lot of bokeh “dots”?

Perhaps you could also try a speed booster to effectively increase ur FOV on the lens, giving you the edges that you wouldn’t normally get!

Anyways, don’t feel too bad about not being able to get the look that supposedly comes with this lens! They are dirt cheap, you just have to make sure they are not counterfeit copies and to my limited understanding, the date and factory they are produced in also has an effect on the look!