diff --git a/cmd/helm/init.go b/cmd/helm/init.go
index d368945ec..f1ff825a6 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/init.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/init.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"strings"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -36,6 +37,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/helm/helmpath"
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/helm/portforwarder"
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/repo"
+	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/version"
 )
 
 const initDesc = `
@@ -323,6 +325,13 @@ func (i *initCmd) run() error {
 		fmt.Fprintln(i.out, "Not installing Tiller due to 'client-only' flag having been set")
 	}
 
+	if !(len(strings.Split(version.Version, ".")) > 2) && !i.opts.UseCanary && len(i.opts.ImageSpec) == 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(i.out, "\nWarning: You appear to be using an unreleased version of Helm. Please either use the\n"+
+			"--canary-image flag, or specify your desired tiller version with --tiller-image.\n\n"+
+			"Ex:\n"+
+			"$ helm init --tiller-image gcr.io/kubernetes-helm/tiller:v2.8.2\n\n")
+	}
+
 	fmt.Fprintln(i.out, "Happy Helming!")
 	return nil
 }
diff --git a/cmd/helm/installer/install_test.go b/cmd/helm/installer/install_test.go
index dbb7143e3..b769e736e 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/installer/install_test.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/installer/install_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"reflect"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/ghodss/yaml"
@@ -57,6 +58,10 @@ func TestDeploymentManifest(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("%s: error %q", tt.name, err)
 		}
 
+		// Unreleased versions of helm don't have a release image. See issue 3370
+		if tt.name == "default" && !(len(strings.Split(version.Version, ".")) > 2) {
+			tt.expect = "gcr.io/kubernetes-helm/tiller:canary"
+		}
 		if got := dep.Spec.Template.Spec.Containers[0].Image; got != tt.expect {
 			t.Errorf("%s: expected image %q, got %q", tt.name, tt.expect, got)
 		}
diff --git a/cmd/helm/installer/options.go b/cmd/helm/installer/options.go
index 13cf43dcc..c4e2c11b2 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/installer/options.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/installer/options.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package installer // import "k8s.io/helm/cmd/helm/installer"
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 
 	"k8s.io/api/core/v1"
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/strvals"
@@ -101,6 +102,9 @@ func (opts *Options) selectImage() string {
 	case opts.UseCanary:
 		return defaultImage + ":canary"
 	case opts.ImageSpec == "":
+		if !(len(strings.Split(version.Version, ".")) > 2) {
+			return defaultImage + ":canary"
+		}
 		return fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", defaultImage, version.Version)
 	default:
 		return opts.ImageSpec