Schneider Xenar 3.5/240

[NormaN]

Hello all

I recently purchased a Xenar 3.5/240 in a compound V shutter and would like to use the lens for 8x10 portraits.

Strangely, I cannot find any Schneider - data or technical documentation on this model.

As you can see on the photos, the lens suffers from Schneideritis and major chipping of the inner (and partly outer) black coating.

Also you also can see that especially on the 2 sides of the second lens element the glass is a bit hazy resp. at certain viewing angles a kind of matte layer is visible.

So far I have not had the opportunity to test the lens. The shutter has yet to be revised and I have yet to build a lensboard.

- Is this "matte layer" damage to the coating, water condensation damage?
- Is it worth a professional polish and/or recoating?
- Does anyone know a company in Europe that offers these services?
- How are the lens elements actually held in the mount? There are no visible clamping rings.....

Regarding the shutter:
The cable release nipple is missing. How would you replace it? The original is sort of “crimped” on.

NormaN

[Chauncey Walden]

If the lens is as sharp as my two 240 f/4.5 Xenars, the haze might be desirable for portraits;-)

[Greg]

Very nice find.
According to my 1961 literature, f/3.5 Schneider Xenar's were only offered in the following focal lengths:
50mm
75mm
105mm
165mm
180mm
the 240mm is listed as only a f/4.5 lens.

[Embdude]

The 3.5 Xenar's were all gone by the end of WWII (1945)... the last catalog I can find them in is the 1939... I don't know of any wartime catalogs... Linhof commissioned a 135mm 3.5 in 1950-ish for the Linhof 4x5 Standard Press, but the larger ones were all gone by then.... Here is the Serial number dates and a couple of pages from the 1935 Brooks (USA) Schneider catalog...

[Embdude]

Is the haze in the front cells or the rear? They should just unscrew. If it is in the rear cemented pair it may be the balsam glue holding them together...

Attachment 235609 Attachment 235610

[mhayashi]

It looks like the front haze needs some internal surface cleaning of the front elements.
You can disassemble the front lens case and clean the inner surfaces.
Are there any notches on the circular plate ring written Schenider Xenar?
If so you can open the ring by the proper wrench.

Your compound V shutter is missing the mounting flange.
Contact S.K. Grimes for the flange though not in Europe.

https://skgrimes.com/products/mounting-flanges/

[David Lindquist]

The 3.5 Xenar's were all gone by the end of WWII (1945)... the last catalog I can find them in is the 1939... I don't know of any wartime catalogs... Linhof commissioned a 135mm 3.5 in 1950-ish for the Linhof 4x5 Standard Press, but the larger ones were all gone by then.... Here is the Serial number dates and a couple of pages from the 1935 Brooks (USA) Schneider catalog...

Be interesting to see what its serial number says about its date of manufacture. Not only does the OP say this example is coated, it's marked on the bezel with an inverted red triangle which is how Schneider indicated the lens was coated. (Of course they eventually drop that practice as did Carl Zeiss Jena with their red "T")

David

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I have a 240mm f3.5 Xenar from 1951 or 1952 (2,884,xxx), so were made for a while after WWII. Mine is single coated (red triangle) and also had a haze when I bought it. The haze was pretty easy to remove after I took the elements out of the barrel, but it is certainly worth having someone professionally clean it. They are nice lenses with 5x7 coverage, very sharp at f8 and beyond, and a bit soft wide open.

[NormaN]

Hello all, thanks for your helpful replies!

@embdude

Thanks for the brochures I could not find! The Haze is in the front cell, the second lens from the front. It can be unscrewed from the first one.

One question about your second post, I could not open the 2 attachments:
Attachment 235609 Attachment 235610
Did you attach any other documents?


@ mhayashi

I was able to unscrew the front two lenses. But the Haze cannot be cleaned with the conventional liquids(alcohol, lighter fluid) I have respect for experimenting with other liquids/methods.

Fortunately I have the mounting flange, it was just not on the picture
What I am interested in is how are the lenses held in the mounts? There are no visible "notches" to screw off. Are the lenses glued in place?

@ David Linquist

Judging by the serial number (2,309,XXX) the lens is from 1949 or 1950.


@Jason Greenberg Motamedi

Like your lens, mine also has the red triangle and dates from 1949 or 1950.
I would be interested to know how you removed the haze. The haze on my lens is almost invisible held up to the light only at a shallow angle. it is like a matte layer. Is it a calcium deposit due to condensation? Or a damaged coating due to something else?

Apparently the 3.5/240 Xenars were still produced for a while but slowly phased out?

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I went back to my notebook from when I purchased the lens (2009), and realize that I had it professionally polished. At the time Arax in Kyiv was doing good optical work very cheaply, and I sent the element to them to polish and recoat. I don't know what the haze was, sorry, but I was clearly not able to remove it myself.