Tell me about Xenar

[Ernest Purdum]

Dan, a friend once told me that my picture of a gibbon was out of focus. I told him that there is no such thing as an in-focus gibbon.

Yes, I'm bearded and a little fuzzy around the edges.

[Struan Gray]

Not mentioned yet, but cheap, small and low-coverage are the 135-ish mm press lenses like the 127 mm Ektar and 135 Optar sold with Speed Graphics. In the UK you can find the equivalent Wray Lustrars and 135 mm f4.7 Xenars quite easily. Most are Tessars or Tessar clones/derivatives.

There are also mild wide angles or true wide angles for 5x7 which will give you a different look and more movements. The 121 Super Angulon isn't small, but it gives nothing away in terms of sharpness. 120 Angulons have a mixed reputation, but can be good.

There are also older 135 mm plasmats like the Symmar which give you a coverage between the Tessars and the true wide angles and are still very cheap.

Finally, for a very different look, but still on a budget, you could try the older 90 mm lenses like the Angulons, Wide Angle Raptars and Optars and Wray (89 mm) wide angles. These give you almost no movements, but a definite wide angle look.