xenar longish fast lens?

[Rider]

Are there any longish (300mm+) fast Xenars (faster than f5.6)? What's their coverage and other characteristics?

[Tom Diekwisch]

300mm/3.5. A tessar type with gorgeous bokeh.

[domenico Foschi]

500mm tele xenar 5.5.
Cover 8x10 for sure but I din't test it for 11x14
Gorgeous lens, a tiny bit soft wide open,(just a bit) sharp after that.
Gorgeous bokeh and wonderful tone rendition.
I assume they are hard to find.
I bought one on ebay years ago and couldn't find them anymore.
It belonged to a movie studio of some sort.
Not for sale....
Unless you have $22.000 to spend:D

[Jan Pedersen]

300mm 4.5 Xenar not that hard to find.
Just got one in a #5 Compound. Is meant for my 5x7 but should cover 8x10 too.

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Xenars (and Tessars for that matter) normally came as f3.5, 4.5, 5.6, 6.3, et cetera. So yes, quite a few faster ones. The f3.5 in longer lengths are uncommon and not often very sharp, while the f4.5 are quite good and usually very cheap. Xenars will cover about 62+ degrees or so, so you really want one a bit longer than your normal FL.

[Ole Tjugen]

If you look at my avatar, the lens I'm using there is a 300mm f:4.5 Xenar in a #5 Compound shutter. If it looks like a neat little lens, please note that the camera is a 13x18cm Linhof Technika III, and I'm 6'4" tall. :)

The 300mm was intended as a normal lens for 18x24cm, a little bit smaller than 8x10". Schneider gives the coverage as 364mm, which is more than enough for 8x10" and just about exactly enough for 24x30cm.

[Colin Graham]

Slightly OT, but I keep seeing a 210 4.5 xenar (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290133331860&sspagename=ADME:B:AAQ:US:1) in a Copal 3 on ebay. Anyone know anything about this lens? Surely it cant be a 5x7 lens in that size of a shutter? Anyway, the value placed on it seems...optimistic! unless it covers 8x10 at least. I asked the seller about it but they didnt know what format it was for.

Ole, any interest in selling your 'neat little lens'? :-)

[Nick_3536]

The shutter is a function of the aperture. I wouldn't count on it covering 8x10 or even full plate. My old Fuji 300mm F/5.6 is also a Tessar IIRC and at that focal length doesn't have a lot of coverage for 8x10.

[Colin Graham]

Thanks Nick, that makes perfect sense.

[wfwhitaker]

I have two 300mm f/4.5 Xenars for sale, one of which used to belong to a tall Norwegian.

[Ole Tjugen]

Slightly OT, but I keep seeing a 210 4.5 xenar (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290133331860&sspagename=ADME:B:AAQ:US:1) in a Copal 3 on ebay. Anyone know anything about this lens? Surely it cant be a 5x7 lens in that size of a shutter? Anyway, the value placed on it seems...optimistic! unless it covers 8x10 at least. I asked the seller about it but they didnt know what format it was for.

Ole, any interest in selling your 'neat little lens'? :-)

A 210mm f:4.5 won't fit in anything smaller than a #3 shutter - the one I have is in a Compound #3. The Copal has a slightly smaller max opening, so it might not open all the way up to f:4.5. But I can promise that it covers 5x7".

My "neat little lens" is already sold - but you can buy it from wfwhitaker!

[Colin Graham]

Sweet! PM sent Will. I've got to head back into the darkroom, I'll check back in in a hour or so.

[Jim Galli]

I think Xenars were sold in barrel with f4.5 aperture all the way up to 480mm / 19". I have a 420mm / 16.5 inch that I would be willing to sell for $225. Think BIG! Think HEAVY! Just the nature of the beastie. A 4.5 aperture on a long focal length will always be a big chunk of brass and glass. The one I have made an unplanned landing on a hard surface a few years back and has a large dent in the front thread. Xenar's longer than 300mm are quite scarce and have a very fine look for portraits wide open. Rather like the much more pricey Heliars.

[Colin Graham]

If you look at my avatar, the lens I'm using there is a 300mm f:4.5 Xenar in a #5 Compound shutter. If it looks like a neat little lens, please note that the camera is a 13x18cm Linhof Technika III, and I'm 6'4" tall. :)



I'm not quite as tall as Ole, but I'm probably wider! ;) I just barely got your 'ex' to fit on my 5x12. Many thanks Will for the great deal. Although I probably wont be doing any Weegee shots with this combo...

[Ernest Purdum]

The largest Xenar I know of is the 480mm f4.5. That's rather more than "longish", I think. It also weighs 2170 grams. It was listed for the 30 x 40cm format. (I don't happen to have a camera that size.)

Regarding the 210mm f4.5 in Copal 3, This size of lens used to come in a Compur 3, including the electronic 3. I would guess that sometime the shutter of this one became troublesome and the cells were placed in a Copal. They would be, of course, a direct fit. The lens was listed for the 13 x 18cm format and I wouldn't expect much excess coverage.

All Norwegians are tall. A race of giants.

[Ole Tjugen]

... It was listed for the 30 x 40cm format. (I don't happen to have a camera that size.)

I do...


Regarding the 210mm f4.5 in Copal 3, This size of lens used to come in a Compur 3, including the electronic 3. I would guess that sometime the shutter of this one became troublesome and the cells were placed in a Copal. They would be, of course, a direct fit.

They used to come in a Compound 3 before the Compur Electronic 3. A 210/4.5 Xenar from a Compund 3 is not a direct fit in anything else.


All Norwegians are tall. A race of giants.

Not all - I once had a girlfriend who was 5' 1/2".

[Armin Seeholzer]

The largest Xenar I know of is the 480mm f4.5. That's rather more than "longish", I think. It also weighs 2170 grams. It was listed for the 30 x 40cm format. (I don't happen to have a camera that size.)

And now you can see the 480mm here:
http://www.fototalk.de/album_pic.php?pic_id=77950

Cheers Armin

[Miguel Coquis]

Armin, that looks great !!!
...and a 500 mm f:4,5 is impressing too :)

[Armin Seeholzer]

Hi Miguel

Very impressive!

I think this must be a special made item, or did you find some info on it?

Cheers Armin