Someone please explain this...

[Joshua Dunn]

I just don't understand.

Linhof Schneider Xenotar 150mm f/2.8 Large Format Lens (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110495954201&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)

[Renato Tonelli]

That's a lot money for a couple of extra f/stops... maybe there is something we don't know?

[cdholden]

Well, let's see...
First, there's Ebay and Paypal fees, then there's the Linhof and Schneider names. Xenotars are similar to Planars which command a higher price over several other lenses in the same focal lengths. Then there's the f2.8 aperture. Nice, but hmmm..... my math doesn't add up to $38k worth of lens either.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Chris

[Robert Hughes]

It's not the lens - it's the cache. Just think of how the girls will flip for this lens. I bet even Angelina Jolie would want you! :rolleyes:

[Len Middleton]

Wow, that is scary...

There are obviously at least two people who think it is worth that sort of money.

I am just not one of them, given the information provide...

[Roger Thoms]

Hey that's pretty good considering the starting price was $9.00.

[Vick Vickery]

Well, it DOES come with a Linhof board. :) I suspect that the last bidder left out a "." !

[Len Middleton]

Kirk, OMG NO!!

You're not trying to raise that other thread to the top of the list again??!!!

It only has 300 replies to it...

[Per Madsen]

If you look at the bids and the timing of the bids, it looks like a bidding war which got totaly out of control. :eek:


Besides that, it is the first authentic late series Xenotar with a original Copal 3
shutter I have seen.

All the other Xenotars with Copal 3 shuters I have seen have had all black shutters and have
been converted (based on serialnumbers) from Compur 2 shutters.

[Armin Seeholzer]

I think the bidders are a bit sick just my opinion!

[kev curry]

That's grotesque...the bidders must all be #ankers I mean bankers! In that case they should all be immediately rounded up and beaten to within an inch of there miserable lives with a thick lead pipe and then sent off to guantanamo for a minimum of 5 years for further twice daily torture before being dispatched by a leathal injection of mad hungry grizzly bears into there cages!

[Per Madsen]

That's grotesque...the bidders must all be #ankers I mean bankers! In that case they should all be immediately rounded up and beaten to within an inch of there miserable lives with a thick lead pipe and then sent off to guantanamo for a minimum of 5 years for further twice daily torture before being dispatched by a leathal injection of mad hungry grizzly bears into there cages!

You missed the bidders being forced to listen to Florence Foster Jenkins 12 hours each day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Foster_Jenkins

[anachromatic]

May be a soft-focus lens...:D

[CarstenW]

Odd, I don't see what this lens has over the following one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350310794335

The weird thing is that the final price requires not one, but two, lunatics. I wonder if the seller was pushing the bids up with a second account? Perhaps the winner accidentally typed in 40000 instead of 4000. I would be surprised if this lens isn't relisted in a few days.

[Sevo]

Well, both bidders have around 40% bid activity with this one seller. Gazing into my crystal ball I see the contents of a package vanish in transport, and lots of activity in the paypal fraud department...

... or some camera dealer booking $40,000 in stolen camera sales as "rare lens sold via ebay cash on pick-up".

Sevo

[Louis Pacilla]

You missed the bidders being forced to listen to Florence Foster Jenkins 12 hours each day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Foster_Jenkins

N.P.R's Wait Wait,,, Don't Tell Me Just did a piece on her on. What a Beautiful Voice. Like the sounds of a suffering wilder beast in my hallucinogenic dreams :eek:

[kev curry]

You missed the bidders being forced to listen to Florence Foster Jenkins 12 hours each day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Foster_Jenkins

Interesting...she looks like a brickies labourer I used to know!

Talkin' about brickies labourers.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaO3Z4G4Jso

[Steven Barall]

That can not be right. My BS detector is off the scale on this one.

[John Schneider]

Kirk,

While your self-censorship is admirable, I thought your post to be hilarious and not far off the mark.

[Stephane]

It was sold 3 weeks ago for just less than 1200 by the same seller.
Same lens?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350310794335#ht_14449wt_1280

[Stephane]

No, different serial N#

[CarstenW]

That is the same link I posted above, but it is not the same lens. The serial number is clearly visible on both.

The $38k lens looks much newer (black instead of chrome ring on the front...), and it was selected by Linhof. Clearly it is more desirable, but that much more?

[Songyun]

for $38k, probably you can have schneider to special order one for you (with mulitcoating, maybe some linhof logo too, but compur shutter is no longer available), I guess.

[Peter K]

From the serial number this lens was made in late 1974. But in the Linhof catalogue from 1975 there is no Xenotar 150mm listed. Also all lenses where mounted in Compur shutters.

In another Linhof list from 1966 the Xenotar is the most expensive 150mm lens. DM 985.00 in Compur 2 (!) shutter compared with a Heliar DM 388.00 and a Xenar 284.00.

Peter

[Jim Galli]

I would really love to know the back story here. 2 bidders with a vendetta against the seller that agree to booger the sale by bidding it to a point where ebay steps in and asks questions?

A 210mm f2.8 Xenotar might get well into 4 figures since the US gov't only ever ordered about 8 of them, but not a 150 2.8. Not those numbers. That's just crazy. Would love to know what went on.

[Jan Pedersen]

This lens is actually mounted in a Compur shutter not a Copal as previously stated.
Crazy price however!

[Sanjay Sen]

That can not be right. My BS detector is off the scale on this one.

Are you referring to the final sale price for the lens, or the You Tube video that Kev posted? :) The former probably is, the latter definitely not (BS)!

[Jack Dahlgren]

I would really love to know the back story here. 2 bidders with a vendetta against the seller that agree to booger the sale by bidding it to a point where ebay steps in and asks questions?



Ebay ask questions? About what? They really do NOT care. It is most likely a scam of some sort or another. Shill bidding, or something similar in order to inflate the value so someone can profit.

[Tony Lakin]

Although not large format I think this may be a worse scenario:confused:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Olympus-XA-1-35mm-Film-Camera-with-Flash_W0QQitemZ140386229010QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Photography_Film_Cameras_ET?hash=item20afabdb12

[Steven Tribe]

This is what they call a genuine mistake - should have been £14.99! Unless Wales has got it's own currency without my knowing.

[Joshua Dunn]

Another one (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140386446482&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT), just not as bad...

[Sevo]

Strange. There positively is some massive shill bidding going on - even the most insane collectors buy their lenses at a fraction of the price and with known pedigree at some high profile auction like Westlicht or Sotheby's.

Sevo

[Ken Lee]

http://www.kenleegallery.com/images/forum/curses.jpg
Curses... out-bid again.


I bid up to $38,997.99, but was out-bid by someone, at the last moment !

One penny more, and that #%^$ lens would be mine - all mine !

[CarstenW]

Except that the bids go up in $1 increments :)

[henrysamson]

I used to use one of these lenses. The brightness and lack of depth of field has to be seen to be believed. The image would pop in an out of focus very quickly. The experience is not worth what this one "sold" for though.

Henry

[Ken Lee]

Except that the bids go up in $1 increments

And you tell me that only now Carsten ? ;)

[CarstenW]

Haha :)

[Brian Ellis]

You missed the bidders being forced to listen to Florence Foster Jenkins 12 hours each day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Foster_Jenkins

And then as the final, ultimate punishment, forced to read every message in the "Jack Dykinga: Another One Bites The D . ." thread.

[Bill_1856]

And then as the final, ultimate punishment, forced to read every message in the "Jack Dykinga: Another One Bites The D . ." thread.

You're REALLY evil, Brian!

[Songyun]

someone should send these two ebay links to Schneider, maybe they will think about a reproduction of this lens. maybe with MC coating. :)

[Joshua Dunn]

Yet another one. Is this (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120539466236&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT) a new standard for the Xeontar 150mm 2.8? Granted they are pristine and already in a shutter (not to mention Linhof select) but I've bought a lot of cars for less than what these lenses are going for. Maybe Songyun is right, maybe Schneider should make a new production run.

[Allen in Montreal]

I will bet an espresso the buyer hit "launch dispute" within seconds of winning to retract the bid and enter 3898.80 in place of 38,988.00.




I just don't understand.

Linhof Schneider Xenotar 150mm f/2.8 Large Format Lens (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110495954201&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)

[Ken Lee]

There are 1426 Italian Lira in 1 US Dollar. Perhaps these auctions have actually been in Lira.

[Emil Schildt]

There are 1426 Italian Lira in 1 US Dollar. Perhaps these auctions have actually been in Lira.

except of the (sad) fact, that Italy uses Euro......:rolleyes:

[Allen in Montreal]

except of the (sad) fact, that Italy uses Euro......:rolleyes:

and cursing the damn Euro almost every day too! :)

[Vick Ko]

Wow, just freaking phenomenal.

[Stephen Willard]

It is hard for most of working stiffs to understand $39K for a lens because that is a significant part of our annual income. When I was a kid my wife and I worked part time as a gardener for some very wealthy people in exchange for free rent and utilities in Woodstock, Vermont. We became very good friends with the family. Mrs. Albrigh's sister was Patricia Guggenhiem who built the Guggenhiem Museum in New York city. Their residential art collection was appraised at $300 million, and I would help them change the art every month through out the main house. I have had Rembrandts, Remingtons, Picassos, Toulouse Lautrecs, artifact from Easter Island, and anything else you can think of in my arms at one time or another.

I would go to auctions with them where they would drop $50K without thinking twice all in a days shopping and that was 35 years ago. If you bumped into these people on the street you would never know that they were wealthy people. They talked and walked just like us working stiffs, drove a VW Rabbit, and bought a hot air balloon and got their hot air balloon license when they were in their 70's. $39K to them is just pocket money, and if they screwed up and over bid on ebay, well no big deal life goes on.

[domaz]

Could it have been used by a famous photog? Maybe someone knew of an archive that had a receipt with a serial number and the famous photographers name on it? Not sure that would make the value that high even then but it's a theory.

[Songyun]

it looks like the second bidder is legit, doesn't looks like a shill bidder.

[Allen in Montreal]

Stephen,

As I joke about buyer's remorse and bid retraction, you bring up a good point.

Guy Laliberte paid 35 million for a 10 day holiday on a Russian space mission.
Maybe this lens will bring a great deal of pleasure to someone who will notice the nice prints much more than he will notice the spent 38k !





It is hard for most of working stiffs to understand $39K for a lens because that is a significant part of our annual income. When I was a kid my wife and I worked part time as a gardener for some very wealthy people in exchange for free rent and utilities in Woodstock, Vermont. We became very good friends with the family. Mrs. Albrigh's sister was Patricia Guggenhiem who built the Guggenhiem Museum in New York city. Their residential art collection was appraised at $300 million, and I would help them change the art every month through out the main house. I have had Rembrandts, Remingtons, Picassos, Toulouse Lautrecs, artifact from Easter Island, and anything else you can think of in my arms at one time or another.

I would go to auctions with them where they would drop $50K without thinking twice all in a days shopping and that was 35 years ago. If you bumped into these people on the street you would never know that they were wealthy people. They talked and walked just like us working stiffs, drove a VW Rabbit, and bought a hot air balloon and got their hot air balloon license when they were in their 70's. $39K to them is just pocket money, and if they screwed up and over bid on ebay, well no big deal life goes on.