Xenar 240mm 4.5 and Fujinar 250mm 4.5- worth buying?

[Tim Meisburger]

Today I was wandering down a street in Rangoon and happened to see a small phone shop that had some dusty lenses in a back cabinet. I bought two, a 300mm Universal Heliar and about a 14-16" Cooke Portrait Anastigmat, for $140. Both are pretty beat, and have fungus on some lens surfaces (I thought fungus only attacked coated lenses?), but I figured if worse came to worse I could use them as door stops or paperweights. The two other lenses were a Xenar 240mm 4.5 and a Fujinar 250mm 4.5 - both in barrel. They were in a bit better shape, but still beat up. He wanted $80 for the pair. What do you think. Worth picking up?

[drew.saunders]

I have a Fujinar 250/4.7 in Copal 3S shutter. That lens was offered in an unusual "Shanel 5B-S" shutter at 4.5, or in the Copal 3S where it got squeezed down to f/4.7. I suppose it could be made to fit any regular Copal 3 or 3S shutter if you have one. The Fujinar and the Xenar are both Tessar designs, and the Fujinar is single-coated, and the Xenar is probably also single-coated. $80 for the pair is probably not too bad if the glass is in decent shape. I paid $180 for my Fujinar in shutter and it looked nearly new cosmetically, clean glass, shutter only slow at the top two speeds, so I think I got a good deal.

[Tim Meisburger]

Thanks Drew. I'll try to have a look at them again today. I don't have any extra shutters, so maybe its not worth it to cart them home.

[B.S.Kumar]

The older Fujinars were made in barrel and shutter types. The barrel lenses could also be mounted in Shanel 5A shutters, and the shutter types were made for Copal 3S as well as Shanel 5B shutters. I have the 180, 250 and 300mm barrel lenses (as well as the Shanel 5A shutter for them) and they're very good performers, with nearly round apertures. The 5A shutters have only shutter speeds, no aperture blades. $80 for both is a bargain!

Kumar

[ic-racer]

To add to what has already been posted, my Fujinar 250 4.5 in barrel won't screw into in my Copal 3 shutter.

[Tim Meisburger]

Thanks ic-racer. Thanks Kumar. Are those shutters available used? Are they rare? Are they still made?

Thanks for all your help. I'm tired of lenses without shutters, but seems I'll have to buy these...

[B.S.Kumar]

Yes, they are available used, but not very often. I sold a bunch of them around the end of 2010. I think a couple were offered on the forum this year as well.

Kumar