Jenna Tessar 21cm f 3.5 value

[MEPienta]

Hello,

I have a 21cm F3.5 coated "T" Jena Tessar Barrel lens and I'm interested in it's market value. The lens is in excellent condition but it is too big to be mounted on my camera.

I purchased this lens with a Graflex RB camera and the seller is willing to exchange this lens for another. Is a Goerz Dogmar f/4.5 240mm of comparable value?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Michael

[Sevo]

Pretty much nothing - they (indeed all coated barrel mount Jena Tessars in the 150-240mm range) are cheaper than many less desirable lenses. For the 40 years the GDR existed, Jena rolled out pretty much nothing except Tessars as large format camera, process and enlarging lenses, making them the most common European barrel mount lens. I paid between 15€ and 40€ for mine - current market value might be around twice that. But it depends on where you are - these lenses are cheap and heavy enough that overseas shipping may more than double the total acquisition price.

A 21cm T marked rather than plain coated 210mm one will be war time or post-war era, and might be of marginal interest to collector type buyers so that it could go for a bit more than a late one, but not that much - there are always some around on German ebay for around a hundred Euros BIN, and I haven't observed one of these getting sold for years. Dogmars have a similar position (and pricing) in the US. But Dogmars are relatively rare in Europe, and Tessars of that vintage are not that much more widespread in the US, so that they might each be more desirable (and higher priced) on the other side of the pond.

Shutter mounted large format Tessars are quite a bit more expensive as the barrel mount ones are not trivial to convert to standard shutter sizes.

[MEPienta]

Sevo,

Thanks for the encouragement. I have not seen any fast Large Format F3.5 Tessar lens being given away but I guess I'm just looking in the wrong places. One on E-Bay is currently going for $660.

Michael

[C. D. Keth]

One on E-Bay is currently going for $660.

Michael

You can buy somebody's soul on ebay, too.

[Sevo]

Sevo,

Thanks for the encouragement. I have not seen any fast Large Format F3.5 Tessar lens being given away but I guess I'm just looking in the wrong places. One on E-Bay is currently going for $660.


Forget BIN offers. If you want to get ripped off, there are 500€ f/4.5 ones as well - real prices are the ones that made the sale in multiple auctions that do not appear to have been manipulated.

Fast does not really increase prices, at least when "fast" still is well below the speeds that attract the Far East Bokeh Lovers crowd and is outside the war-time serial numbers interesting to collectors. The f/3.5 is regarded worse than the f/4.5 (and the original f/6.3). Like the earlier f/6.3 it might sell for a bit more than the most common f/4.5 once in a while if someone loses patience on the hunt for a particular length, as the f/3.5 is a bit less omnipresent, not having been made in quantities after Mentor's SLR business declined in the sixties. But in general it is a buyer's market where barrel mount Tessars and Tessar types (in the basic normal lengths for 9x12 to 18x24) are concerned. I've even picked up one of the more rare West German coated f/3.5 240mm Xenars on ebay Germany for less than eighty €.

[MEPienta]

Sevo,

I apologize for being rude to your response to my question. I was having a bad day yesterday and I appreciate your input.

Regards,

Michael