Who sells new Xenar 150mm?

**Carlos** · 17-Mar-2004, 16:25

Does anybody know who sells Schneider Xenar 150mm 5.6 new? Any info will be appriciated. Regards,

**Ernest Purdum** · 17-Mar-2004, 17:05

There is a link for questions at www.schneideroptics.com. They might be able to tell you who keeps them in stock. B&H (www.bhphotovideo.com) sells them, but as a special order item.

**Martin Patek-Strutsky** · 18-Mar-2004, 01:25

Hasn't the Xenar line been discontinued? Received a brochure directly from Schneider some months ago and the Xenar is not mentioned at all.

**Jim Galli** · 18-Mar-2004, 07:33

Got me curious. B&H photo still lists them on their website as special order from Linhof USA. $700 is far more than this lens is worth. IMHO If you need a cheap 150 with a smallish circle the Caltar II E comes to mind for $350 bucks or so. Why a Xenar in 2004? Still curious.

**Kerry L. Thalmann** · 18-Mar-2004, 09:49

Yes, Schneider discontinued the Xenar line a few years ago. There might be a few still floating around out there, but I haven't seen any new ones offered for a few years. If there is any possibility of locating a new 150mm Xenar, your best bet would be to contact Steve Inglima at Schneider Optics. If any still exist in inventory, he would be the one to help you track one down.

If you can't find one new, and are looking for a low cost, compact 150mm lens, there are other possibilities. The one I often recommend is the little 150mm f6.3 Fujinon W. Like the 150mm f5.6 Xenar, this is a single coated tessar-type (4 elements in 3 groups) of fairly recent vintage. This lens was very reasonably priced when new (late 1970s - late 1980s), and thus sold in fairly large quantities. It is plentiful and reasonably priced on the used market. I've used one of these for years as a lightweight lens when backpacking, and have always been pleased with the performance. I've tested a number of samples over the years, and they have all been excellent performers. This lens comes in a Seiko 0 shutter (same size mounting hole as a Copal or Compur 0), takes 40.5mm filters and weighs about 135 - 140g. Fuji lists the coverage as 67 degrees, which seems a bit high for a tessar-type. This yields an image circle of 198mm. I was a bit skeptical at first, but having used this lens quite a bit, I have concluded that the coverage is sufficient for my 4x5 landscape shooting needs, indicating that the claimed coverage is indeed accurate. Check the usual large format dealers to see if they have any in stock. Samples of this lens show up regularly on eBay. Typical selling prices are in the $200 - $250 range.

Kerry

**Carlos** · 18-Mar-2004, 10:16

Thanks everyone for the responses. It is always a pleasure to see the amount of info that everyone contribute. Thanks!

**Emmanuel BIGLER** · 19-Mar-2004, 07:18

Carlos : too bad, 6 months ago (mid-2003) the 150 and 210 Schneider Xenar® were still listed by some well-known German mail-order shops, sometimes bound with an entry-level large format camera kit. Try again, but with little hope.