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How good is the Schneider-Kreuznach Tele Xenar 135mm f3.5 ?
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 7:53 am    Post subject: How good is the Schneider-Kreuznach Tele Xenar 135mm f3.5 ? Reply with quote
Hello Guys,

here i am again Embarassed
Someone is offering me a very good copy of Schneider-Kreuznach 135mm f3.5 in m42 for 75 euros.
I'm still looking for a special and sharp (widen-open) 135mm lens.
There seems to be little info on this forum and internet about this lens.
It is sharp widen open ? Can it compete with the Zeiss Sonnar ? Any nice charesteritics ?

How good is this lens ?


PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Don´t know about this lens but for that price you can buy an excellent copy of the Zeiss Sonnar 135 F/3.5 MC (as you are asking if the Schneider can compete with the sonnar)


PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 1:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have two old 4/135 Tele-Xenars, the design is very similar to the 4/135 Sonnar, of which I also have two copies, on made in Oberkochen for Contax, one in Jena for M42. The sharpest of them all (and they are all very sharp) is the old 1953 Tele-Xenar for Akarette.

The Russian copies of the Sonnar are excellent, and cheaper, so perhaps look at those, the Jupiter-11A, Tair-11a and Jupiter-37A all spring to mind.

Last edited by iangreenhalgh1 on Mon Sep 15, 2014 4:43 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 2:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I had xenar 135/3.5 once. Zeiss sonnar Mc 135/3.5 twice
sonnar zebra once. Jupiter 37a once
xenar is sharpest .at wide open.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 4:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
IAZA wrote:
I had xenar 135/3.5 once. Zeiss sonnar Mc 135/3.5 twice
sonnar zebra once. Jupiter 37a once
xenar is sharpest .at wide open.

That is interesting. In another thread - I think here on this forum - someone statet the xenar to be better than the Zeiss Sonnar.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The original Tele-Xenar is a related to Tele-Tessar I believe. Four elements in two groups.

However, even early on the SLR and Cine versions of Tele-Xenars had five elements in three groups. For that matter there were plain old Xenars with five elements.

By the time the SLR lenses came out the terms like "Tele-Xenar" may not have meant a precise definition of the optical formula, it was more of a trademark. So you may not be able to accurately predict performance from one lens to another. I also suspect its less a matter of the formula than the details of design and manufacture.

I have the Tele-Xenar 135/3.5 in Exakta mount (nice zebra version), but I can't answer to its performance as I have not used it on DSLR, only on film. It looks more than sharp enough on film, but that is really more limited by my scanner than the lens.

I also have the Tele-Xenar 360/5.5 but that is a different thing. That one is a very fine lens btw.

I had and sold a prewar 180/5.5 Tele-Xenar made for Korelle Reflex, and that one was certainly not sharp wide open.

The only certain thing I can tell you is that the mechanical build quality of the lens will be excellent. That at least is consistent for Schneider.

As for Sonnars, again, I don't think its as much about the formula as the execution. After opening plenty of Japanese lenses of the 1950's-60's, I have found several "Sonnars". Not all of them will stand comparison with the Zeiss products, though I suspect some will.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
luisalegria wrote:
The original Tele-Xenar is a related to Tele-Tessar I believe. Four elements in two groups.

However, even early on the SLR and Cine versions of Tele-Xenars had five elements in three groups. For that matter there were plain old Xenars with five elements.

By the time the SLR lenses came out the terms like "Tele-Xenar" may not have meant a precise definition of the optical formula, it was more of a trademark. So you may not be able to accurately predict performance from one lens to another. I also suspect its less a matter of the formula than the details of design and manufacture.

I have the Tele-Xenar 135/3.5 in Exakta mount (nice zebra version), but I can't answer to its performance as I have not used it on DSLR, only on film. It looks more than sharp enough on film, but that is really more limited by my scanner than the lens.

I also have the Tele-Xenar 360/5.5 but that is a different thing. That one is a very fine lens btw.

I had and sold a prewar 180/5.5 Tele-Xenar made for Korelle Reflex, and that one was certainly not sharp wide open.

The only certain thing I can tell you is that the mechanical build quality of the lens will be excellent. That at least is consistent for Schneider.

As for Sonnars, again, I don't think its as much about the formula as the execution. After opening plenty of Japanese lenses of the 1950's-60's, I have found several "Sonnars". Not all of them will stand comparison with the Zeiss products, though I suspect some will.


There are 135mm lenses on the market, which all based on the Tessar and Sonnar design. In general, most of the 135mm glasses are all of a good optical qualities, regardsless of Names and brands.
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