Schneider Xenar 105mm 4.5 on Olympus E-P2

[raid]

I used today a 6x9 lens on the E-P2. It is the Schneider Kreuznach 105mm 4.5 Xenar. I bought this lens many years ago adapted to Pentacon P mount. I added a Pentacon P to Canon FD adapter, followed by Canon FD to LTM adapter, and I wrapped things up with a LTM - M 4/3 adapter. It has no focusing capabilities, and I have to walk back and forth into and out of focus in the range 5-6 feet at aperture 4.5. I also used aperture 32 to get low contrast images that were OK sharp for distant objects. The lens works best wide open for portraits;. It is a lot of fun to play with such lenses to get some different results once in a while. I took my two daughters for a drive to downtown Pensacola where we first had lunch, followed by walking around for a while. Then we picked up my wife from our home and we drove to the beach to enjoy the colorful sunset.

 

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This was at the Farmer's Market and on Palafox Street downtown today.

At home:

At the beach:

 

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This lens has some flaws. It is very difficult to use during a sunset. I cannot even estimate where the focus is. Using it at F 32 lowers the optical performance.

 

[raid]

I had fun with it all. The lens is OK for portraits but maybe this is where I should leave things. It does well in sunshine.

A Harley was parked on the street, so I took some shots. Its owner was a guy my age (but he had tattoos). He told me that he bought the bike for $16000, and that he has driven it "everywhere". He called it "my girlfriend".

 

[hamradio]

What'd you find a 105/4.5 Xenar attached to? I used a SK Radionar 105/4.5 triplet in my homemade Polaroid rig, originally sourced from a 6x9 620 folder. The nice thing is, you can't really tell a difference in sharpness between f/4.5 and f/11 with the instant film. 🙂

 

[raid]

I found the lens by itself without any camera on ebay. I once had a Franka Solida IIIe folder with a Radionar lens. Like your lens It was quite sharp.

 

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[biomed]

Looks like it works well for portraits and maybe some landscapes.

 

[hlpgtf]

Raid - if you can find an old lens barrel you could attach it somewhere in the middle and use it to focus. I managed to find a scratched-beyond-repair Nikkor & took the glass out. There's a picture of the frankenlens HERE.

My next step is to get one of the helicoid close-focus adapters for my Sony - it will give me a little more flexibility in finding infinity focus (almost everything I've built is just a little too short & focuses past infinity).

 

[raid]

I will give it some thought to see if I manage to do such a thing or not. It would be great if the lens could be focused.

 

[raid]

Raid - if you can find an old lens barrel you could attach it somewhere in the middle and use it to focus. I managed to find a scratched-beyond-repair Nikkor & took the glass out. There's a picture of the frankenlens HERE.

My next step is to get one of the helicoid close-focus adapters for my Sony - it will give me a little more flexibility in finding infinity focus (almost everything I've built is just a little too short & focuses past infinity).

Your Frankenlens looks impressive!

 

[hlpgtf]

Thanks - I got lucky that the lens was built with a (I guess somewhat standard) 39mm large format screwmount, which meant that I could get a cheap 39-42mm adapter, screw that into a 42-52mm step-down ring, and attach that to the filter ring.

 

[raid]

I will see what I can come up with.

 

[Nokton48]

I have a Schneider 105mm f4.5 Xenar in barrel mount. Here it is, mounted on my
4x5" Sinar Norma, and focused at about 20 feet. It is a very good very sharp Tessar-type,
covers 6x9cm with some limited movements. I use this lens with my Sinar Norma shutter.

 

[raid]

Thanks! I can now see how this lens was intended to be used. I am using it because of its sharpness. Portraits can look very sharp.

 

[raid]

Looks like it works well for portraits and maybe some landscapes.

I would have to stop down the lens a lot to use it well for landscapes. I may have overdone this with F 32. Here, the camera (on auto ISO) may have chosen very high ISO.

 

[Nokton48]

You are welcome.

 

[raid]

I have a Schneider 105mm f4.5 Xenar in barrel mount. Here it is, mounted on my
4x5" Sinar Norma, and focused at about 20 feet. It is a very good very sharp Tessar-type,
covers 6x9cm with some limited movements. I use this lens with my Sinar Norma shutter.

Is the focus distance then also fixed for you so that you cannot take photos of distant objects? Is this a lens that is meant to be used with bellows? Is it a "macro lens"?

 

[hamradio]

That lens would've been used on something with a means of focusing...I imagine something designed like a Voigtlander Avus, but it could've also been for a 2x3 press camera, as I've seen quite a few 105/4.5 Tessars on baby speed graphics. My Radionar is front cell focusing, and I just found a grub screw that fit nicely in a hole left by its infinity stop, to lock the front cell at infinity.

 

[raid]

So your lens now is set fixed at infinity for landscapes?