Schneider 350mm F/11 Apo-Tele-Xenar....

PKM-25 · Oct 12, 2012

I think I am going to pull the trigger on this lens so I have it for an upcoming project this Winter. I have read a few posts about it on LFF and it seems to be a great lens, but I am wondering how people are getting along with it now.

I think it will fill out my kit rather nicely and not need an extension board on my 45N-2, at first I will be mostly using it for a commissioned fine art project for ski area scenics so 90% of the time it will be used from 100 feet to infinity.

At the moment I use:

65mm 4.5 Grandagon
90mm 6.8 Grandagon
135mm 5.6 Apo Sironar
150mm 5.6 Symmar S MC
180mm 5.6 Apo Symmar
240mm 9.0 Fujinon A

I do find the 240 a tiny bit dark to focus in dusk shots, but most of the time it is manageable, so how about losing 2/3rd of a stop with the 350?

ic-racer · Oct 12, 2012

I use an F11 300mm lens on my 4x5 and focusing is not bad. In fact I use fold-out viewfinder shade, instead of a dark-cloth and it is fine.

PKM-25 · Oct 12, 2012

Thanks IC, I plan on ordering the lens tomorrow when B&H re-opens.

E. von Hoegh · Oct 13, 2012

Well, it's f;11...... BUT it's a long lens, so the corners don't darken as with a wide angle, and the long focal length means you won't have much DOF even at f;11. As long as you have a good dark cloth and give your eyes time to adapt a bit, you should have no problems viewing and focussing with it. By all accounts it's a very good lens although it's not a true tele - you'll need 350mm~ of bellows at infinity.

PKM-25 · Oct 13, 2012

I have 395mm of bellows extension so it will be fine. But now that I think about it, this lens will produce the desired reach compared to my 240 will it not? For example, my 240 is equal to about a 70mm in 35 where as the 350 should be around 105mm, at infinity that is. If it changes at closer ranges that is ok, I just really need this to be sharp as heck "100mm-ish" at infinity....

That is what I am after anyway....if it works it will literally pay for it self the first few days I use it...

Edit, I just put my order in, now the wait until it arrives....

Martin Aislabie · Oct 15, 2012

I got the extension tube that Schneider made that goes with the lens

The Extension Tube is 44mm and needs a No3 Lens Board.

Useful, if like me, you are running out of Bellows

I don't find it a problem focusing mine

I'm very pleased with mine - although its quite a jump from 240mm

Good luck with yours

Martin

PKM-25 · Oct 15, 2012

Martin Aislabie said:
I got the extension tube that Schneider made that goes with the lens

The Extension Tube is 44mm and needs a No3 Lens Board.

Useful, if like me, you are running out of Bellows

I don't find it a problem focusing mine

I'm very pleased with mine - although its quite a jump from 240mm

Good luck with yours

Martin

Thanks Martin. If I start to use the lens for closer subjects in the future, I suppose I would get the extension tube, otherwise this is going to be a tight compression landscape lens 99% of the time.

I am glad to hear it is quite a jump from a 240, this is exactly what I am looking for.

I can't wait to try it out on tight ski area Winter landscapes, it should be brilliant for that and is what the commissioned job is that made my mind up to finally go ahead and buy it.

angusparkengusparker · Sep 30, 2013

Anyone wanting to sell their APO-Tele-Xenar 350mm f11?

Wanting to buy this lens used if possible. Anyone got a clean copy to sell me? Best, Angus

DREW WILEY · Sep 30, 2013

I don't use this particular lens but a 360 Fuji A, which I find ideal as a focal-length step up from 240 for both 4x5 and 8x10 usage. Good luck
finding one!

PKM-25 · Sep 30, 2013

I have never seen a 360 A since getting into LF some 18 months ago. I think I have seen two 350's in the past year. Figure instead of waiting who knows how long for one at $700-$800 you can spend just $950 now and get a brand new one from B&H....you can not even do that with the 360 A.

I'm glad I bought it new and got right to work, it is a very effective lens in my set. At some point in the not-so-distant future, Rodenstock and Schneider are going to stop making these lenses for the reason that even if the price is fairly close between new and used like it is with the 350, people just flat out refuse to pay new prices for these lenses. So with a newer lens like the 350, they could be far more rare because it was introduced well after LF's peak and the numbers made will reflect that.

It seems like since you shoot both 4x5 & 8x10, you ought to just suck it up and get it new, you never know when announcements of a discontinuation could surface...

johnielvis · Oct 1, 2013

a cheap alternative would be a 14" process lens--same design and faster usually.

if you want it for 4x5 or 5x7 then you may just want to get a real telephoto--say a 360 telexenar or telearton which are also cheaper and give you much less bellows draw and resulting blur danger from swaying--and they're both f5.6--so 2 stops brighter.

pasiasty · Oct 1, 2013

johnielvis said:
if you want it for 4x5 or 5x7 then you may just want to get a real telephoto--say a 360 telexenar or telearton which are also cheaper and give you much less bellows draw and resulting blur danger from swaying--and they're both f5.6--so 2 stops brighter.

Definitely, I recently got my Tele-Arton 360/5.5 for some 150 Euro ($200) in a working shutter.

DREW WILEY · Oct 1, 2013

A dedicated focal length lens like the one in question is going to be both more compact and optically superior to any true telephoto design.
It will have a significantly larger image circle, so also be usable on 8x10 if that interests you. You can acquire superb optical performance more economically by using a process lens like an Apo Nikkor, but by the time you add a shutter it won't save you that much money. And more important, once you are forced into a big no. 3 shutter you not only lose your weight advantage, but potentially risk more vibration on the front standard of a lightwt field camera. The Schneider 350/f11 is the first thing of this focal length to come along in a small shutter since the Fuji 360A, which will be equally expensive if you can even find one. In terms of real-world usage and high-quality enlargements, the choice of a smaller shutter can make a huge difference. Both these lenses are in an utterly different quality league than the old Tele-Arton.

E. von Hoegh · Oct 1, 2013

DREW WILEY said:
A dedicated focal length lens like the one in question is going to be both more compact and optically superior to any true telephoto design.
It will have a significantly larger image circle, so also be usable on 8x10 if that interests you. You can acquire superb optical performance more economically by using a process lens like an Apo Nikkor, but by the time you add a shutter it won't save you that much money. And more important, once you are forced into a big no. 3 shutter you not only lose your weight advantage, but potentially risk more vibration on the front standard of a lightwt field camera. The Schneider 350/f11 is the first thing of this focal length to come along in a small shutter since the Fuji 360A, which will be equally expensive if you can even find one. In terms of real-world usage and high-quality enlargements, the choice of a smaller shutter can make a huge difference. Both these lenses are in an utterly different quality league than the old Tele-Arton.

Agreed, I use mine for portraits sometimes and that's it.

johnielvis · Oct 4, 2013

See--trade offs--want small, you don't get fast, sorry to say.

angusparkengusparker · Dec 14, 2013

In the end I bought the 350/11 new through B&H - possibly one of the last that Schneider has in stock since it had to be special ordered from Germany. I think it was a wise purchase given the scarcity of the lens on the second hand market and its focal length / weight / filter size combination. Plus since I'm using the Chamonix 45F1 I can use it without any bellows extender which was a pain with my 450 lens which really was too long on this format anyway. Thank you all on this thread for your input.

PKM-25 · Dec 14, 2013

angusparkengusparker said:
In the end I bought the 350/11 new through B&H - possibly one of the last that Schneider has in stock since it had to be special ordered from Germany. I think it was a wise purchase given the scarcity of the lens on the second hand market and its focal length / weight / filter size combination. Plus since I'm using the Chamonix 45F1 I can use it without any bellows extender which was a pain with my 450 lens which really was too long on this format anyway. Thank you all on this thread for your input.

Good move, this lens *might* have only had one manufacturing run, along with several others, it will be discontinued by the end of the year:

http://www.largeformatphotography.i...?100681-Schneider-reduces-available-LF-lenses

A shame too, fabulous lens.

Martin Aislabie · Dec 15, 2013

PKM-25 said:
Good move, this lens *might* have only had one manufacturing run, along with several others, it will be discontinued by the end of the year:

http://www.largeformatphotography.i...?100681-Schneider-reduces-available-LF-lenses

A shame too, fabulous lens.

I'm not sure that's true

It was an old thread you refer to.

The English version of the Schneider Germany web site is still referring to Large Format lenses.

I'm always amazed how readily people are to believe any potential bad news about suppliers.

Martin

PKM-25 · Dec 15, 2013

I would hope you are right, but the OP talked to Schneider ( post #19 ) and found the information to be true. I would rather it not be true.

StoneNYC · Dec 16, 2013

So jealous of angus and Dan (PMK) I just can't afford it!

I'm very happy with my Fujinon 300mm F/8.5 C lens, but that extra 50mm really makes a difference...someday perhaps I'll get a deal, Dan, you know who to come to if you ever want to let it go

E. von Hoegh · Dec 16, 2013

StoneNYC said:
So jealous of angus and Dan (PMK) I just can't afford it!

I'm very happy with my Fujinon 300mm F/8.5 C lens, but that extra 50mm really makes a difference...someday perhaps I'll get a deal, Dan, you know who to come to if you ever want to let it go

There are other 350mm/360mm/14" lenses out there, although the Schneider is a nice small package. Look for a 14" Artar in shutter since you are using 4x5 - same design as the Schneider, small, far less expensive, and you won't ever see a difference in image quality.

DREW WILEY · Dec 16, 2013

It's not just the focal length, Stone - It's the image circle. That 300 C you picked up is a wonderful lens, esp for 4x5, but is a bit cramped on
8x10 film (usable, but not to the degree of the 360's out there). I use a 360 Fuji A myself, but it's sure a pity if Schneider doesn't do periodic
runs of their 350/11. The only common relatively compact thing out there is the 355 G-Claron, which is a solid performer, but in a big no.3 shutter. Likewise 14-inch dagors. Many 4x5 front standards won't support the big ordinary klunker plasmats at those kind of extensions. One really needs lighter lenses in no. 1 shutters.

StoneNYC · Dec 16, 2013

DREW WILEY said:
It's not just the focal length, Stone - It's the image circle. That 300 C you picked up is a wonderful lens, esp for 4x5, but is a bit cramped on
8x10 film (usable, but not to the degree of the 360's out there). I use a 360 Fuji A myself, but it's sure a pity if Schneider doesn't do periodic
runs of their 350/11. The only common relatively compact thing out there is the 355 G-Claron, which is a solid performer, but in a big no.3 shutter. Likewise 14-inch dagors. Many 4x5 front standards won't support the big ordinary klunker plasmats at those kind of extensions. One really needs lighter lenses in no. 1 shutters.

E. Von, it's about none of that, it's about it being a true telephoto, (takes less then 350mm bellows draw) because my bellows only goes to 325mm... So the 350 f/11 will work for me.

E. von Hoegh · Dec 16, 2013

StoneNYC said:
E. Von, it's about none of that, it's about it being a true telephoto, (takes less then 350mm bellows draw) because my bellows only goes to 325mm... So the 350 f/11 will work for me.

It's not a telephoto, true or otherwise. It does however come with a short extension tube that may allow it to focus as close as say 15-20 feet with your bellows.

DREW WILEY · Dec 16, 2013

It might work at infinity, but without an even longer tophat extension, you'd probably have to rack out your base tilts both front and back to get enough draw for typical usage, or might have to resort to both tricks at the same time. Still ... if you can get your hands on one of these,
good idea.

Schneider 350mm F/11 Apo-Tele-Xenar....

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