Hello Hans,
I was lucky to find a 3.5E Xenotar in Vermont some 20 years ago that looked
good and has worked well until today. My Flickr images are testimony enough
that the Xenotar is no slouch. The only thing I added was a Maxwell screen.
I even bought a 2.8E Xenotar later in my neighborhood in Vermont, but it was so
dirty/mouldy that I did not to want to risk keeping it around and I am not sure
Harry Fleenor would have liked to clean it for me.
I briefly bought a fairly used and rather $$$ 2.8F here in Bornheim near Bonn a
few years ago, but returned it immediately because of technical problems that
were not immediately obvious when I bought it.
In some ways the most interesting "partner model" to my 3.5E would be a
Rolleiwide or FW, because I like expansive cityscapes and landscapes or really
detailed nature scenes, where a 55/50mm Distagon/Super Angulon would be really
nice...
Unfortunately, I rarely take the SL66 on a long-distance trip because of its
bulk, in spite of the obvious advantage for macro shots with the built-in
bellows and the choice of lenses. Probably a mistake. It's usually either a
35mm digital camera outfit + the RF3.5E (or Super Ikonta BX) in a Lowe pack OR
just the SL66 3-lens outfit with meter hood.
My next experiment is with a super compact RF Baby 4x4 (Xenar). Very limited
availability of 127 film, though.
Jan
On Feb 8, 2022, at 7:43 AM, Hans Kerensky <hanskerensky@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello Jan,
Sure I agree, I really like to take the Rolleiflexes to the streets and
actually use them.
My Rolleiflex 3,5C was in ruins when I bought it, even had to replace its
Planar with a spare parts Xenotar, but it is just such wonderful performer
once the repairs were done !
Best regards,
Hans
.
