I donno. Can't ask Bop anymore. Ed -------------- Original message from Mike Bischof <nbg90455@xxxxxxxxx>: -------------- Wait a minute -- wasn't the Ektar on the Medalist a 5-element Heliar design (in contrast to the 4-element Ektars that were on the Graphics etc.)? Mike aghalide@xxxxxxx wrote: sometimes it ain't the fault 0f the lens. This applies to non-rollei lenses as well. Many moons ago I purchased a Kodak Medalist 6x9 to go along with my stable of Rolleis. Again, I reference Schwalberg, the maven of Wetzlar. We breakfast and lunched almost every day from 1972 to 1985 or so, when we officed at 1 Park Ave " at Popular Photograhy. I wish I had my tape recorder going, but instead I must rely on memories. According to Bopp or as known by non-Wetzlar people, Bob, Kodak's best lens is the 100mm f/3.5 Ektar on the Medalist. "it's a great Tessar", I remember him saying. My new-old Medalist Ektar was a bit foggy. I brought it to Professional Camera Repair in NYC. Marty handed it to Buddy for cleaning. Got it back in about one-week. Every thing took one week, unless it was an overnight and the photographer was going to Selma or whereever the next day. I remember Marty repairing cameras used by photographers documenting the March for free. I got the M edalis t back the next week and then ran a roll of 120 (I had it changed from 620 to 120 by the Bald Mountain guys. Wide open it wasn't so good. Could Schwalberg be wrong? Could that Tesssar-type lens be not so good? A few months later I stuck my finger inside the back of the camera and found the rear elements were loose. Could Buddy have not tightened it all the way in? So I did. And the frog became a Prince. This could be the case with Xenars, Xenotars, Planars and even Tessars. Ed Meyers Mike Bischof Delhi, India The Photo Blog of my Indian Adventure: http://geocities.com/nbg90455/blog.html Tonight's top picks. What will you watch tonight? Preview the hottest shows on Yahoo! TV.