bill_schillereff

I have used each of the Rollei lenses over the past 40 years. They are all superb quality. The Xenar is very good but lacks the old world quality if the Tessar. I love the Tessar's presentation of black and white portraits. There is a reason the Xenar is the lens of the cord. When it comes to Xenotar and planar there such little difference in resolution it is not worth argument. For my preference or is the Xenotar because it is a bit more contrasty. I like using it in outdoor black and white scenes and get amazing results. Presently I own six of these cameras including the FX and my choice remains with the 1961 F3 with the Xenotar 80mm

I find every time I try new film I have shoot a roll a fixed speed going through each aperture and see what the correct exposure. After that I have to shoot about two rolls of just plinking with the camera while noting exposure and conditions. After this process I can put the film through the paces.