Lens identification/classification

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I have a lens that I need some help with. It is a Roeschlein-Kreuznach -E- Telenar 1:5.6/135mm. It is about 75mm (3 in.)long and 30 mm (1 1/4in) in Diameter, with a heavily knurned ring at the back and solid well machined click stops. It has a 39mm Leica thread but the focusing ring on the lens is not set to focus on Leica SMs. The ring moves in and out slightly but it is not calibrated for Leicas.

Perhaps it is supposed to be an LTM but is just out of adjustment, or, as a local dealer here in Singapore told me, may be for some other camera. It has a lustrous silver finish and the quality is certainly up to Leica standards.

I got it last week in Toronto at a clearance sale at a dealer that went under. The usually very Leica-knowledgable salesman could not identify it either.

Any assistance would be apreciated.

RICHARD ILOMAKI

-- RICHARD ILOMAKI (richardjx@hotmail.com), September 01, 2001

Answers

It sounds a bit too short, even for a telephoto, to focus on a LTM. The barrel length sems more right for an SLR. Pentax had a thread- mount back in the 60's which would accept Leica thread-mount lenses. They wouldn't focus to infinity but could be used for closeups. Since your Telenar won't focus right on the Leica, my guess is it was meant for a thread-mount SLR; not necessarily the Pentax, but maybe a German SLR of the period.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), September 01, 2001.

This is *purely* a guess, but you say the focusing ring moves only "slightly"...that plus the "E" in the nomenclature suggests the possibility that it might be an Enlarger lens.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), September 01, 2001.

That is the Tele for the Braun Paxette camera. The lenses are not interchangeable with Leica.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), September 01, 2001.

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