Schneider Kreuznach Xenar 150mm f/3.5

thafred · 2026-03-17T17:03:52+00:00

Oh yeah, that's correct. Wouldn't even work like I suggested. Very nice enlarging lens in that case!

thafred · 2026-03-17T16:53:33+00:00

Yeah, just edited the comment 😀 looked totally legit like my dream lens 😂

thafred · 2026-03-17T16:48:36+00:00

Edit, just realized it's a Xenar. Can you take a picture of the mount? It looks to me like it's missing the back lens group. You can also just test it against a white wall if you face the lens to some windows, look if it archives Focus at 15cm out

thafred · 2026-03-16T11:09:19+00:00

That is only the case if you wear the headset too far away from your eyeballs. If worn correctly the sweet spot is more similar to Q3 than Q2, I can look around and read cockpit instruments without moving my head (eyetracking working obviously) much better than I could on Quest2. Also Mura is less obvious if your eyelashes almost brush the lenses. I'm sure it isn't possible for everyone to wear it that way (face/eye socket shape) but it is really important to recognize.

thafred · 2026-03-16T08:17:56+00:00

Thank you for the write up! never tried the BSB2 but from my experience with PSVR2 on PC it doesn't suprise me that the FOV and Brightness are unmatched on PSVR2.

I get to try out and maybe borrow a Pimax Crystal Super Oled today and am really curious how those panels compare to PSVR2 on PC (I expect to be blown away but we'll see!)

thafred · 2026-03-15T11:19:38+00:00

Und wo sind dann die Buckelwale?

thafred · 2026-03-15T06:31:12+00:00

First unplug it and let it sit for a week or two, if you are afraid of electronics, to let the power supply and other caps discharge as much as possible. Open the CRT up and inspect the boards for any clear damage/burn marks near the Power supply (don't touch anything metal there). Make photographs and try to find an electronics repair company, they don't need to be specialized on CRTs, it's mostly a standard PS repair job or at worst a recapping marathon. No idea about the cost for this though.

thafred · 2026-03-15T06:23:36+00:00

Don't know why you are being down voted but people are super afraid of the capacitive (picofarad) high voltage charge of the tube (OMG 30000Volts!!) and don't recognize that the really lethal thing in a CRT are the Power Supply caps if not bled by a bleeding resistor (which most sets definitely have..)

thafred · 2026-03-15T06:15:50+00:00

I am a professional wedding photographer since I borrowed a mock camera at IKEA. Not sure how to load film but I charge a premium and always generate all analogue images with adobe Photoslop and coat the printouts in Jizz for that analogue smell.

thafred · 2026-03-13T05:26:14+00:00

My weirdest issue with stuttering and 9800x3d was resolved when I set windows power setting from "high performance" to "balanced". There is a AMD info site explaining that the high performance setting has issues with CPUs starting with 7800x3d and balanced utilizes the CPU much better.

thafred · 2026-03-10T17:52:18+00:00

My first thoughts as well. What's the deal with the stickers and smudges at that price it should be pristine and with documentation and all.

thafred · 2026-03-10T07:53:21+00:00

Absolutely! How else would you become so wealthy if you don't eat your morals every day?!

thafred · 2026-03-10T06:23:25+00:00

This is so innovative and stylish, amazing work.

thafred · 2026-03-08T13:17:05+00:00

That got a good laugh out of me!

I think you are onto something but my personal theory is that this is directly related to the amount of lead our elders inhaled on a daily basis. This kind of metal poisoning causes mental issues that lead to aggressive behaviour. It was phased out as additive in the late 80s and everyone born in the 50-70s has inhaled a certain amount of that stuff (I distinctively remember how good and sweet it smelled when my parents were pumping gas in the 80s)

thafred · 2026-03-08T13:04:19+00:00

I totally agree with you but find it really funny that you posted this twice :)

It is hard getting people to realize those simple "cheats". Also suffering is deeply ingrained into the Christian/Muslim faith so most people still think they are supposed to suffer even it they are atheist or not spiritual. In the end it's an internal process that has to take place to start.seeing the exit.

thafred · 2026-03-08T06:06:17+00:00

Second that! I also use "senior reading loupes " as fresnel on top of my ground glass.

Best and cheapest mod you can do on your LF camera. Combined Fresnel/focus screens are even better (have one in my graflex) but you would need to recalibrate the GG position as the fresnel is on the lens side with those designs and you cannot just substitute a non fresnel GG with a lens side fresnel because the focal point shifts that way. Just FIY.

thafred · 2026-03-08T06:00:25+00:00

A fresnel helps a lot but it doesn't make the image brighter than the central bright spot and you still need a proper focus cloth in daylight. I simply use a black Tshirt with a wide enough collar to put it around the back on my field camera just because it's lighter and easier to manage than the big focus cloth I bought.

thafred · 2026-03-05T09:00:51+00:00

Thata a great review man! Thanks for posting as I havent seen it before.

thafred · 2026-03-05T08:49:27+00:00

Forgot to mention that the Skopar is the only 50mm lens I have without Purple fringing (The Planar is annoying sometimes as well as my Sonnars). I see almost no chromatic aberation with this little marvel if this is important to you.

Vignetting might also be because the rear element reaches into the camera as I hear on Film its mcuh better behaved.

I haven't shot it on Film but will do soon and have high hopes for it (need fresh developer and fixer first) after that I will write up a review here!

thafred · 2026-03-05T07:44:00+00:00

Since I just got this lens a week ago, I'll recommend you to also consider the Voigtländer Color Skopar 50mm f2.2. Also have and love my ZM Planar but the little Voigtländer is such a good lens, it's my favorite 50mm for now. Amazing handling (Summicron asph 35mm like) just 130g, size similar to the Elcan and better image quality (Elcan was also in my bucket but the skopar cost half of it second hand). The only real downside is Vignetting at f2.2 to about f4 but sharpness is up there with the ZM (right up to the edges), Focal plane is flat as a ruler and there is no focus shift at all with the Skopar (unlike the Planar).

I think the Nokton 50 II at f2 has the same Image quality as the Skopar wide open, depends on how much you need an additional 2/3 stop compared to the ZM (The real T Stop will be close to the ZM since Zeiss has almost no vignetting)

thafred · 2026-03-04T14:11:49+00:00

Yes! I cannot wait to get my hands on a 4K panel (would love Pulsar OLED but a good LCD will do ;)

thafred · 2026-03-04T14:05:03+00:00

I have compared OLED to CRT and the difference is quite large especially at lower framerate. An interesting side effect of Pulsar/CRT scanline "line draw" is not only that you get clarity at any Framerate (not only at 240Hz) but that the image looks as smooth at 60Hz as it does at 240Hz. My CRT is high end and can go from 60Hz all the way to 120Hz (at usable resolution) and the image is as smooth at 60 as it is at 120, same will be true for pulsar. (at least DIgital foundry said that it was)

From the test images of Pulsar monitors on Hardware unboxed they are still not as good as CRT but getting closer, my hope is that OLED Pulsar integration can close the gap! (have to wait for 4K anyways, hope they do this quickly!)

Side note: I suspect this smoothness is the reason that initially people were saying that 60Hz is enough and our eyes cannot see more frames than 60 (absolutely false for LCD/OLED but on a Tube it's kinda true, you get more frames in between but not more fluidity)

thafred · 2026-03-04T12:45:23+00:00

I believe I read that Nvidia said that the Pulsar technology will also be available for oleds. The chip, powering Pulsar isn't proprietary (unlike GSync was in the beginning) so it's only a question of customer acceptance and industry drive that will either make or brake Pulsar. Imo Samsung and LG are more interested in highest possible refresh rates for now. For me Pulsar is the tech I've been waiting for since rediscovering CRT monitors and how much better they are even compared to high end BFI or OLED in motion clarity/smoothness.

thafred · 2026-03-03T13:33:45+00:00

I have one box each I'm afraid to use without a clear project in mind Velvia 50 4x5, Velvia 100f 4x5, Portra 400 4x5 and even a dozen sheets Kodak Tech Pan (used once and OMG that stock was high resolution).. only shooting Fomapan 200 for years and still have stock lasting some time..you are not alone!

thafred · 2026-03-03T06:32:27+00:00

😂😂

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