Xenotar MF 80mm f/2.8 (Exakta 66)
Schneider-Kreuznach · Pentacon Six · 1984
Also known as: Xenotar MF 80 · Xenotar MF 2,8/80 · Xenotar MF 2.8/80 · Xenotar MF 80mm f/2.8 · Schneider Xenotar MF 80mm f2.8 · Schneider-Kreuznach Xenotar MF 80mm · Xenotar 2.8/80 Exakta 66 · Xenotar 80mm f2.8 Exakta 66 · Schneider Xenotar 80mm f2.8 Exakta 66 · Schneider Kreuznach Xenotar 2.8/80mm Exakta 66 · Xenotar 80mm f2.8 Pentacon Six · Xenotar 2.8/80 Pentacon 6 · Xenotar 80mm P6 · Exakta 66 Xenotar 80mm · Xenotar 2,8/80 Exakta 66 · シュナイダー クセノター MF 80mm F2.8 エキザクタ66
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xenotar MF 2,8/80, Multicoating S, Exakta 66 mount | Pentacon Six | 1984–2000 | 14 millions (Schneider's own sequence, which pentaconsix.com reads as running from October 1983 to January 2002) | 1,547 (camera-wiki's Exakta 66 lens table, no source given) |
- Not on this page: the Xenotar E 2,8/80, the Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar in Exakta 66 livery and the lens marked only 'EXAKTA' 80mm f/2.8. camera-wiki gives the Xenotar E and Biometar as 5 elements in 4 groups and says all three appear to share one design; pentaconsix.com believes the Xenotar E is the Exakta 66 Biometar renamed, from the same 48-thousand batch, and that the 'Exakta' lens is the Biometar in a longer barrel with a Schneider serial of about January 1991. They belong with the Biometar 80, not here. Zach Horton warns that buyers confuse the Xenotar E with the MF, and pentaconsix.com attributes the high auction prices of the Xenotar E partly to that confusion.
- Seven elements in six groups is also the count of the Rollei 6000 Xenotar 2.8/80 PQS and AF lenses, and pentaconsix.com says Schneider made the Xenotar MF 'for a range of leading camera manufacturers, including Rollei'. The specifications differ, though: 500 g and 0.6 m here against 520 g and 0.8 m for the Rollei PQS lens with its built-in shutter. No Schneider data sheet has been found that ties the two to one optical calculation, so they are kept on separate pages.
- Angle of view: 52° (pentaconsix.com's Schneider data table, which says its figures are taken from published sources).
- Production: the 1,547 in camera-wiki's lens table is printed without a source. No list price for the lens alone has been found; pentaconsix.com says only that its high price was reflected in the price of the Exakta 66 outfit.
How to tell them apart
- Exakta 66 (1984) breech-lock, the Pentacon Six mount. Not to be confused with the earlier Ihagee medium-format Exaktas of 1939 and about 1954 (camera-wiki lists a vertical 'Exakta 66' among them), whose lenses do not fit this mount (pentaconsix.com; camera-wiki)
- 'MF' on the lens ring is the mark to look for: sellers often list any Exakta 66 80mm as a 'Xenotar', and the more common Xenotar E carries the same 'MULTICOATING S' name
Xenotar MF 2,8/80, Multicoating S, Exakta 66 mount:
- Raised lettering 'SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH MADE IN GERMANY' on the front of the rubber focusing ring, and 'MF' after Xenotar on the lens ring (pentaconsix.com). The cheaper Exakta 66 80mm lenses read 'EXAKTA 66 MADE IN GERMANY' there instead
- Rear element and its retaining ring deeply recessed; two black pins on the rear face; a wide sliding black stop-down bar under the lens. The Biometar, Xenotar E and 'Exakta' 80mm all have a protruding rear element with a scalloped ring, three silver pins and a small silver lever at about 7 o'clock (pentaconsix.com)
- Bigger and heavier than the other three: 84 × 72 mm and 500 g, focusing to 0.6 m, against 82 × 68 mm, 440 g and 1.0 m for the Biometar and Xenotar E and 83 × 74 mm, 450 g and 0.95 m for the 'Exakta' lens (pentaconsix.com)
- Eight-digit Schneider serial in the 14 millions. The Biometar and Xenotar E carry five-digit numbers in the 48 thousands; the 'Exakta' lens also has a 14-million Schneider number, so the serial alone does not separate it from the MF
- Xenotar MF 2,8/80, Multicoating S, Exakta 66 mount: The only version. It was the only standard lens offered when the Exakta 66 was launched in 1984 (pentaconsix.com), and Zach Horton has it in the range until 2000. Like the other Schneider lenses for the camera it passes its aperture setting to the Exakta 66 metering prism (pentaconsix.com). Lenses made for the Exakta 66 also fit the Pentacon Six (pentaconsix.com).
Specifications
- Formula
- Xenotar: 7 elements in 6 groups (camera-wiki's Exakta 66 lens table; pentaconsix.com)
- Construction
- 7 elements / 6 groups
- Aperture range
- f/2.8
- Min. focus
- 0.6 m
- Dimensions
- 84 × 72 mm
- Weight
- 500 g
- Filter
- 67 mm (0.75 mm pitch)
- Years manufactured
- 1984–2000
- Country
- Germany
- Coating
- Schneider 'MULTICOATING S'; deep purple reflections, slightly less deep than on the 'Exakta' 80mm (pentaconsix.com)
What reviewers say
- Zach Horton (Convergence), 'The Pentacon 6 Lens Hit List' (blog) — Puts the Xenotar MF in his top 'World Class' tier and says it beats the Hasselblad Planar 80/2.8, with a rendering he finds more pleasing than any other medium-format 80mm; rare, because it was costly and most buyers took the cheaper Biometar in Exakta 66 clothing, and not to be confused with the Biometar once labelled 'Xenotar E'.
History
The Xenotar MF 2,8/80 is the Schneider-Kreuznach standard lens of the Exakta 66, the West German 6×6 SLR built on the Pentacon Six chassis and shown at Photokina in 1984. At launch it was the only standard lens on offer, and it stayed in the range to the end of the camera in 2000. It is a seven-element, six-group Xenotar in the Pentacon Six breech-lock mount, with a 67 mm filter thread, a 0.6 m closest focus and a weight of 500 g. Like the other Schneider lenses for the camera, it passes its aperture setting to the Exakta 66 metering prism, and like the other Exakta 66 lenses it also fits the Pentacon Six.
Its reputation is the reason for this page. Pentaconsix.com calls it one of the best medium-format standard lenses and says many rate it above the Zeiss Planar made for the Hasselblad. Zach Horton puts it at the top of his Pentacon Six list. It was also expensive, which pentaconsix.com says showed in the price of the Exakta 66 outfit. Camera-wiki’s lens table gives 1,547 made, though it cites no source for the figure. Schneider made it for several camera makers, Rollei among them, and the seven-element, six-group count matches the Rollei 6000 Xenotar 2.8/80. The published weights and closest-focus distances differ, however (520 g and 0.8 m for the Rollei lens, which also has a shutter built in), and no Schneider document has been found that shows the two share one design.
The main thing to get right when buying is which of four Exakta 66 80mm f/2.8 lenses is on offer. Three cheaper ones followed the MF: a Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar in Exakta 66 livery, a “Xenotar E”, and a lens marked only “EXAKTA”. Camera-wiki gives all three as five elements in four groups and says they appear to share the Biometar design. Pentaconsix.com cites a 1992 Beroflex catalogue for sales representatives that shows the Biometar and “EXAKTA” lenses with the same lens diagram, judges the Xenotar E almost certainly part of the same Biometar batch on serial-number evidence, and surmises that its misleading name explains part of what it fetches at auction. The MF is easy to tell from the other three once you look. “SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH MADE IN GERMANY” is moulded on the front of the rubber focusing ring, where the others read “EXAKTA 66 MADE IN GERMANY”. The rear element sits deep inside the mount, with two black pins and a wide black stop-down bar, where the others have a protruding rear element, three silver pins and a small silver lever. It also focuses to 0.6 m, against roughly a metre for the others. A 14-million Schneider serial does not settle it, because the “EXAKTA” lens has one too. Ask for a photograph of the rear of the lens and of the rubber ring, and treat a listing that reads only “Xenotar 80mm” as unconfirmed until “MF” is visible. One more trap: Ihagee made earlier medium-format Exaktas, in 1939 and again in about 1954, and their lenses do not fit.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Example photos
Sample photo wanted — shot with a Xenotar MF 80mm f/2.8 (Exakta 66)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
Asking price, EUR: a median of €2,600 across 3 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-09 (middle half €2,100–€2,600). First day tracked.
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
- Schneider Kreuznach Xenotar 80mm f/2.8 MC S Exakta 66 Mount Medium Format Lens
- Exakta 66 Schneider Kreuznach Xenotar MF 80mm 2,8 FSE 203226
- Exakta 66 Kamera + Schneider Kreuznach Xenotar MF E 2.8/80mm Multicoating S
- Exakta 66 Body mit Schneider Kreuznach Xenotar MF 2,8/80 Lens 80mm f/2.8
Listings updated 2026-11-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.