Apo-Tele-Xenar 300mm f/4 (6000)
Schneider-Kreuznach · Rollei 6000 · 1988 · Apochromatic telephoto, 6 elements in 6 groups
Also known as: Rollei Apo-Tele-Xenar 300mm f/4 HFT PQ · Schneider Apo-Tele-Xenar 300mm F4 Rollei · Apo Tele Xenar 4/300 Rolleiflex 6008 · Rollei 6000 300mm f4 Schneider · Apo-Tele-Xenar HFT 300 PQ · Schneider-Kreuznach Apo-Tele-Xenar 4/300 HFT · Rollei Schneider 300mm f/4 · ローライ アポテレクセナー 300mm F4 · シュナイダー アポテレクセナー 300mm F4 ローライ6000 · ローライフレックス 6008 300mm F4 PQ
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apo-Tele-Xenar HFT 4/300 PQ, order no. 59 426 | Rollei 6000 | 1988 | — | — |
- Construction, aperture range f/4–32, closest focus 3.2 m, dimensions, weight and the M95 thread are from the English Wikipedia list of SLX/6000/Hy6 lenses (drawn from Rollei's brochures); rolleigraphy.eu gives 6 elements in 6 groups, a 15° diagonal and 11° horizontal field, M 95 × 1 and the order number 59 426; Japanese Wikipedia gives 6群6枚, 3.2 m and a φ95 mm screw-in attachment.
- Year. No source consulted dates the lens. It exists only as a PQ lens, a line that began with the 6008 professional of 1988, so 1988 is the earliest the generation allows, not a documented introduction; Rollei's 1984 SLX table does not list a 300. No end date was found.
- The Longar 1.4× HFT teleconverter (order no. 59 670; AF Longar 56 701) was computed for the Xenotar 2/80, Tele-Xenar 2.8/180 and this lens, turning it into a 5.6/420, and is described as well suited to the other telephotos; it must not be used with the Planar 2.8/80, whose rear would damage the converter's front element (rolleigraphy.eu). The 2× HFT converter, order no. 98 253, fits all standard, telephoto and zoom lenses.
- Not found: the number of diaphragm blades, a list price, production figures, and any published test. Sellers' descriptions of recent examples (not consulted as sources here) say some were serviced in Japan; the lens itself is a Bad Kreuznach design.
How to tell them apart
- Schneider's name on a Rollei 6000 bayonet with ten contacts and no shutter-speed ring; aperture ring 4–32 with an 'A' position. Schneider also sold Apo-Tele-Xenars in Copal shutters for large-format cameras, which have a speed ring and a lens board, not a bayonet
- The fastest long lens of the system: f/4 at 300 mm against f/5.6 for the Zeiss Sonnar 250 and Tele-Tessar 350. 'Extra-ordinary large aperture and apochromatic correction', in Rollei's brochure wording (rolleigraphy.eu)
- 95 mm front thread, the size shared with the Planar 2/110, Tele-Xenar 2.8/180 and the Variogon zooms
Apo-Tele-Xenar HFT 4/300 PQ, order no. 59 426:
- 'PQ' beside the aperture numbers; the only version made, so a 300/4 without it is not this lens
- M95 × 1 filter thread; 101 mm across and 262 mm long, 2 kg (English Wikipedia list)
- Rollei order no. 59 426 (rolleigraphy.eu)
- Apo-Tele-Xenar HFT 4/300 PQ, order no. 59 426: The only version. Rolleigraphy.eu lists it in the Schneider table as PQ alone, with no original, PQS or autofocus edition, and the English Wikipedia list agrees. Aperture-priority and program exposure on the 6008 and later; on the SLX, 6006 and 6002 it is limited to those bodies' modes.
Specifications
- Formula
- Apochromatic telephoto, 6 elements in 6 groups
- Construction
- 6 elements / 6 groups
- Aperture range
- f/4–f/32
- Shutter
- Electronically timed leaf shutter built into the lens, 30 s–1/500 s (PQ), its blades and the diaphragm driven by linear motors through the 10-pin contact; speeds are set on the body
- Min. focus
- 3.2 m
- Dimensions
- 101 × 262 mm
- Weight
- 2000 g
- Filter
- 95 mm
- Years manufactured
- 1988
- Country
- Germany
- Coating
- HFT multicoating
What reviewers say
No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.
History
The Apo-Tele-Xenar HFT 4/300 is Schneider-Kreuznach’s long telephoto for the Rolleiflex 6000 system and the fastest lens in it beyond 180 mm: six elements in six groups, apochromatically corrected, f/4 to f/32, focusing to 3.2 m, with a 95 mm filter thread, a barrel 101 mm across and 262 mm long, and 2 kg on the scale. Rollei’s brochure, quoted on rolleigraphy.eu, promised an “extra-ordinary large aperture and apochromatic correction”, and sold it with the Longar 1.4× converter, computed for this lens along with the Xenotar 2/80 and Tele-Xenar 2.8/180, as a 5.6/420 too. Like every 6000 lens it carries its own electronically timed leaf shutter and a linear-motor diaphragm, both driven by the body through the ten-pin bayonet; the speed range is 30 s to 1/500 s.
It was made in one version only, a PQ lens with Rollei order number 59 426. That gives it aperture-priority and program exposure on the 6008 professional and its successors, shutter-priority and manual on the SLX, 6006 and 6002, and manual focus with focus confirmation on the 6008 AF and Hy6; no PQS, EL or autofocus edition was ever listed. Nothing consulted dates it. The PQ line began with the 6008 of 1988, and the 1984 SLX lens table has no 300 mm lens, so 1988 is a floor rather than a launch date; Schneider’s apochromatic Tele-Xenars for Rollei belong to the same wave of Bad Kreuznach designs as the Tele-Xenar 2.8/180 and the Super-Angulons, which rolleigraphy.eu notes are much more recent computations than the Zeiss lenses they sit beside.
No test or review of the lens was found. What can be said from the sources is that it sits between the Zeiss Sonnar 250 (f/5.6, 1.15 kg, Bayonet VI) and the Tele-Tessar 350 (f/5.6, 1.65 kg, M86) in the line-up, a stop faster than either and heavier than both, and that Rollei thought enough of its correction to pair it with a teleconverter. When buying, exercise the shutter and diaphragm on a body, since neither moves without power, look at the ten contacts, and read the barrel for “PQ”: Schneider also made Apo-Tele-Xenars in Copal shutters for view cameras, which share the name and nothing else.
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 Apo-Tele-Xenar 300mm f/4 (6000)? We'd love to feature it (with credit).
Live listings
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