{"overview":"The Schneider-Kreuznach 135mm f\/3.5 Tele-Xenar is a short telephoto prime from the German optical maker, designed for portraiture and medium-distance work on 35mm SLRs. Variants were produced in several mounts across the manual-focus era, and the lens belongs to Schneider's long-running Tele-Xenar family.","market_narrative":"At UK auction in recent years, hammer prices for the 135mm f\/3.5 Tele-Xenar have been modest, with recorded sales of £16 (January 2024) and £25 (March 2023) giving a median around £20. These are wholesale saleroom results rather than dealer retail, so what the lens is worth in a shop window today in 2026 will typically sit higher; clean, mount-correct copies tend to sell for the upper end of that auction range.","buying_guide":"Inspect the front and rear elements for fungus, haze and cleaning marks, as older Schneider coatings can show fine scratches that flare against bright light. Work the aperture ring through every stop to confirm the blades are dry and snappy with no oil migration, and check that the focus helicoid turns smoothly without stiffness or grease that has dried out. Confirm the mount matches your camera before bidding, since the Tele-Xenar 135mm was sold in more than one fitting.","specs":"Reported specifications are limited to a 135mm focal length and an f\/3.5 maximum aperture in the Tele-Xenar telephoto line; further optical and mechanical details are not documented in the supplied data.","faq":[{"q":"What is a Schneider 135mm f\/3.5 Tele-Xenar worth today?","a":"Recent UK auction hammer prices have ranged from £16 to £25, so the lens is typically worth around £20 at saleroom level, with retail prices usually higher."},{"q":"How much does a 135mm Tele-Xenar sell for at auction?","a":"The two tracked UK auction sales closed at £16 and £25, giving a current price band of roughly £15 to £25 for untested or cosmetically average copies."},{"q":"Is the Tele-Xenar 135mm f\/3.5 a good value used lens?","a":"For the money it is an inexpensive entry into Schneider-Kreuznach glass, but value depends heavily on optical condition and on the mount matching a camera you already own."},{"q":"What should I check before buying one?","a":"Look for fungus, haze, scratched coatings, oily aperture blades and a stiff focus ring, and verify the lens mount before committing."}],"confidence":35,"reasoning":"Only two unverified sales records and no specs or variant data were provided, so confidence is capped well below 50."}

{"overview":"The Schneider-Kreuznach 360mm f\/5.5 Tele-Xenar is a long telephoto lens from the German optical maker's Tele-Xenar line, intended for large-format and medium-format use where a compact telephoto design was preferred over a conventional long-focus lens. The telephoto construction keeps the physical length shorter than the focal length, making 360mm manageable on studio and field cameras.","market_narrative":"UK auction hammer results for this lens are limited but low: the two recorded sales landed at £62 and £175, giving a median of roughly £118 and showing how much condition and completeness drive price at saleroom level today in 2026. Because these are wholesale hammer figures rather than dealer retail, buyers asking what a 360mm f\/5.5 Tele-Xenar is worth should expect clean, shutter-mounted copies to sell for materially more once commission and dealer margin are added.","buying_guide":"Inspect the glass carefully for fungus, internal haze and cleaning marks on the coatings, all of which are common on Schneider telephotos of this vintage and dull contrast quickly. Check the aperture blades for oil, confirm the iris opens and closes crisply, and if the lens is in a shutter, test every speed; also look for signs of element separation around the cemented groups and make sure the focus or barrel movement is smooth rather than stiff or gritty.","specs":"Key specifications from the supplied data are limited to the headline figures: a 360mm focal length at a maximum aperture of f\/5.5, branded Tele-Xenar by Schneider-Kreuznach.","faq":[{"q":"How much does a Schneider 360mm f\/5.5 Tele-Xenar sell for at UK auction?","a":"Recorded UK hammer prices sit between £62 and £175, so most copies sell for a low-to-mid three-figure sum depending on glass and shutter condition."},{"q":"What is a 360mm f\/5.5 Tele-Xenar worth if the glass is clean?","a":"With only two sales on file the sample is small, but the £175 top result suggests clean examples command the upper end of that range at saleroom level, before buyer's premium."},{"q":"Why is the price range so wide?","a":"The gap between £62 and £175 reflects the usual condition spread on vintage Schneider telephotos — fungus, haze, sticky apertures and shutter faults push value sharply downward."}],"confidence":35,"reasoning":"Only two unverified sales records and no SPECS, variants or facts were supplied, so confidence is capped well below 50 per rule 8."}