Wide Angle starter lens for landscape 75? 90? 105? 125? 135?

[tim atherton]

"The 110XL is great but should you really start with such an expensive lens?"

hey Frank - we see eye to eye on lenses... ;-)

"It has a huge image circle that will allow far more generous movements than any of the wider lenses you listed."

but something like the Fuji 125 f8 has as big an image circle (280mm as opposed to 288mm on the XL) and the 6cm (2 1/3") or so of movement available on the 125 5.6 135 5.6 Fujis is certainly plenty for most uses - same witht he rarer Fuji 105 f8 - (many4x5 cameras will barely give you that much rise or fall) and they can usually be had found in the $250.00 to $450.00 range if you are patient. ANd a 120mm f8 Nikkor SW is usually around half the price of the 110XL.

Now, if you might move up to 8x10 it could be worth getting as you can use it as a wide wide then as well....

[Robert Jaques]

Having just started out in large format myself earlier this year, I too had trouble deciding on a wide angle focal length. I opted for the 90mm Nikkor F8. I have been very pleased with this purchase (very sharp!) Its is a bit dim for low light stuff and if you budget can stretch I would go for a F4.5. Still the F8 is a very usable lens in most situations. The 90mm seems wider that its approximate 24mm equivalent in 35mm terms. It is not, it just seems very wide when I'm composing on the ground glass. I find my 150mm much easier to compose with and have been surprised that some of my photos taken with the 150mm look as though they were take with a wide angle.