Hi,

I am trying to decide on a first lens for 4x5 and having difficulty. I have read countless posts here and see the common suggestion is a 150mm. That is fine and all but I am not sure if I am a 150mm person. I like wide angle landscape work. That is usually done with a 45mm or 35mm with a 645 medium format camera. I have normal lenses for 35mm and 645 I just do not use them much anymore. The people I have spent some LF time with do not have 150mm, they had 90/135/270.

Normally I prefer something of a moderate wide and then a short long lens. Based on the look that it gives a 90mm would be an ideal moderate wide but the two 90's I have had a chance to work with were both f/8 models. One was used on a Linhof with a fresnel and an 8-10x loupe and all I saw were the circles on the fresnel and even with reading glasses was very hard to focus on anything other than the fresnel. The other was on a older press camera with no fresnel with no loupe and it was very hard to see through at all. Both experiences were enough to scare me away from f/8 wide angles. The fast lenses are bigger than I care for and so I am shying away from 90mm for now. Might see about a Rodenstock 90/6.8 if consensus is that the 1/2 stop is significantly noticeable as brighter than an f/8.

Alternative is a 125-135mm as a possible moderate wide. I had alot of exposure to a 135mm and it was much easier to see through than the 90 even on a non fresnel camera. Images were very easy to focus but I just was not enamored with the "look" it gave. It falls kind of into that no mans land.

In an ideal world I would have somewhat of a plan for buying lenses rather than haphazard purchases. The old plan was a 90 then a 200 then maybe a 300 and 75 if I wanted to expand.

Now I am leaning toward the Fuji CMW 125/5.6 as a first lens with the Nikon 200M or Fuji 240A as a short long. If I get the Nikon 200 I might add the 300M later. If I get the Fuji 240 I would probably stop with that on the long side.

I am also thinking a 75mm is in my future, just not as a first lens.

The camera I am purchasing is an ArcaSwiss Discovery with the regular bellows. I understand 90mm is the shortest lens possible with the regular bellows and that 210 is about the max if I get the wide angle leather. So trying to be a one bellows guy I should be able to do a 125/240 combo or a 75/200 combo.

I was leaning toward the Nikon 200M as a first lens but Badger is out, so is MPEX, B+H has Gray market imports but no USA.

So now I need to decide on a lens but am not sure which way to go.

125 Fuji and hoping the little extra kick (over 135) is good for moderate wide and then can look at a wider lens (like a 90/6.8 or 75mm) later
or
135mm as a known factor
or
200M Gray Market from B+H? Or should I wait the month for Badger to get more?
or
Fuji 240A But will it work if I get a Arca wide angle leather bellows?
or
Just get a standard 150mm? And if so would you go cheap like a Caltar /6.3 or top end like a Rodenstock-S? Or just something?

I used Kerry Thalmann's future classics and light weight lists to narrow my choices down, but the decisions just do not get easier :-)