Any Real Reason To Favor One Particular Lens Line?

[xkaes]

Only reason I prefer the Fuji CM-W line is that in the focal lengths I prefer they all use a 67mm filter so I only have a single set to take along.

This is a great example. Different people will choose different lenses because they have different features.

[xkaes]

In my experience (I've been using large format in an "amateur way" for at least 50 years) you will be happy with any mix of lenses from the "Big 3" you mention: Schneider, Nikon, Rodenstock.

In case you missed it, the OP listed FUJI as well. It's the big FOUR-- not three!

http://www.subclub.org/fujinon/

[Havoc]

In case you missed it, the OP listed FUJI as well. It's the big FOUR-- not three!

Ssssssttttt... More cheap(er) lenses for us. Fuji doesn't seem to be popular in the US, they prefer the German lenses for some reason.

[Peter Lewin]

Havoc, Xkaes: Apologies for neglecting Fuji, it was a sin of careless omission. I am very happy with my Fuji C 300 lens. My lenses include 3 Schneider, 1 Rodenstock, the afore mentioned Fuji, and 1 Olden-rebranded Congo (which was my very first LF lens, and is noticeably not in the same class as the other lenses).

[Alan Klein]

Pick coated lenses. Buy from reputable dealers with a solid return policy. Good luck.

[paulbarden]

You could show us 100 photographs made by 100 skilled photographers and in 95% of these examples, none of us would be able to identify what lens or brand of lens made those photographs.
So no - there's very little reason to isolate a specific brand or line of lenses as "better".

[Michael R]

You could show us 100 photographs made by 100 skilled photographers and in 95% of these examples, none of us would be able to identify what lens or brand of lens made those photographs.
So no - there's very little reason to isolate a specific brand or line of lenses as "better".

Agree except I'd up that to 100% and the photographers don't even need to be skilled

[Neal Chaves]

Fast, wide, sharp...Pick any two.

[Drew Wiley]

Yup; it's the "Big Four". Fuji has been right there at the top too for a long time. And Fuji was held in especially high repute for video and TV studio lenses. Although all these brands offered analogous general purpose lenses, they also had their own unique specialized lenses. Fuji didn't advertise in the US as much as the German brands; but the big downtown Photo Store at the time carried every one of their lenses in stock at the Pro counter, along with every LF lens from Nikon, Schneider, and Rodenstock. The counter men were pros in their own way back then, and one of them told me that, in his opinion, Fuji had the highest quality of all.

I have always used a mix. But at one point I sold off my well-used Schneider lenses when the exchange rate favored the German Mark, and bought Japanese when the Yen was low. I came out making a little bit of money - selling off the old used lenses for more than the new ones cost.

[neil poulsen]

Ansel Adams requested that John Sexton and Alan Ross compare all the different lenses, and Nikon lenses emerged as the most contrasty. I think it likely that different lenses within manufacturers and lens designs tend to exhibit similar characteristics.

For myself, with certain exceptions for specific reasons, I have all Schneider Apo Symmar lenses and Schneider multi-coated XL lenses. For example, I have the 90mm f8 SW Nikon for its convenient size and its extra large image circle. And so on.