The great, the good and the so-so lenses

[CarstenW]

While it is true that each of us needs to make our own decisions and find our own path, the bewildering array of options in LF does not make this an attractive proposition. A little help goes a long way, and in the end, he will make his own decisions.

I just hope that if 10 people all shout "the 110 XL is awesome" he doesn't run out and get it, because there are so many other great lenses out there for much less. I just picked up a 90/5.6 SA MC Linhof for 400 Euro. Is the 110 XL 3x the lens? And so on for other lenses.

[Frank Petronio]

You can't go wrong with either the Rodenstocks Sironar-N MC or Schneider Symmar-S MC for good standard lenses. Look for later model examples in black rimmed Copal shutters. Condition matters -- look out for edge separation, dings and scratches, oil on the aperture blades, slow shutter speeds -- all of which should be obvious.

They are not exotic, but being plentiful means they are not too expensive either.

I'm not saying the other lenses are bad, but a couple of generations of LF photographers have been using these German lenses and I've never heard anyone complain about them. They are just good lenses that don't impose anything on you, they reduce one decision out of the complex equation of making a large format photo.

After you get some experience you can experiment. But even if you buy something exotic, you may well come back to these lenses in the end.

[NoBob]

Thanks for more useful comments, but

> photographic hobbyist.
That's not me...

> A great photographer can make a great photo with just about anything.
Didn't I say that, in a roundabout way ("I appreciate it's not what you have but what you do with it")?

> A little help goes a long way, and in the end, he will make his own decisions.
I will.

> they reduce one decision out of the complex equation of making a large format photo.
I like that...

[Mark Sawyer]

One man's "reduce one decision" is another man's "lose one way of seeing".

[Jack Dahlgren]

One man's "reduce one decision" is another man's "lose one way of seeing".

I don't see it as a loss, rather a conscious decision to simplify. The option to consider the multitude of possibilities still exists. I personally enjoy my very basic camera because it is so basic that it doesn't get in the way of thinking about what I'm photographing.

There is enough to consider that I don't feel I need every possibility available at all times. There is power in simplification.