I am reading with interest because I am shopping for a new (to me) 300mm lens. I have a Fujinon-W inside lettering with some bad scratches that just isn't doing it; I have a couple of barrel lenses that are quite sharp, 2 fitted to Packards, but I would like a 'normal' 8x10 lens with good contrast and sharpness, in modern shutter. I was going to try another Fujinon (mostly for the price), but from your post I should be looking for a Nikkor. The extra $100 or whatever won't kill me, but I'm tired of buying bad lenses.

I have a couple of new Fujinons (to me) that I'm going to test first, a 75/5.6 for my 4x5 kit and a 250/6.7 for 8x10. If the latter is sharp, I may stop there.