It took a lot of decision making to pick the right 4x5 for me. It was frustratin g because I couldn't try every brand "hands on" that I was interested in. It cam e down to a Wisner or the Arca Swiss Discovery. I tested the Wisner Traditional, and after fumbling with knobs, movements not working smoothly, and seeing the s alesperson have a heck of a time trying to fold it up, the Discovery got a thumb s up. FYI = At B & H, $1334.00, no return, back ordered. At Badger Graphics, $12 95.00, 2 wk return, will recieve in three days. Anyway, a Calumet 45N at $399.00 , in perfect condition came my way. So it weights 8 lbs. instead of 5, like the Discovery, and so the movements aren't as extreme. $400.00 bucks and it was mine . ( much more in my price range ). Sigh of relief, well sort of. Now I'm back in the same dilemma. I can't decide on a lens. I don't know exactly what I'll be s hooting mostly. Just getting started. But I can say close up really interests me , object size down to the size of say, an orange, but no makro work. I don't und erstand 1:3, as opposed to 3:1. Can anybody explain this? I will also shoot tabl e top shots to lanscape and architecture. This lens will be a 150mm. I'm very cr itical about sharpness. I was going with the Rodenstock APO Sironar - S, optimis ed 1:5 to infinity, but was told about the Schneider G Claron. This lens offers "flat field design". Can anyone enlighten me on this meaning? Just curious. I us ed a Caltar 150mm general purpose lens, don't know exacly which one, in school. My assignments that were 1:1 are quite a bit sharper than the shots about 5-6 ft . away. ( We always shot at f64 ). If anyone can enlighten me on a decision, it would be much appreciated. Right now the APO Sironar - S with ED glass sounds aw fully good. Much appreciated, Raven.
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