I am new to large format, but am fairly experienced with medium format. I am considering getting into an 8X10 large format system. Probably with an adapter for 4X5 use also. I have questions on how to chose suitable lenses.

I see there are a large selection of large format lenses available at very reasonable prices in eBay. However, it is not always easy to identify if a lens suited for 8X10 without vignetting or generally poor performance on the edge. For example I understand that a 360 mm focal length lens is pretty typical for a standard lens for the 8X10 format. Logic says I should be able to get something of roughly half that focal length for wide angle applications in the 8X10 format. There are 180 mm lenses labeled (by the seller) for 4X5 use. Some just say that they are for large format. Most do not publish the image circle diameter.

So there is little information for me to use when choosing.

So does anyone have any advice for picking and choosing lenses for the 8X10 format? Is there any published information that I can rely on before purchasing a 2nd hand lens?