Excessive image circle can increase flare light inside the bellows causing reduced image contrast on the film image. larger image circle is NOT always an advantage in any way, it can be a problem in more ways than one.
Modern plasmat lenses will have a smaller image circle at full aperture (f5.6) with the image circle increasing as the aperture is reduced or stopped down? What might be the working or taking lens aperture for the images in mind? This tends to drive lens choice?
As the lens image circle is used with wide angle view camera lenses, there will be light fall-off. This fact is baked into the lens design and physics of light. If is often compensated for by using center filters with essentially a netrual density spot beginning at the center of the filter then gradually tapering off towards the edges of the filter to compensate for the light fall off of the lens. Know if these wide angle lenses (120mm/121mm/125mm f8 and 115mm f6.8) are used on 4x5 to the limits of their image circle, light fall off could be an issue. With a light weight field folder, the standard bellows often becomes the camera movement limiter effectively stopping and limiting the full use of the large image circle these lenses are capable of.
Think over ALL these and other factors (do not decide on larger image circle is auto best) before considering which lens.
Bernice
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