Walter Glover wrote:
But it raises a conundrum for me, looking at your work and my own: why does a 300mm on 8x10 work so much better than a 150mm on 4x5?
I think angle of view is one of the factors in this difference, which I have also experienced. The lens Maris has, is possibly the version with a 69º angle of view, whereas in the same series of "CM W Wide" Fujinon lenses, their 150mm version has an angle of view of 73º.
Another factor I think is that the longer focal length will normally have more inherent compression of the image at any given point before infinity focus. With this look being more to the fore with subjects focused closer to minimum focus, than subjects closer to infinity focus.