For the past two years I've mostly been doing wet plate with 19th C. lenses like from Voigtlander, Darlot, Ross, etc. They are made from solid brass and have one or fewer moving parts. These are very solid and are still working perfectly after over 150 years.
For me the Schneider Angulons of the early 1960's were the "gold standard" (in 120, 165 and 210mm focal lengths). Lens construction, optical rendering... it just all came together. I was a young soldier, in Germany, using 4x5 and 8x10 and had selected Angulons for their coverage. Used and loved those lenses for years!