bojanfurst
Well-known
I've just been given a Focomat iic. I am not sure if it is working properly yet. It certainly needs a lot of cleanup and possibly parts. I'd like to get it back in working order since in a month or so I will be able to make my darkroom fully functional again (I have a small B22 Omega enlarger). However, I will need a lot of help figuring how to make this iic functional again and, living here on the island with only a few film photographers left, I am hoping you folks can help me out.
This focomat has a wooden baseboard, silver column and V Elmar 4.5/100mm and a Focotar 4.5/50mm. I have downloaded the manual and failed at step one (not in the manual). There is a really nice easel attached to the baseboard that I would like to remove so that I can clean it properly and remove the rust spots. Any idea how would I do that? here is a few photos in hopes that they might help
Thanks a million and I'll keep you posted on how this goes. There is every possibility that I won't be able to make it work, but I really want to try.
Bojan
This focomat has a wooden baseboard, silver column and V Elmar 4.5/100mm and a Focotar 4.5/50mm. I have downloaded the manual and failed at step one (not in the manual). There is a really nice easel attached to the baseboard that I would like to remove so that I can clean it properly and remove the rust spots. Any idea how would I do that? here is a few photos in hopes that they might help
Thanks a million and I'll keep you posted on how this goes. There is every possibility that I won't be able to make it work, but I really want to try.
Bojan
focomat
Newbie
Focomat Restoration
Focomat Restoration
To release the easel just pull the large lever on the left hand side down.
Focomat Restoration
To release the easel just pull the large lever on the left hand side down.
Vickko
Veteran
Oh you are a lucky soul. I had a Focomat IIc and they are the most amazing instruments (except they don't have a dichroic head). If you are okay with the filter tray, you will find that the enlarger is one of the most stable optical instruments that you can own.
Did you get everything you need to run it, like negative holders and masks?
I've rebuilt a couple and might even have spare parts around.
But if you get stuck, I'd gladly help.
Did you get everything you need to run it, like negative holders and masks?
I've rebuilt a couple and might even have spare parts around.
But if you get stuck, I'd gladly help.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
You have the best enlarger one can find on this planet.
It is important to remove the lenses to inspect them thorougly that there is no fog in them. If there is, you should have them cleaned by a competent repairman.
Clean the condensor from dust.
There are two filmcarriers (the part that holds your negative) for this enlarger, the universal and the 35mm. I hope you have both. For 35mm work the 35mm carrier is essential.
The adjustment of the position of your lightbulb is important for the evenness of the illumination of the negative. On the internet you can find a user-manual how to achieve this.
I hope that you'll succeed in getting this machine to work. If you want to know anything, just send me a PM.
Erik.
It is important to remove the lenses to inspect them thorougly that there is no fog in them. If there is, you should have them cleaned by a competent repairman.
Clean the condensor from dust.
There are two filmcarriers (the part that holds your negative) for this enlarger, the universal and the 35mm. I hope you have both. For 35mm work the 35mm carrier is essential.
The adjustment of the position of your lightbulb is important for the evenness of the illumination of the negative. On the internet you can find a user-manual how to achieve this.
I hope that you'll succeed in getting this machine to work. If you want to know anything, just send me a PM.
Erik.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
I found reading this quite interesting:
"The following unsigned review appeared in the now-defunct Modern Photography magazine, April 1974. The title of the review was 'The Most Expensive Enlarger We've Ever Tested.' I've edited it for brevity.
This is what I wrote about this enlarger some time ago:
"I like the IIc very much, also for 35mm work. The strong points of the IIc are the evenness of the illumination and the ergonomy the special 35mm carrier provides. When you intend to do 35mm work with the IIc this special carrier is essential. This 35mm carrier has only on one side glass, anti-Newton glass. The glass holds the negative flat in the same way the condenser in an Ic does, but it has the advantage that there also is a small clip that holds the negative in place. This clip is very convenient. It can hold in place a piece of film as small as the length of one frame. Now try to do that with an Ic.
When you want to print the whole negative with a black border, you'll have to file out the cut-out of the brass mask. The brass is 2mm thick. The filing takes some patience, but is not hard to do.
The 60mm Focotar is very good for prints up to 24x30cm. On prints of 30x40cm you'll notice a very slight unsharpness of the grain towards the corners, but the prints are nevertheless beautiful.
When choosing a IIc you should look for one with a filter drawer. The IIc is a bit too big to take off the lamp housing every time you change the filter.
I love my Focomat IIc as much as I love my Leicas. It certainly is the most beautiful enlarger in the world."
Erik.
"The following unsigned review appeared in the now-defunct Modern Photography magazine, April 1974. The title of the review was 'The Most Expensive Enlarger We've Ever Tested.' I've edited it for brevity.
Manufacturer's Specifications: Leitz Focomat IIc Enlarger.
Features: Accepts all negatives 12 x 17mm to 6 x 9cm (2-1/4 x 3-1/4 in.), cam-guided autofocus operation, parallelogram construction, rapid shift lens turret, equipped with Leitz 60mm Focotar and Leitz 100mm V-Elmar lenses, illuminated magnification scale, adjustable for easel thickness, Osram 150-watt lamp, red filter, filter drawer, heat-absorbing glass, adaptable to distortion-correction device, copying back for reproductions down to 1:1, white-surfaced baseboard and negative mask storage drawer
Price: $1,806 (with lenses).
If we had to name one enlarger that ranked first in design, quality of construction and performance, this would have to be it. The basic design concept, the fit and finish of the individual parts and the overall performance all add up to place the Focomat IIc in a category that is mighty lonely. There's only one enlarger in it, the Leitz Focomat IIc.
As a rule, we first discuss the enlarger under test in terms of its basic design. Then we talk about the various performance tests before making a final evaluation. But in this case we would like to reverse this procedure.
In terms of alignment among baseboard, negative and lens, the Focomat IIc tested out at nearly a zero discrepancy between all three planes. Actually a 1/16 bubble length (using our standard alignment tool) was detectable between negative and baseboard in the lateral plane. No detectable error was found in any other alignment measurement. To put this in perspective, we regularly run into 1/4-bubble length errors in all planes of many machines previously tested.
Illumination tests are designed to check evenness of illumination across the print area. The Leitz Focomat IIc with the 60mm Focotar in place checked out as follows: Corner-to-corner discrepancy--zero. That is, if there was a difference it was not readable on our Lektra PTM-7a photometer, and it is calibrated down to 1 /10 of a stop. The center-to-edge error was about 1 /10 of a stop. These are the best illumination specifications we have ever come across in our testing.
The Focomat lIc is a dual-format enlarger. While it covers negative sizes down to 12 x 17mm (Kodak Pocket Instamatic), it is basically designed for the man who works with 35mm and has a second camera using a larger format negative. It can be anything up to 6 x 9cm, but more likely it would be 2-1/4 in. square or 6 x 7cm ideal format. The 6x9 maximum capability, however, makes this machine especially useful in some professional graphic arts applications. It is autofocus for all formats.
The lamphouse looks like a simple spherical metal stamping. That's deceiving. Actually it is double-walled, providing heat insulation and ventilation. The inside is silver and the 150-watt bulb is adjustable over a short range. The lower section of the lamp-house is also double-walled with large vents to provide convection cooling through the lamp-house.
The entire head from negative stage upward can be removed completely by just loosening a knob and lifting the head. This facilitates cleaning, but basically it is to accommodate the accessory negative-tilting device to be used for the correction of converging verticals. This device was not tested by Modern's editors. Note that most enlargers made in Europe are equipped with this feature. Most enlargers made in the U.S. are not. And since we have never met a single serious photographer who uses this correction device, we feel that its elimination from enlarger design makes sense. In the Focomat IIc you can take it or leave it.
In order to appreciate this machine fully, you need only examine the details. The filter drawer, for example, is well made, slides in and out smoothly, but is prevented from being pulled all the way out by a rod with a gravity catch. It can be pulled out for installing filters. To remove it completely, just depress the catch and out it slides. The heart of the machine is the autofocus system. Let's trace the action of printing a negative. And let's start by removing the carrier. It is a large, heavily-built unit, hinged at the back. The glass plates that keep the negative flat are set into the carrier and recessed. They are held in place by chrome strips and a steel spring-loaded pressure arm. The front of the carrier has a lower lip and an upper hinged arm. We place the negative between the glass plates, close the carrier and slide it into the enlarger. It goes in on four tracks. A large pair of springs holds the carrier in place. The hinged bar separates the glass plates so that film may be shifted without scratching.
The opening on the carrier is 6 x 9cm. If we are using 35mm, we select a 35mm mask from the rack under the baseboard and slip it in place under the carrier. Ten masks are available to cover all possible sizes from 12x17mm to 6 x 9cm. Let's assume we are enlarging a 35mm negative. We have already set the collar at the base of the upright to the 35mm position to accommodate the height of the Leitz easel.
Now we shift the lens turret to the left to position the 60mm lens in the light path. This automatically actuates the Bowden cable which puts the proper cam into position. The enlarger is now in perfect autofocus throughout its usable range. To get the image size we need, just Ioosen a large knob to the right of the lamphouse and lift or lower as needed and the image stays in focus. The head is so well counterbalanced that the action is smooth, silky and effortless.
To work with the 100mm lens we just push the lens turret to the right and we are ready to go.
The price of the enlarger we tested includes an illuminated magnification dial that Iights up in the dark. Without this dial the price drops to a mere $1,730. Add $204 more if you want a Leitz 12 x 16 easel. One I accessory that we do recommend is the 35mm carrier with no glass on the bottom plate. It reduces dust problems. We don't know its price at this writing, but we consider it an essential adjunct to the Leitz Focomat IIc."
Features: Accepts all negatives 12 x 17mm to 6 x 9cm (2-1/4 x 3-1/4 in.), cam-guided autofocus operation, parallelogram construction, rapid shift lens turret, equipped with Leitz 60mm Focotar and Leitz 100mm V-Elmar lenses, illuminated magnification scale, adjustable for easel thickness, Osram 150-watt lamp, red filter, filter drawer, heat-absorbing glass, adaptable to distortion-correction device, copying back for reproductions down to 1:1, white-surfaced baseboard and negative mask storage drawer
Price: $1,806 (with lenses).
If we had to name one enlarger that ranked first in design, quality of construction and performance, this would have to be it. The basic design concept, the fit and finish of the individual parts and the overall performance all add up to place the Focomat IIc in a category that is mighty lonely. There's only one enlarger in it, the Leitz Focomat IIc.
As a rule, we first discuss the enlarger under test in terms of its basic design. Then we talk about the various performance tests before making a final evaluation. But in this case we would like to reverse this procedure.
In terms of alignment among baseboard, negative and lens, the Focomat IIc tested out at nearly a zero discrepancy between all three planes. Actually a 1/16 bubble length (using our standard alignment tool) was detectable between negative and baseboard in the lateral plane. No detectable error was found in any other alignment measurement. To put this in perspective, we regularly run into 1/4-bubble length errors in all planes of many machines previously tested.
Illumination tests are designed to check evenness of illumination across the print area. The Leitz Focomat IIc with the 60mm Focotar in place checked out as follows: Corner-to-corner discrepancy--zero. That is, if there was a difference it was not readable on our Lektra PTM-7a photometer, and it is calibrated down to 1 /10 of a stop. The center-to-edge error was about 1 /10 of a stop. These are the best illumination specifications we have ever come across in our testing.
The Focomat lIc is a dual-format enlarger. While it covers negative sizes down to 12 x 17mm (Kodak Pocket Instamatic), it is basically designed for the man who works with 35mm and has a second camera using a larger format negative. It can be anything up to 6 x 9cm, but more likely it would be 2-1/4 in. square or 6 x 7cm ideal format. The 6x9 maximum capability, however, makes this machine especially useful in some professional graphic arts applications. It is autofocus for all formats.
The lamphouse looks like a simple spherical metal stamping. That's deceiving. Actually it is double-walled, providing heat insulation and ventilation. The inside is silver and the 150-watt bulb is adjustable over a short range. The lower section of the lamp-house is also double-walled with large vents to provide convection cooling through the lamp-house.
The entire head from negative stage upward can be removed completely by just loosening a knob and lifting the head. This facilitates cleaning, but basically it is to accommodate the accessory negative-tilting device to be used for the correction of converging verticals. This device was not tested by Modern's editors. Note that most enlargers made in Europe are equipped with this feature. Most enlargers made in the U.S. are not. And since we have never met a single serious photographer who uses this correction device, we feel that its elimination from enlarger design makes sense. In the Focomat IIc you can take it or leave it.
In order to appreciate this machine fully, you need only examine the details. The filter drawer, for example, is well made, slides in and out smoothly, but is prevented from being pulled all the way out by a rod with a gravity catch. It can be pulled out for installing filters. To remove it completely, just depress the catch and out it slides. The heart of the machine is the autofocus system. Let's trace the action of printing a negative. And let's start by removing the carrier. It is a large, heavily-built unit, hinged at the back. The glass plates that keep the negative flat are set into the carrier and recessed. They are held in place by chrome strips and a steel spring-loaded pressure arm. The front of the carrier has a lower lip and an upper hinged arm. We place the negative between the glass plates, close the carrier and slide it into the enlarger. It goes in on four tracks. A large pair of springs holds the carrier in place. The hinged bar separates the glass plates so that film may be shifted without scratching.
The opening on the carrier is 6 x 9cm. If we are using 35mm, we select a 35mm mask from the rack under the baseboard and slip it in place under the carrier. Ten masks are available to cover all possible sizes from 12x17mm to 6 x 9cm. Let's assume we are enlarging a 35mm negative. We have already set the collar at the base of the upright to the 35mm position to accommodate the height of the Leitz easel.
Now we shift the lens turret to the left to position the 60mm lens in the light path. This automatically actuates the Bowden cable which puts the proper cam into position. The enlarger is now in perfect autofocus throughout its usable range. To get the image size we need, just Ioosen a large knob to the right of the lamphouse and lift or lower as needed and the image stays in focus. The head is so well counterbalanced that the action is smooth, silky and effortless.
To work with the 100mm lens we just push the lens turret to the right and we are ready to go.
The price of the enlarger we tested includes an illuminated magnification dial that Iights up in the dark. Without this dial the price drops to a mere $1,730. Add $204 more if you want a Leitz 12 x 16 easel. One I accessory that we do recommend is the 35mm carrier with no glass on the bottom plate. It reduces dust problems. We don't know its price at this writing, but we consider it an essential adjunct to the Leitz Focomat IIc."
This is what I wrote about this enlarger some time ago:
"I like the IIc very much, also for 35mm work. The strong points of the IIc are the evenness of the illumination and the ergonomy the special 35mm carrier provides. When you intend to do 35mm work with the IIc this special carrier is essential. This 35mm carrier has only on one side glass, anti-Newton glass. The glass holds the negative flat in the same way the condenser in an Ic does, but it has the advantage that there also is a small clip that holds the negative in place. This clip is very convenient. It can hold in place a piece of film as small as the length of one frame. Now try to do that with an Ic.
When you want to print the whole negative with a black border, you'll have to file out the cut-out of the brass mask. The brass is 2mm thick. The filing takes some patience, but is not hard to do.
The 60mm Focotar is very good for prints up to 24x30cm. On prints of 30x40cm you'll notice a very slight unsharpness of the grain towards the corners, but the prints are nevertheless beautiful.
When choosing a IIc you should look for one with a filter drawer. The IIc is a bit too big to take off the lamp housing every time you change the filter.
I love my Focomat IIc as much as I love my Leicas. It certainly is the most beautiful enlarger in the world."
Erik.
Joakim Målare
Established
I agree, they're very nice. I have two The first one I bought was from a sloppy seller who didn't care for packaging properly, so it was a quite a bit damaged when I received it. I use it for spare parts. The one I use is in much better condition and I really like it, but yes, I long for something that takes 4x5".
Let me know if you need any spare parts and good luck with the restoration.
The first one I bought was from a sloppy seller who didn't care for packaging properly, so it was a quite a bit damaged when I received it. I use it for spare parts. The one I use is in much better condition and I really like it, but yes, I long for something that takes 4x5".Let me know if you need any spare parts and good luck with the restoration.
Ronald M
Veteran
A 50 mm will not focus. It is made for 60 mm lenses.
Around 1985 the Leica rep tried to sell me the last new one at the factory. $3000 price range.
Around 1985 the Leica rep tried to sell me the last new one at the factory. $3000 price range.
Vickko
Veteran
That is why I sold my IIc and bought a Durst L1200 with the colour head.
Love the build, seems to be the same as the IIc, but can dial up filters for MG paper.
But still look at IIc enlargers whenever I see one available.
Love the build, seems to be the same as the IIc, but can dial up filters for MG paper.
But still look at IIc enlargers whenever I see one available.
Erik van Straten
Veteran
The OP has the very rare but desirable 35cm x 45cm Leitz easel, a superb instrument. You can make fine 30cm x 40cm prints with a border with that thing. The autofocus will work with this easel. Back in de 1970's these easels did cost as much as a Leica M body.
When your IIc has a filter-drawer, you can use Ilford MG-filters. Ilford offers the right size.
Erik.
When your IIc has a filter-drawer, you can use Ilford MG-filters. Ilford offers the right size.
Erik.
bojanfurst
Well-known
Thank you everybody and sorry for the late reply on my part. A bit of a crazy week at work.
I am slowly trying to figure this thing out/ There are some rust spots on the easel which I want to remove. The lever on the side indeed releases the easel and allows for adjustments, but I still haven't actually managed to remove the easel from the board - didn't actually try again. Cleaning up the board and the easel and trying to figure out what I have, what I don;t have and what is broken is my weekend project Will post photos and questions along the way!
And easel removed. It simply slides off - duh. The board is in good shape. And I'll try to use baking soda paste to remove some of the rust spots on the easel before I use anything else.
Erik, thank you for the information on the easel.
I am slowly trying to figure this thing out/ There are some rust spots on the easel which I want to remove. The lever on the side indeed releases the easel and allows for adjustments, but I still haven't actually managed to remove the easel from the board - didn't actually try again. Cleaning up the board and the easel and trying to figure out what I have, what I don;t have and what is broken is my weekend project
Will post photos and questions along the way!And easel removed. It simply slides off - duh. The board is in good shape. And I'll try to use baking soda paste to remove some of the rust spots on the easel before I use anything else.
Erik, thank you for the information on the easel.
bojanfurst
Well-known
Vick, thank you for the offer of help. i am sure I will need a ton of advice!
Bojan
Bojan