Leitz Point Source

[Comrade Conrad]

Unpacking some boxes I discovered I still have a Leitz point source. It was intended, I'm sure, for the Focomat 1c, but it will get used on my Valoy II. The power supply is marked "France", although it is a Leitz head. Perhaps made under contract?...

Does anybody have any experience using a point source with a Focomat or Valoy that they could share? I think I understand the basics - lens wide open, rheostat to control exposure, high contrast, cleanliness, cleanliness, cleanliness... But I'm interested in your experience of using it and the sort of results you got.

Thanks,
Will

 

[Tom A]

I do have a Leitz Elcan Point source. At the moment it is dead as the electronic control has gone "bump".
You will find that q/ your negs have more dust specks on them than you thought possible and b/ contrast tend to be a bit harsh and c/ dont do portrait with it - at least if you want to stay friends with the subject.
I find that I shoot with the point source in mind. Fine grained film, long tonality developer.
Even a good 400 iso film will have golf ball sized grain - sharp like hell, but big!!!
Films like PanF/Acros/ work very well - and the results are astounding. Crisp, clear images.
You have to establish a "work process" for it though. The reostat will change the color output of the bulb slightly and if you use multi-grade paper that affects filtration.
Please post results here once you got it set-up. My next project is building a LED source for mine. I need the instant on/off as the shutter control in mine is a victim of the dead control panel.
Focussing on the easel is critical - get the best grain focuser you can find - even a slight misfocus will show up!
Printing times will be short so dodging and burning is difficult.
As your lens is used wide-open - it's quality is critical - get the best.
This might give me the impetus to get started with my lightsource,
Tom

 

[Edward C. Zimmermann]

.
You will find that q/ your negs have more dust specks on them than you thought possible

That's why people use more diffuse illumination and guys like Fred Picker (Zone VI) was such an advocate of cold lights.
The Focomat Ic out of the box is a half condenser design offering the best of both worlds. That said its still extremely prone to dust specks.

and b/ contrast tend to be a bit harsh

As always you need to develop for the enlarger. The higher the contrast (we generally talk in turns of gamma measure) the less the development is generally desired.

and c/ dont do portrait with it - at least if you want to stay friends with the subject.

Same could be said of anything short of a diffuse enlargement using a (soft focus) portrait lens.. But its like Van Dyck versus Rembrandt or even looking at court painters someone like Velazquez... Some pay to look better than they look...

Personally, there is, I think, something quite alluring in an attractive woman's portrait when one can see down to the her pores.

I find that I shoot with the point source in mind. Fine grained film, long tonality developer.

The submin set regularly use not just fine grain but also faster films such as Delta 400. The standard MINOX enlarger is effectively a point source design. Enlargements to 30x40cm are uncommon and I've seen large poster sized prints that looked quite good. When we don't want grain we use finest grain films (such as Kodak Imagelink) or when we want sharp.....

 

[Comrade Conrad]

Thanks Tom and Ed for your replies; they're both very helpful. I was hoping that maybe someone had some examples of images made both with a point source and a more conventional source so I could see the difference. The only reference I've ever been able to find on the subject is the chapter on Hans Namuth in Darkroom2. But the difference is probably not really going to be that apparent on a computer monitor anyway. I'm going to have to suck it up and compare the systems myself.

My point source shows considerable reddening when dimmed, so I may need to use graded paper to start. Don't know if ND filters would be practical. The lens I have is a 63mm El Nikkor purchased on advice of a wise man in Kitsilano. Although the Valoy II is designed to use a 50mm lens, a 15mm extension tube puts it back in its place.

I'm sure the learning curve for this is not easy, what with dust and grain and contrast shift from dimming and films and developing to fit the system, etc. But once the variables are reasonably pinned down I'm curious about its use as an artistic tool. The sharpness and the directness of the image enhanced by the short contrast range are appealing to me on a certain level. Not for every subject, of course, but certainly for some, especially depending upon my mood at the time.

Thanks,
~Will

 

[Edward C. Zimmermann]

Thanks Tom and Ed for your replies; they're both very helpful. I was hoping that maybe someone had some examples of images made both with a point source and a more conventional source so I could see the difference.

Film developed correctly and everything done right there is no difference.. other than that with point source one can pull more sharpness out--- resolution, contrast etc.--- and enlarge to greater sizes. The cost is that one can see the most minor film blemish, defect or dust speck so things need to be cleaner than clean.. and spot pens and brushes poised... That's why submin and scientific users tend to like point source but nearly everyone else curses them...

But the difference is probably not really going to be that apparent on a computer monitor anyway.

Absolutely not.. But with point source.. just to put up an example.. I can shoot with 35mm microfilm and enlarge to beyond 50x60cm and get it to look almost as if I shot with 6x6. I have 30x40cm prints done from Minox negatives (that's 8x11mm) that look sharp.. A friend even showed much larger prints done from Minox negatives a few years ago at Photokina.. and Zeiss has shown...

My point source shows considerable reddening when dimmed, so I may need to use graded paper to start.

I tend to, when I can, use graded papers.. They are sharper!

If you need to dim things too much it means that you are not enlarging enough.. and then don't need the point source.. that or you might want to consider a less bright a bulb.. Its just like with a microscope.. you don't want to dim too much.. While my Durst point source supply is continuous the MINOX has only 2 positions: full and half.

Neutral density filter? Sure.. Why not..