Your opinions on....FOCOMATS

sanmich

sanmich

Veteran
Local time
8:11 AM
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Messages
3,420
Hi all

I am considering the purchase of a Leitz enlarger.
I would like your opinions on focomats:

The Ic and the V35.

are there different models/versions of each one?
I think the Ic is a condenser and the V35 a diffuser head (?)
The V35 would have the advantage of the color/vc head (re-?)

The autofocus is working only with a special lens (one ? more)

In short, any info or/ opinion will be most welcome.

Cheers

Michael
 
Focomat all the way, for 35mm it's just super comfortable to print with. I also have a Ic and Durst 605 ( plus a few more, larger Dursts in school ), for me they're just so much harder to use. I use the Focomat with the contrast-head which is really convinient with Ilford Multigrade paper.

martin
 
The V35 will only autofocus only with a 40mm lens. The Ic will only af with a 50mm lens. BUt here are loads of 50mm and hardly any 40mm. I use a Componon-s on my 1c. You need the DOORX tube with any 50mm lens on the 1c. But this is most of the times included with the enlarger.
i've never used the V35 but I'm sure it is the best you can get. But the 1c I use is also the best you can get.
There were some variations of the 1c. Small base, big base, short column and long column, black or grey, wood base or white base. The later grey ones with the white base are the most sought after and the most expensive ones, they also feature a filter drawer. I upgraded my short column small base to a long column big base by just exchanging the enlarger part.
Depending on your micro climate in your darkroom you might need a AN glass on a 1c. These are not cheap, if you can find one.

Buy either one and have fun.

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema
 
sanmich said:
Thanks!
Is there any difficulties to replace lamps or other elements on them?
Click to expand...
I guess you men the 1c.
Bulbs are the normal type fitting you use in your house too_Of course you need a enlarger bulb for it. The 1c is totally detachable in parts. Very easy to clean, to adjust and to change bulbs.
Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema
 
People who use them love them. I would rather buy too much of an enlarger than not enough. I went to the bigger Beseler 45 so I could easily print 135, 120 and 4x5 negs. It's a beast, but on the other hand it's really stable. The other option is to buy the Leica enlarger, and if you later want to print larger negs buy a bigger enlarger and keep the Leica just for 35mm. Most people don't have the room for such a setup though.
 
Wonderful machines and I use my two 1C`s and V35 before any other 35mm machine in my darkroom. There are 7 enlargers set up and working.

The problem is many have seen hard use , repair parts are difficult to find, some accesories like the anti Newton glass on a 1C is close to impossible to find. So you need to know what you are buying before you buy. Mixing boxes on the V35 are of two varities and there are old and new lamps and holders and old lamp can not be found.
Short neck bulbs for black round head 1 C machines can not be found except for my stash for an out of service Valloy. Oblong grey head machines take the common PH211 long neck. That bulb does fit the in old head, but you get uneven illumination.

If you get a good set up, you are in like flin.
 
I would go w/ the V35 & dichro head. Its a compact rig and can go in the garage shelf (wrapped & covered) when not in use. Sure its dedicated but this is what you get if you shoot Leica and want the best. Make sure it comes with the 40mm lens because they can be pricey.
 
Thanks for the great insights!
Just to make sure I get it right:

Both the V35 and the Ic come in at least two varieties, and there is one of them for which lamps are impossible to find.
How do I identify the "good ones"? paint color for the Ic? and for the V35??

and... the V35 is more compact than the Ic?

How about robustness? likeliness of going out of adjustment and reliability of the AF?
 
I just bought a V35 with the color and VC module a couple of months ago. Here are my comments. I just do B&W.

1. Very cool looking.

2. The prints are much better than from my Beseler 23c.

3. The VC module is just so easy, just turn the dial to change the contrast. much better than changing filters. allows you to very fine tune the contrast. (the best feature to me). Make sure the "little" filters are in place, they pop out easy. Most V35's have the color module. The VC module brings a higher price.

4. Bulbs can be hard to find. Most V35's being used have been updated with the new bulb adapter. My went out the first week. Called every bulb store in Kansas City, no luck. Found someone on fleabay and bought 3 so I have a spares.

5. The auto focus is very accurate. This saves a bunch of time. I do tend to recheck the focus a bunch mostly out of habit. Seems to stay correct.

6. I shoot Leica and the 40mm lens just rocks.

7. Kinda expensive, I ended up with about $800 in mine, but well worth it.

Darren
 
1c vs the V35 is more of a personal preference type of thing, I have owned both have been happy with them. Over the years I have owned a V35 and both versions of the Focomat 1C (gray and black). I think the Gray focomat 1c is way overpriced when compared to the black 1c (gray models go for $800+ while the black versions are commonly found for less than $400). The mechanicals are pretty much identical between the two save a fancy magnification scale, a filter drawer, and a more egg shaped head on the gray version. The only issue you might have with the black versions are bulbs (truthfully I haven't had to deal with this since my black version has an ilford 500 head on it). I remember hearing about some standard houshold bulb being used as a workable replacement for the original short focomat bulb (try searching photo.net). I have also noticed that some late model black focomats had a more egg shaped head than the earlier ones (they might take the longer bulbs).

That being said, If I didn't have the ilford 500 head I would choose the V35. The V35 filter heads are MUCH easier to use than the individual filters of the 1c (if you are doing B+W treat yourself and get the V35 VC head). You can also make larger enlargements while retaining autofocus function with the V35. Easel height is easier to compensate for on the V35 (the column is geard and adjusts with a knob vs the spacers needed on the 1). Accessories are also much easier to find for the V35 due to the fact that it is a much newer machine. It used to be that many would buy the focomat 1c over the v35 due to price - that is not really an issue any longer. The prices of V35s have fallen considerably during the past several years (they used to routinely sell for about $1000 or more on the second hand market - now they bring about $500 give or take). Dollar for dollar I think most would be happier with the V35
 
Last edited:
dap said:
...The only issue you might have with the black versions are bulbs ... I remember hearing about some standard houshold bulb being used as a workable replacement for the original short focomat bulb
Click to expand...

The round headed Ic requires a shorter necked bulb than the standard enlarger bulb. Later Ic's had an elongated head which allowed standard bulbs. My Ic (round head) came with a standard bulb and I used it for a couple of years without noticing unduly uneven illumination, however, I use converted household bulbs now.

Any good round shaped opal bulb will work. The trick is to remove the black inked stamp with the wattage from the bottom of the bulb with alcohol or naphtha.

Good points: They're rock-solid enlargers, they're perfectly alligned and hold the negatives absolutely flat, and autofocus is a joy to use.

Bad points: 1C's are manual focus on anything bigger than 10X (and sliding the head much further up the column makes them become pretty wobbly), early models have no filter drawer.
 
sanmich said:
I'm kind of confused:
Isn't the grey that is supposed to be the newer/ with oblong head?
I followed this and couldn't decide wether or not to bid...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...ndexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

It's a black one, right?
Click to expand...


Yes that is a black one...the color head looks almost exactly like the gray version though so I would assume it was made during the transition between black to gray. Without looking at it up close I couldn't definitively tell you if it took the long or short bulbs though (I suspect that the long would probably work just fine in it).

another auction to look into would be this one: 370197216066 (no connection to the seller). It is a gray version in what looks to be really good shape - it is kind of hidden in the listing so it might end up being a good deal (assuming you could work around the freight shipping requirement - that would end up being really expensive)
 
I just got a V35 from the lab at my work. It's a basic setup without the color and vc modules. The focotar has quite some internal dust. Please let me know your ideas about if it's worth to find a vc module. I'm not going to print color, but I also got a life supply of AGFA paper. Also, how difficult is it to open the lens and clean it out myself. (I can do it with summars and summitars, but the focotar seems so fragile and plasticy that I'm afraid it is glued together. I realize I will loose auto focus, but I also got a 50mm focotar and nikon enlarger lenses. Is it worth to use these instead of the 40mm?
 
I picked up a focomat 1 c for free. Yes, free! Oh, it is the finest enlarger I have used for 35mm! I highly recommend it with a focotar-2 50mm lens. Don't get too uptight about having or not having the filter drawer; it is not a biggie to place the filters below the lens on the blank swing arm or under the light on top of the condenser.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom