Please note: For those unfamiliar with the history of
Leica Camera AG,
the company used to be
called Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH in honor of
its founder Ernst
Leitz. Many of their product carried the
prefix Leitz,
like the Leitz Focomat
V35.
It may seem strange to
talk about an enlarger in these days of digital photography, but this is not
your average, amateur darkroom piece of equipment. Film is still very much in use by many
photographers and Leica is still making very high quality film cameras. Of course, negatives (and transparencies) can
be scanned and printed digitally, but even here many photographers still prefer To arrive at their final enlargements the old fashioned way..
With Leica film cameras
and Leica lenses we have equipment with an unsurpassed performance
potential. In a conventional darkroom,
it is a simple fact that only an enlarger and enlarger lens with an equal
quality will be able to render enlargements with the same level of quality.
.jpg)
Such an enlarger is the
Leitz Focomat V35 and its 40mm f/2.8 WA-Focotar lens. It was made specifically for 35mm film by
accepting only negatives up to 35mm, a 35mm enlarger only, not a copy camera, a
graphic arts device, nor anything else.
There is no other made by anybody
that completely addresses itself to the wide range of 35mm photography.
Major points in favor of
the V35 are the broad autofocus range, the brightness of the image, the 40mm
wide angle enlarging lens, the streamlined design, and its extremely functional
operation.
Autofocus is one of its
prime features. Many manufacturers have
tried it over the years, and just as many disposed of it with the claim
“Autofocus is out-of-focus.” True enough
in most cases, especially when final cost plays a role.
A good autofocus system in
any case requires a focusing cam that is a perfect match for the precise focal
length of the lens. One can either take
each individual lens and painstakingly match each individual cam to the
respective lens, or do as Leitz did, using their expertise in precision lens manufacture to make the 40mm Focotar to such tight
optical tolerances that the focusing cams required little or no hand machining
.
The focusing cam
arrangement on the underside
of the V35 enlarger head
Modern Photography
magazine said: "…over the years, there has only been one manufacturer consistently
willing to submit to these financial and engineering tortures – E. Leitz.”
There is another problem
involved with autofocus design.
Regardless of how well the focusing mechanism might be executed, it will
not work if the negative does not stay where it belongs, and it has to do that
within the depth of field of the lens.
This brings us to the
negative carrier. I don’t want to get
involved in a discussion of glass verses glassless carriers, only the one that
optimizes, results can be considered the right one. Leitz used a combination of the two.
V35 negative carrier
The adjustment knobs for
the cropping frames
A negative with the
emulsion side toward the enlarger table (as it should be) will always have a
slight upward curvature. Utilizing this,
the Focomat enlargers have always used the principle of lowering a glass
surface onto the negative to hold it perfectly flat, without the necessity of a
sandwich type glass carrier. Such
carriers often present dust problems as well as Newton’s rings, a phenomenon
eliminated in the Focomat by using an ant newton glass design. The Focomat carrier is no different from the
inside of a camera, where we also have a precision cut aperture with a pressure
plate.
The benefits of such a
system cannot be underestimated. As one
person at Leitz put it, we “no longer have to peer through focusing magnifiers
all day and go home tired and cross eyed.
The user will no longer have a stiff neck and a pulled shoulder from
attempting to make 16 times enlargements.”
Autofocus will also eliminate the prints rejected after inaccurate
eyeball focusing.
Many of us also know the
hassle involved in making enlargements to exact sizes. The endless height adjustments and refocusing
can be very time consuming with non-autofocus enlargers. By saving time, the autofocus enlarger allows
more high quality work in less time.
A great deal can be said
about the overall quality of the enlarger.
In a test, Modern Photography magazine said they were surprised to find
none of the expected sideways wobble in the enlarger arm. The V35 was truly built like the proverbial
little brick house with crescent moons on the door (hearts in Germany).
The inside of the V35
height adjustment arm
Column height adjustment
to compensate for
different easel height
This has some immediate as
well as long term benefits. Obviously, a
piece of equipment built like this well will last a lot longer, but it has also
an immediate effect on the quality of the results. The most basic reason to build an enlarger as
sturdy as possible is to assure perfect alignment and parallelism among the
film plane, the lens stage, and the baseboard.
According to Modern Photography’s test, the parallelism was perfect, not
“just about”, but perfect laterally and longitudinally.
Even the best optics in
the world will become useless of the film and the printing paper are not
properly aligned and parallel to one another.
Lens sharpness would become irrelevant.
The vibration damping of
the V35 can be demonstrated by putting a glass of water on top and then hitting
the enlarger with the knuckles. The water
will ripple slightly, then quickly settle.
All other enlargers, even the Beseler 23C or 45MCRX will vibrate
substantially more when compared to the V35.
Part of the reason is the steel support plate underneath the
baseboard. No other enlarger has this
solid column support.
The V35 commitment to
quality is also shown in the baseboard and the Leitz easels. They are manufactured to a flatness within
0.8mm, and the fact that when manually focused when necessary, the mount has no
backlash at all, a problem very common with other enlargers; and there is no
bellows to wear out.
The illumination system is
most likely the best ever offered in any enlarger. Even though brightness is somewhat
subjective, with the V35 is has resulted in drastically shorter exposure
times. The efficiency of the
illumination system is clearly shown when compared to the Wallner color head as
it was available for the Focomat Ic.
Both have similar diffusion chambers and use identical bulbs. With the lens and the color filters removed,
the V35 is over two stops brighter at the lens stage. This can aid the cost efficiency of the
enlarger since it eliminates worries about reciprocity failure in color
materials and further lessens potential vibration problems.
V35 light mixing chamber
Equally important is
evenness of illumination. To quote
Modern Photography: “Illumination was the best we have ever seen. Illumination, corner to corner, varies less
than 1/20 stop, and the difference between center and edges was within 1/10
stop. This is not just good performance,
it is outstanding.”
Arriving at such
impressive figures was not easy. As is
the case with any wide angle lens, the Focotar has slightly less corner
illumination. To even this out, Leitz used a special diffuser on the bottom
of the diffusion chamber. It is shaped
similar to a condenser, but has its curvature downwards to the negative
stage. Its density increases from the
edge towards the center, compensating for the uneven illumination. This is the main reason why the 40mm Focotar
would not work anywhere near as well on any other enlarger, including the
Focomat Ic.
One objection that is
often heard is in regard to the lack of condensers. While it may be generally true that a
diffusion system cannot deliver the same contrast level as a good condenser
system, it is a fact that the V35/Focotar combination delivers such a high
contrast level that a condenser system without a point light source would
hardly be an improvement.
Another critical point
often raised concerns the use of Styrofoam in the mixing chamber of an enlarger
that lists for almost $2000. The reasons
are quite valid. With the use of high
precision injection molding, the shape of the chamber can be maintained within
very close tolerances. That, combined
with the very high reflectivity of the material, produces the very high light
output of the enlarger.
The foam also has
excellent thermal properties. Heat
buildup at the negative stage, even after prolonged use, is negligible. So why not use Styrofoam? Maybe it all wouldn’t sound so bad if we
refer to it as polyalkene.
Other advantages of the
enlarger cannot be shown in numbers, they have to be experienced. In terms of ease of use there is nothing
close to the V35. Every knob and
adjustment is within arm’s reach. The
f/stop illumination can easily be seen, the f/stop scale can be adjusted to the
best working position. Everything works
with the proverbial Leica smoothness and precision, which is something few
other manufacturers could make claim for.
The list of fine points
goes on: the feet under the baseboard are high enough to put a 100 sheet box of
paper beneath, and they are positioned such that in spite of the oversized
baseboard, the enlarger will still fit an average size enlarging table. These baseboard dimension are necessary
because the V35 is one of the few enlarger’s which allow a 16 x 20 enlargement
on the baseboard – with autofocus.
The negative carrier can
be depressurized from either side. The
enlarger head can be swung around to make oversized prints, and does not have
to be counterweighted. The clickstops of
the Focotar can be deactivated, allowing infinitely variable aperture
adjustments to accommodate the use of color analyzers. The negative can be masked from all four
sides with four easily accessible knurled knobs in the front of the enlarger.
Wiring is internal. There is not the usual clutter of wires and
hookups on the outside of the enlarger.
For that matter, the overall styling contributes to the functionality of
the enlarger, and the V35 looks like no other ever marketed.
This brings us to the
color filtration of the V35. Unlike any
other enlarger, the V35 does not have a color head as an accessory. Instead it has only a filter module. The entire illumination system is shared by
both black and white and color printing, and only the color filters need to be
added. The greatest versatility is
gained with the color filter module. Not
only does it offer filtration for color printing, the color filters can also be
used to change contrast levels with variable contrast paper. For individuals not interested in color printing
at all, there is also a variable
contrast module which allows infinitely adjustable contrast levels with
variable contrast papers.
V35 color module
Please note: the variable
contrast module is very
similar, except it has
only one knob for the contrast adjustment
Filtration of all three
colors for color printing goes up to the rather high values of 200 units. The dials are illuminated and easily read (as
are the dials of the variable contrast module).
A white light switch allows the removal and instant return of the
filters to their preset values. This is
nothing new or really different, but it again works with Leica precision, and
in combination with the V35 the capabilities of the dichroic filtration system
are certainly maximized.
The general finish and
design of the V35 shows extensive input from the designer as well as the
manufacturer. In comparison, other
enlargers are crudely put together. The
finish is rough, virtually screaming of mass production.
Even little things like
lens boards that require lens retaining rings, or square lens boeads that make
it impossible to adjust the viewing angle of the aperture scale, these things
too show lack of thought in terms of functionality and further amplify the
incredible finesse of the V35.
Finally, let’s look at the 40mm WA
Focotar. Again a quote from the test in
Modern Photography: “Using a 40mm instead of the usual 50mm lens traditional on
35mm enlargers means a larger image for equal paper or negative distance. The lens proved to be an outstanding
performer. It was at its best at f/5.6
where it provided a degree of crispness, corner to corner sharpness, and
illumination evenness that was exemplary.
Prints had superb overall quality with the high color saturation
characteristic of high optical quality.
This is a lens that matches the quality of the enlarger it is fitted
to. It was even usable at f/2.8. In fact, it is the closest thing to our test
apochromat that we have ever seen.”
IN FOCUS
a book by John Holts,
Harper & Row
I usually don't accompany
articles with a commentary, but this one is very fitting. I came across this book quite some time
ago. Part of which deals with the
purchase of an enlarger. Mr. Holtz
starts out by saying that it does not make sense to have the very best in
cameras and lenses if one makes prints on a cheap enlarger. That is good advise.
But a bit further on
things get rather confusing. After
recommending an enlarger able to accommodate various negative sizes, Mr. Holtz
goes on saying: ..."the only reason beyond your budget...are the
discontinued Leitz Valoy and Focomat enlargers... These 35mm format machines provide a kind of
silvery long scale black and white print gradation that other sources can't match. Neither the bigger Leitz Focomat II series
machines...or the stylish, but almost useless Focomat V35 can produce prints as
good."
Apparently, Mr. Holtz does
not like diffusion enlargers. While I
agree with his general comment of diffusion enlargers giving a softer image
than comparable condensor equipped counterparts, I most profoundly disagree
with him in regard to his comment about the V35. Generalizations like "almost
useless" do not have any place in a book that is supposed to be written to
help people gain knowledge about certain products.
It is obvious that Mr.
Holtz either has never tried the V35, or he does not exactly know what he is
talking about. While he is right that
the V35 is a diffusion enlarger, it certainly does not have to fear comparison
to the older Focomat Ic enlarger.. If
there is a loss in crispness, tonality or any other aspect, it definitely does
not show.
I have used both of these
enlargers and compared to the Focomat Ic, the V35 is superior in most any
respect. It should be obvious that the
engineers at Leitz were well aware of the shortcomings of conventional
diffusion systems. But by optimizing the
system as used in the V35, such fears are totally unfounded, and comments like
those by Mr. Holtz are utterly out of place.
Had he raised the question
about whether the V35 might not be even better in performance with a condenser
system like in the Focomat Ic, he would have given grounds for a sensible
discussion, but "almost useless"...
I can't help wondering
what terminology he might have used in regard to some enlargers that are way
behind the V35 in terms of quality and performance.
___________________________________________________________________________
To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
To comment or to read comments please scroll past the ads below.
All ads present items of interest to Leica owners.
HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR THE LEICA ENTHUSIAST
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR THE LEICA ENTHUSIAST
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
Click on image to enlarge
Order: info@gmpphoto.com
Please make payment via PayPal to GMP Photography
