[Leica] Focotar lenses

["Anderson, Ferrel E" <AndersonF@ria.army.mil>]

To Henning Wulff,

Enjoyed your comments on the Focotars.  My impression of the Schneider Focotar
is the same as yours:  that it is a faster lens that Leica had diaphragmed down,
probably to accommodate the auto focusing tolerances of the Focomat 1C or, more
likely, to compensate for spherical aberration in the lens and its consequential
focus shift.   I searched for a comparable Schneider lens, but could not find
one.  I don't think it was the f4 Componon.  So, did Schneider design a lens
specifically for Leica?  Probably so. 

When I asked Leica about the Focotars years ago (someone at Rockleigh, NJ, USA),
I was told that the Schneider Focotar and the Focotar-2 lenses were better than
the earlier Focotar, and were recommended for printing color.   When I asked
about whether the 40mm Focotar was better than 50 Focotar-2, I was told that
darkroom workers who Leica respected stated that he 50 Focotar was slightly
better in the corners than the 40mm Focotar.  I was also told that the 50mm
Focotar-2 lens was designed for use on the V35 Enlarger, but that the 40m
Focotar was adopted instead.  When the V35 came out, Leica, in their catalogue,
stated that the V35 could be converted to use with the 50m Focotars.  In fact it
was offered with a 50mm lens, a Rodenstock Ysaron f3.5 lens, and not the
Focotar!   The conversion of the V35 for the 50mm Focotar is still offered by
Leica, and the conversion is not expensive.  I suspect that the cam provided
with the V35 can be reversed for use with the 50 Focotar-2.  An extension tube
and a different roller might also be required, but the low cost of the
conversion argues against any additional hardware.   This winter I am planning
on comparing the performance of the Focotar-2 and the 40 Focotar lenses on the
V35 and the Focomat 1C enlargers.

In defense of the older Focotar, it is an excellent performer, and still
outperforms the 40mm Focotar and other top flight enlarging lenses form other
manufactures in terms of lack of color fringing and veiling flare.  It shows
excellent contrast.  Its resolution is also excellent, and I don't think that
one would notice a difference in its performance up to magnifications of 11X
with any of the other lenses discussed above. 

You are also correct in stating that all of the above lenses have to be stopped
down to f5.6 for critical performance.  I thought that the f2.8 lenses would
provide excellent performance at f4, but although the resolution was superb, the
flare and color fringing would definitely cut down on contrast.  The change in
going from f4 to f5.6 in the 40mm Focotar was profound.

I look forward to Erwin's comparison of the 40 Focotar to the 40mm Apo
Rodenstock (or was it a Schneider?) lens.

Ferrel Anderson
Davenport, IA, USA