Re: Leitz Enlargers

[TTAbrahams@aol.com]

David,
 Your Focomat 1c at $ 480 is probably a good deal. It depends a lot on
condition and vintage. The early, black with the oak baseboard and no fil=
ter
drawer and a standard 50/4,5 Focotar usually sells in that range. it is
critical that you examine the condenser surface ( undo the ring inside th=
e
lamp housing and remove the spring and pull out the condenser), it should
have NO marks on it. Any scratches will show up on your print. remember t=
hat
the condenser drops right down on to the neg and holds it flat. Also the =
lens
should have no dust or fog on and in it. The older Focomat 1c lacked a
filterdrawer and using multi contrast filter is a bit of a chore. You lif=
t up
the lampholder and drop the filter right on to the top of the condenser. =
It
sounds a bit clumsy,but it is not too bad.
 In the 60=92s the Focomat 1c changed color and become grey, it also was
supplied with a white baseboard and one version was designated Focomat 1c
Color, this was a filterdrawer equipped version. In 1975 Leitz released t=
he
Focotar -2 lens, still a 50/4,5 but a marked improvement over the older
50/4,5 Focotar. They also made 2 versions of the upright, a standard shor=
t
post version and a 48=94 version. The later grey version is more desirabl=
e and
particularly with the Focotar-2 lens. It is still one of the best 35
enlargers ever made, the autofocussing makes you wonder why not everybody
makes them like that and once you are used to it, you will never look bac=
k at
a manual enlarger.=20
 There are 1000=92s of Focomat=92s around, they virtually never wear out =
and you
can still get most of the parts for them if something happens. The
recommendation to get the anti-newton ring is a good one. It is a scarce =
item
as a spare part now, but you will find that if you print =93green=94 film=
 (
printing quickly after processing with residual moisture still in the
gelcote) it is very likely that you will get Newton rings ( irritating
concentric circles that like dustspecks gravitate to the smooth tones of =
the
print where you will see them most clearly!)
 You can upgrade the lens on the Focomat 1c to later lenses and even use
non-Leica lenses. The autofocussing can be adjusted to compensate for the
slight differences in the focus of  the various 50 mm enlarging lenses
around.=20
 The Focomat 1c also requires a small 13 mm collar between the lens and t=
he
thread in the enlarger ( at least when you put the Focotar-2 lens on it).
This is an elusive item and difficult to find. The solution if you find a=
n
enlarger with this collar missing is to lay your hands on some 39mm filte=
rs,
doesn=92t even have to be Leica!. Cheap and scratched ones are fine, knoc=
k out
the glass in them and screw them together until you have a 13 mm collar (=
 or
close to that, by adjusting the autofocus you can compensate for 1-2 mm t=
oo
long collar).
 A couple of month ago I sold my Focomat 1c with a 50/4,5 and a new Anti
Newton glass for US 350 . This was the old black style, no drawer version=
. I
have a couple of Focomat 2C that I use and the 1c wasn=92t used enough to
warrant occupying the space in the darkroom. The 2c can do what the 1C ca=
n
do, plus that it can do it up to 6x9 cm.

Tom