Re: [Leica] What other lens will work on my Focomat Ic

[TTAbrahams <TTAbrahams@aol.com>]

Gabe, The Focomat 1C will take any 39 mm screw enlarging lenses as well as
some of the 39 screw LTM lenses. The caveat is that some are better than
others and on certain non-leica lenses the backfocus of the lens might force
you to install spacer rings between the lens and the lensmount of the
enlarger. In "the good old days" you used your Elmar 50/3,5 as an enlarging
lens on your Leica enlarger. By adapting a small gizmo to the front of the
lens you could actually see the apertures too, vast improvement over using the
lens as a taking lens on the camera.
 Of course if you put a different lens on your Focomat 1C, you, most likely,
will have to reset the autofocus to work for that lens. The preceding is valid
only if you use lenses around 50mm focal length, if you use longer or shorter
lenses you are probably going to loose the autofocus capability. The only
reason for changing the Focotar 50/4,5 to anything else is to gain some speed,
or if you have aquired a 50/4,5 Focotar-2 ( a later and improved version of
the Focotar 50). 
 At least the Focomat 1C allows a certain flexibility with its lenses, the
Focomat 2C is rather fixed when it comes to optics. I would like to change my
60 Focotar on one of my 2C's to a 50/4,5 Focotar-2 and so far it has refused
to focus it properly. Does anyone know if this is possible? It seems that I
would have to machine out part of the lens mount to get the required
backfocus. The 50/4,5 Focotar-2 is a far superior lens to the 60Focotar on the
2C.
 Dont let any of this prevent you from trying other lenses on the 1C, I have a
really foggy Hektor 50/2,5 from 1932, it makes one of the great enlarging
lenses for portraits. It softens the image and drops the contrast so much that
just about everybody looks good. It has to focussed manually, but it works. I
also have a Ross 111mm enlarging lens that I occasionally use for printing
5x7, it allows me to raise the head of the enlarger sufficiently not to bang
my forehead against the lamphousing when I check focus and framing. Nice lens,
weighs more than a screwmount leica, made from brass/steel. Also works great
as a closeup lens on the Viso/Bellows set up.
 Occasionally you will need steprings to mount other than Leica lenses on the
Focomat, if you cant find the correct size, by some old filters in 39 mm
thread, punch out the glass and use the filter rings as adjustable spacers, 4
of the old Hoya rings makes a nice spacer for the elusive ring for the
Focotar-2 on to a Focomat1C.
Good luck and enjoy your swapmeet.Isn't it interesting that we always come
across things we did not know existed and for which we immideatly have a
craving when we see them at these meets. Then one has to come up with the
rational excuse to the homefront" But it was sooo cheap", What is is", I dont
know but it was cheap!!!" etc.
Tom A