[Leica] RE: Focomat IIc

[jeremy.kime@bbc.co.uk]

Dave,
I know a lovely retired guy in England called Denis Thorpe who's won the   
Press Photographer of the Year award here and he swears by them. He even   
has a spare just in case!
He's fitted his with the latest multigrade head from Ilford and loves it   
to ribbons, he even asked for a copy of a portrait I took of him standing   
by it!
I'd have thought the Focotar II lens would be the equal (bar speed) of   
the best of todays lenses, but that's not from my own experience, though   
I have an original Focotar and can't tell any difference between the   
results from that and a Nikon 50/2.8 I had.

I used to have a Focomat IIa which I could never quite level up, I   
eventually resorted to shiums under the cylindrical base which weren't   
easy to create or implant so I never felt completely happy about that,   
but it was about 50 years old! I haven't printed 6x9 negs in years so my   
V35 does all the work these days.

Jem

>From: "David Freedman" <dpfreedman@worldnet.att.net>
>
>Question:  Is an excellent condition IIC with its original complement of
>lenses truly a superior printmaking machine?  Is the autofocus reliable?
>Are the lenses competitive with the more modern formulations from
>Rodenstock, etc.?
>Thanks all,
>Dave F.