[Leica] V35 Questions

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

Louis DiBacco states that the 40 Focotar lens on his V35 is not very good on
the edges.  My experience with the 40 Focotar on a V35 as compared to a 50
Focotar-2 on a Focomat 1C is that I can't see any difference in sharpness on
the edges, but maybe, and I mean maybe, some difference in the corners, with
the 40 Focotar just a shade less sharp?  At f2.8 and f4 the 40 Focotar, like
other f2.8 enlarging lenses I have tested, is not sharp in the corners, but
when the lens is stopped down to f5.6, it is superb right into the corners.
It is superb in the center at all apertures, and equals, and in most cases
surpasses, all other enlarger lenses in the normal to wide angle range.
The advantage of the f2.8 aperture is brightness of the image for composing
the picture, especially if heavy filtration is used.  My conclusion is that
If your 40 Focotar is not sharp on the edges at f5.6, something is wrong
with it.

If you want to put a 50mm lens on your V35 and retain auto focus, have Leica
adapt a 50 Focotar-2 lens to your V35.  This is an inexpensive conversion
(outside of the cost of a Focotar lens), since the V35 was offered initially
with the option of having it provided with a 50mm lens.  The 50 Focotar-2
lens is superb at all apertures, granted it is an f4.5 lens, and reaches
optimum performance, just like the 40 Focotar, at f5.6.  To use a 50mm lens
on the V35, you need lens extension, a different focusing cam, and, perhaps,
a different roller.  I believe the cam on the V35 is reversible for use with
a 50mm lens.  The existing lighted magnification indicator on your V35 can
be manually rotated to show the 50mm lens magnification without
modification.

Using a lens with a focal length longer than the normal 50mms has its charm,
as Mark Rabiner point out.  With top flight 60mm to 100mm length lenses,
evenness of contrast, resolution and light across the field should be great,
but for large scale prints the lens to print distance is excessive.

My advice is to check the performance of your 40 Focotar at f5.6 and f8.  If
the edge performance is poor at these apertures, your lens is defective, and
should be repaired by a competent party, namely Leica.