[Leica] Anyone know the differences between the Focomat IIC and IIa?

[tkr at puffball.demon.co.uk (Tim Rylance)]

There isn't a simple answer.  The IIa was produced from 1937-1956 and the IIc
from 1956-1983.  Each underwent significant changes during 20-30 years of
production.

I own three post-1960 IIcs and the lens mount and cams from a pre-1960 IIc.
I have never seen a IIa, so some of what follows is drawn from the 1937 Leitz
Enlarging Equipment brochure, the 1953 and 1955 brochures for the IIa, the
1957 and 1965 brochures for the IIc, and Laney's Leica Collector's Guide
(both editions).

The 1937-1949 IIa (code VOOWI but the 1935-1936 Focomat II had the same code)
came with a 9.5cm f/4 lens (VOORT).  A 5cm f/3.5 lens (VAROB) with a screw-in
mount was an optional extra.

The 1950-1956 IIa (code TVOOR) had a revolving lens holder with both 95mm and
50mm lenses.  It is possible that early models came with the VOORT and VAROB,
but by 1953 the lenses were the 95mm f/4.5 Focotar (FOODE/DQCOO) and the 50mm
f/4.5 Focotar (DOOUM/DOOHF).

The autofocus range of the IIa is x1.3 to x4.8 with the 9.5cm lens and x2 to
x13 with the 5cm lens.

The Focomat IIc has a horizontal sliding lens changer which switches
focusing cams automatically (on the IIa you have to switch lenses and cams
as two separate operations).  The shorter lens was always a 60mm f/4.5
Focotar - I think this covers 4x4 whereas the 50mm Focotar doesn't quite.
The longer lens was the 95mm f/4.5 Focotar from 1956-1960, the 100mm f/4.5
V-Elmar from 1960-1977, the 100mm f/5.6 Focotar-2 from 1977-1983.

Most IIcs are finished in black crackle paint and have an oak baseboard with
the locking mechanism for Leitz masking frames.  Late IIcs are finished in
grey hammertone paint and have a white melamine baseboard with no locking
mechanism.  I think the change to grey paint preceded the change to the
100mm Focotar-2 (I have seen a fair number of grey IIcs with the 100mm
V-Elmar on eBay, but never a black IIc with the Focotar-2).

The autofocus range of the IIc is x2 to x11 with the 60mm lens, x1.3 to x6
with the 95mm lens, x1.4 to x5.7 with a 100mm lens.

The IIc has a spiral groove on the column and a collar to raise the
parallelogram for bigger (non-autofocus) enlargements or to adjust for
different masking frame depths.  I don't know how you raise the
parallelogram on the IIa - brute force?

There were more accessories for the IIc, including a tilting device and a
gadget for copying negatives.

When you asked exactly the same question on 18th December 2000, Ferrel
Anderson gave a summary similar to the above and Jem Kime said that some
late IIas had a lens changer similar to that of the IIc.

Leica still stock some spares for the IIc, but when buying it is wise to
ensure that no major parts are missing.  Negative carriers sell on eBay for
almost as much as complete enlargers.  The 60mm Focotar and 100mm V-Elmar
also fetch high prices relative to their perceived quality, but it is almost
impossible to substitute other lenses.  The 100mm Focotar-2 is very 
expensive.

IIcs are quite common on ebay.de (there is usually at least one on offer)
and go for around 500 euros.  Shipping within Europe is typically 100 euros.
100mm Focotar-2s are uncommon, maybe 3 or 4 a year on eBay.

The IIc is a magnificent piece of engineering, but the Focomat V35 is a more
practical 35mm enlarger and I suspect something like a Durst Modular 70 is
a more practical medium format enlarger provided your brand loyalty permits.

Tim Rylance, Bath UK