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Leitz Focomat V35
"Baz" wrote in message
... Purchased on ebay a couple of months ago with its focotar 40. I need something little, less cumbersome than my chromega s.dichro 5X7 to print from 24*36 on format up to 20*24. Focomat V35 is a wonderful machine, fast, quiet and with a strange, beautiful Star Wars Tetrapod look. Now a little question: what are your impressions about image quality from this enlg? please let away all discussion about sharpness in the far corners, autofocus precision and so on: I'm referring to global appearance of images that come from this rig. I use such enlarger for 25 years now ... You can have a look on my page about it: http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/v35.htm It's one of the best 35mm enlargers available. The original Focotar is razor-sharp. My opinion? Images from chromega with aporodagon comes more creamy-glowing, more rounded, the ones from focomat a bit harsher to my poor eyes. Maybe the fault (if fault is the correct term) is on the particular (reversed) leitz system of illumination? Note that every diffused head enlarger I saw, bring the flat side of final diffuser towards film and the convex one towards mixing chamber; leitz not: convex on film and flat towards chamber. Note also that focomat diffuser isn't a real condenser since it is not transparent but translucent. I imagine that diffusing plates are convex one side because of even light distribution from center to corners. AFAIK there have been to configurations: the original was a single convex condenser which has been replaced (don't knowexactly when) by a double condenser model. The term "condenser" is not proper for this enlarger as these are white plastic diffuser shaped like a (pretty flat) condenser. I do consider the V35 much more as a diffuser enlarger. Some told me to switch on a 40 apocomponon HM, a lens that suit well on focomat, but image quality tested with mine aporod 50 on focomat was the same. (loosing autofocus, not a problem on a simple test buzzing around into my poor brain). Well, there might be a better lens but I wouldn't lose time to try to find it, the Focotar is already among the best lenses for this enlarger. You'll hear/read many things on this enlarger and/or lens like the light mixing chamber would compensate the vignettingofthe Focotar or that the Focotar would not perform well on another enlarger and so on ... I don't care to much about it as for me these two go together and together, they are absolutely good performers. A little bug on leitz (yesss, there is): color module precision isn't the same legendary average built I expected from the German Gods of The Perfect Photography. The only way to cut off filters is in switching off completely the pack with the sticky lever. If I set all filters to zero they are still in light path. Maybe I own the only fault color module from GGPP? Hard to say, but Omega works better in this, it's stellar... Your color module is not faulty, a slight part of the filters remain (a mm or so) in the light path when set to 0 but their proportion are the same and result in a (very) light grey filter. cheerz -- Lo, forever. Cheers, -- Claudio Bonavolta http://www.bonavolta.ch |
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