The Leitz Focomat V35 was and remains a spectacular photographic tool for the serious 35mm photographer. Several years ago I wrote a lengthy entry about my long experience with it called Working with the Leitz Focomat V35 Enlarger. It recieved a lot of views and I ended up with a number of emails about it. If you have an interest in one of these fine enlargers check it out!
About two years ago I realized I wasn’t using it very much anymore. Not sure why, but I was working mostly with my Devere 504 for both medium format and 35mm negatives. The more I thought about it, most of my prints had been made with the Devere. Shortly after this realization I had the opportunity to sell my V35 to a friend and Monalog colleague so we agreed on a price and off it went. I am happy to say it found a good home and is being utilized, as it deserves to be!
Cruising along in my monogamous relationship with the Devere, several months ago I had the opportunity to see several Leitz Focomat 1Cs as well as a 2C. @#!$%^@##!$%! :). I had never seen these beauties before let alone had the opportunity to touch them with my very own hands. Two I saw were in the possession of another friend and Monalog colleague – the very last light grey versions of each with the latest Focotar lenses, etc.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you sense where this is going?
Here is some of what I said about the V35 in my entry:
“Let me cut to the chase. It’s a wonderful tool for making beautiful images. Is it perfect? No, but few things in life are. But now that I have reacquainted myself with the pleasures of using this finely crafted instrument I don’t plan on letting it sit idle for long! Mine has the standard black and white head to use with graded paper, a VC head and color head. In a previous entry I discussed why I use a color head for greatest control with variable contrast papers so I won’t repeat that here. Take a look, as I am convinced this approach is really the way to go.
The V35 was wildly expensive when manufactured. Lore has it that it became so expensive to produce and sell that this finally caused Leica to shut down production in 1995. If you were to take one apart and look at its construction, including the autofocus assembly, then weigh the associated necessary tolerances in the enlarger as a whole and its structural rigidity, and finally consider the stupendous Focotar-2 enlarging lens that is supplied with it you would see that the V35 was made with the same dedication to precision as an M series camera.
The great news for 35mm printers is that you can snag one of these beauties for as little as a few hundred dollars if shop carefully!
Some people complain that the V35 doesn’t compare with the previous autofocus models – the Focomat 1, not to mention the more rare and very expensive Focomat 2 (for negatives up to 6×9) that is considered by many to be the holy grail of enlargers. I cannot really tell you as I haven’t tried them, or even considered them for a couple of simple reasons: I like diffusion light sources which is what the V35 is designed for, the quality of the Focotar-2 lens; the huge expense of the Focomat 2 without a diffusion lights source (3rd party products are available); and the fact that I have the Devere 504 with Schneider Apo Componon HM enlarging lenses, equipped with easy to use below the baseboard focusing controls.”
So much for my past logic and on to indulging my apparently not to hidden lust for what many consider the ultimate!
Back to my friend and Monalog colleague … he was thinking of selling both enlargers but wasn’t in a hurry to pull the trigger, and if he did it wasn’t going to be cheap! We kept in contact and frankly it was more of me bugging him to tear the band-aid off. Finally the blessed decision was made and after much negotiation the deed was done.
I now have sitting in my darkroom what many consider the King (2C) and at a minimum, the Crown Prince (1C) of enlargers … the Leicas of enlargers! And of course, no diffusion color heads and none of the convenience I love so much! And yeah, my mighty Devere is still here (with diffusion color head) and it’s not going anywhere thank you.
So what the $%^$&^@ ? Is this opportunity or complete and foolish excess? I have to go out and buy some damn VC filters for starters! I’ve never spoken about darkroom GAS before and had never experienced it. Was I now? To be completely honest, I don’t know. Even worse was this just another Covid-19 purchase like so many people have made? Or was I falling under a magic spell cast by elves from Wetzlar past? It’s known that many have succumbed to the their hypnotic siren calls … myself included. Could I resist their charms now?
So now I feel I need to write about this, to express myself, even if none of the answers exist yet. Will the truth finally emerge? I eagerly await and I stand ready to be judged.
In the meantime it’s going to take a little time to sort things out. I can see that I will probably need to extend my enlarging table to handle three heavy beasts, and I need to get a few missing parts and another Zone VI timer (none of which grow on trees). I’ll let you know how it goes … but if anyone has any thoughts I’d love to hear from you!
Stay safe,
Michael