Focomat 1c questions.

[Loren Sattler]

Loren, what do you mean when you say this? Leitz did not make an anti newton condenser for the Focomat Ic. They made a seperate AN glass that we can slide over the bottom of the Ic condenser.

Hilo, I am not home for a few days to take a closer look. I have it in my mind that I have AN glass but not sure about any details. I do occasionally get Newton rings. Will check later and update.

 

[Loren Sattler]

Here are photos of my AN glass. The holder slips on to the condenser. As mentioned above, I still fight Newton rings occasionally with this setup. I will try the masking idea mentioned above.

Perhaps someone can offer a solution to my photos posting sideways? I took these with an iPhone and uploaded them to Photrio with a MacBook Air. They appear correctly on the phone and computer.

 

[Don_ih]

They appear correctly on the phone and computer.

The preview photos in your post are sideways but they show properly when I click on them.

 

[Hilo]

Here are photos of my AN glass. The holder slips on to the condenser. As mentioned above, I still fight Newton rings occasionally with this setup. I will try the masking idea mentioned above.

Your AN glass looks okay to me, but I can't see if there's any damage on the lower surface. If not, it should work fine.

Is there a lot of humidity where you are, or when you do not use your enlarger, is it cold in the room where you keep it? Turning on a heater just before using a darkroom can lead to Newton rings. I had a friend in Cairns, Australia where it can be extremely humid. He had lots of problems with Newton rings and, if I remember well, the self-made masks were the solution.

 

[Loren Sattler]

Your AN glass looks okay to me, but I can't see if there's any damage on the lower surface. If not, it should work fine.

Is there a lot of humidity where you are, or when you do not use your enlarger, is it cold in the room where you keep it? Turning on a heater just before using a darkroom can lead to Newton rings. I had a friend in Cairns, Australia where it can be extremely humid. He had lots of problems with Newton rings and, if I remember well, the self-made masks were the solution.

Hilo, my AN glass looks fine. I live in the US in the midwest. There is a fair amount of humidity during parts of the year, but I do not believe that is the problem especially since I do most of my printing during winter months in a heated room. The enlarger is stored at room temperature. I have not done much printing lately. When I get back into it I will make a mask and try that when newton rings show up.

 

[Don_ih]

Tmax films can be especially prone to Newton rings. The secondary mask should work in every instance.

 

[CrazyCockatoo]

Hello Everyone,
i havent posted a lot lately. Im setting up a new darkroom at my home. I currently have the besseler 45v-xl with the vc controller. I plan to keep that setup for 120. I came across a focomat 1c locally I am picking up for dedicated 35mm And teaching my 9 yr old son With. I’ve never used one but I know it’s very well liked. It has a slightly hazed focotar. I have a few questions maybe some people can help with.
- it says it is "autofocus". Will this be intuitively obvious when I pick it up and set it up? I’m trying to visualize how this autofocuses. If I use autofocus does it remove need for grain magnification?
- I generally split grade on the 45vxl but it’s built into the controller. I ordered the ilford 0-5 filter set. What’s the best tray to adapt for it?
- is there a timer people seem to like with this enlarger?
- if the focotar Is too hazed, will my 50mm rodagon or componon work ok? I figure they will but I don’t know about it with the autofocus
- anything else anyone can tell me?

thanks a lot for the help. Looking forward to get back into printing soon

The autofocus is basicllly when you move your enlarger head up and down it will focus itsself and doesn't require you use a focus finder, mine was calabrited by my self and it's really good at it. The attachment is the manual and have an instructuon for setting it up(you need to set up every time you change lenses)

 

[CrazyCockatoo]

Hopefully your enlarger will come with the original instruction manual. It will explain how the autofocus functions and how to calibrate it properly. It only takes a few minutes once you understand the principle of how to make adjustments.

This is the manual, and i believe that you'll need to set up autofocus everytime you change lenses

 

[CrazyCockatoo]

I have a late model Ic - the grey finished version with white baseboard and is the color model which means it does have a filter drawer.

i have one with a color filter, it's black finished version and have a wood baseboard(just wood, not white) Any ideas about between what year it might be manufactured?

 

[CrazyCockatoo]

some pictures:









View attachment 389841

mine have the filter holder, but it doesn't have something like this. Any ideas?

 

[BMbikerider]

It really only works with totally flat paper and, even then, it's a pain to get it aligned correctly. It has two adjustable metal slides that don't seem to do anything. It has a white rectangle that doesn't line up with the edge of the paper if the paper is aligned correctly. It's just bizarre.

The thickness of the paper should not matter one iota. The natural depth of field created with the stopped down enlarger lens will be more than enough to cover the thickness of any commercially produced paper. I find a lot of people tend to imagine all descriptions of possible difficulties resulting in hand wringing imagining non existing problems.

You are for more likely to get a focus shift when the enlarger heats up with the lamp being left on for long exposures and a glassless carrier, even a single anti newton ring glass will stop most of this shift. I think Leica enlargers had a single AN glass in the top half of the carriers. Certainly their V35 had one.

Without going into complicated mathematical calculations a 50mm F2.8 lens, stopped down to F5.6 will give a depth of field that will cover most minor focussing errors.

However, in a late 1950's Leica manual I own, it does state that AF enlargers produced by Ernst Leitz have their enlargers supplied with a lens calibrated in the factory for that particular enlarger, so in all probability using a non Leitz lens that did not come with the enlarger will not necessarily give accurate AF. Being individually calibrated ensures that slight manufacturing differences are cancelled out.

In the years since manufacture of a 1C, AF does not guarantee that the lens it comes with is the one it was originally calibrated with. If in doubt get a good grain focussing magnifier.

 

[Don_ih]

The thickness of the paper should not matter one iota.

You need to be familiar with the easel to know what I was talking about. I wasn't talking about depth of focus or the autofocus of the enlarger. But, since you mention it, the Leitz easels are an inch thick and the autofocus is set for that height off the baseboard.

What I was talking about was trying to align the paper on the easel which has pretty non-sensical stops for positioning the corner of the paper and almost no way to be certain the paper is square under the blades.

I'll borrow a photo from an ebay listing to show:

Those two grey metal things slide in those slots and can be used to position the paper. The white rectangle is paint and the edge of it is ok for seeing if your paper is square. But if there's any curl to the edge of the sheet of paper, and almost all my paper has some curl, it will move when you lower the easel frame. It's just a little annoying.

I think Leica enlargers had a single AN glass in the top half of the carriers. Certainly their V35 had one.

The condenser clamps down on the negative. It does not have an AN surface. There is a slip-on AN ring that you'll see on a lot of the enlargers. See post 52 above for a photo of the AN glass. The negative holder is glassless.

 

[Tina Kino]

Thanks everybody for sharing their knowledge and experience with this particular enlarger, this thread has been quite valuable for me as I'm looking at Focomat Ic's right now (I'm considering getting one as my first ever enlarger : )

In regards to filtering for multigrade papers I was surprised nobody mentioned the option of putting sheet filters in the lamp housing - directly on top of the condenser?
While I appreciate this a bit of a faff, I read (I forgot where) that this would be the more "proper" way, instead of having things under the lens that might introduce reflections etc.

..would love to hear from people who've done it this way how cumbersome it is in practice - and especially would love to hear from you if you compared above-condenser and under-lens filtering, to see whether it makes any difference in real life

 

[Sanug]

The filters may become too hot if you use a conventional bulb and not a LED. Anyway, it may be not comfortable to open the light house for each filter change.

 

[Don_ih]

The lamp housing is a bit of a snug fit, so puling it off and putting it back may not be much fun. I've considered cutting a filter drawer in mine but haven't had any issues with under-the-lens filters. Reflections and dust are not significant. Clarity of the filter is the most important issue.

 

[Tina Kino]

..thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it!

 

[Tina Kino]

Another question - could somebody please post or link to a picture of one of those "locking" easels, that are being mentioned oftentimes?
I see a few different versions / models on the used market here (see images from eBay, below..)

From what I've gathered, the "autofocus" mechanics of the Focomats are originally set on these (1" thick?) easels, so it would probably be best to get one of those?

What is meant by "locking"? Are they locking into the base plate (how?), or can you angle them up, and they stay up, so you can postion your paper without needing to hold the easel up?

Many thanks!

 

[Don_ih]

On the baseboard, there is a slot which allows a movable steel to slide forwards and back, which gets clamped down by the lever on the right:

(bad picture found online)

Easels that lock have grooves in the bottom that you slide the piece of steel into. So, with that in place, you position the easel and lock it down to the baseboard using the lever. It's a bit more obvious when you have it in front of you. However, a lot of Focomat baseboards have had that particular contraption removed, since the handle sticking out the side can be a bit irritating - especially if you have no locking easel.

Frankly, the fact that they lock is about all they have going for them. The bigger one is irritating to position the paper on. The smaller one is too small. I find the smaller one very useful when printing postcards for the postcard exchange, though.

 

[Loren Sattler]

Tina Kino, if the Focomat available is reasonably priced and in good working condition, I would not hesitate to buy it. You can set up the auto focus function with any lens and any easel. The auto focus is just one of the nice features of the equipment. It is very well built and adjusts smoothly and accurately in quick fashion. I love the negative holder.....it holds the film flat against the condenser. I enjoy using mine very much. I would consider a reasonable price as under $200 US.

 

[Don_ih]

The main issue with Focomat 1c enlargers is the wiring, which is probably in very bad shape. Any one who gets one of those with original wiring should probably just wire the lamp to a cord that you plug into a timer.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hello Everyone,
i havent posted a lot lately. Im setting up a new darkroom at my home. I currently have the besseler 45v-xl with the vc controller. I plan to keep that setup for 120. I came across a focomat 1c locally I am picking up for dedicated 35mm And teaching my 9 yr old son With. I’ve never used one but I know it’s very well liked. It has a slightly hazed focotar. I have a few questions maybe some people can help with.
- it says it is "autofocus". Will this be intuitively obvious when I pick it up and set it up? I’m trying to visualize how this autofocuses. If I use autofocus does it remove need for grain magnification?
- I generally split grade on the 45vxl but it’s built into the controller. I ordered the ilford 0-5 filter set. What’s the best tray to adapt for it?
- is there a timer people seem to like with this enlarger?
- if the focotar Is too hazed, will my 50mm rodagon or componon work ok? I figure they will but I don’t know about it with the autofocus
- anything else anyone can tell me?

thanks a lot for the help. Looking forward to get back into printing soon

Leitz, when designing the Focomat, knew that there is a mathematical relationship between the negative-to-paper distance and the negative-to-lens distance. The Focomat controls that relationship with a very precisely machined cam (leave that to German machinists) that adjusts the position of the lens plane whenever the enlarger head is moved up or down. In the beginning, I always checked the result with a grain focuser, but I don't do that anymore because it's always spot on! AFAIK, the enlarger is always in tis mechancally-controlled auto focus mode, and it cannot be turned off. The big question is how it knows about the thickness of the base board, apart from assuming the standardLeitz board. The answer may rest with some people in the 'holy' city of Weimar.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

if you ask one of the AI chat bots, you get a very detailed explanation on how the Focomat auto focusing works. I tried Claude and was impressed.

 

[Ron789]

The big question is how it knows about the thickness of the base board, apart from assuming the standardLeitz board.

That is adjusted by inserting a pin in the right hole in the column:
- the lower hole matches the baseboard, without an easel,
- the upper hole matches the baseboard with a 25mm thick easel (Leitz, Dunco, RRB.....)
For an easel with a different thickness one will need to find a DIY solution, like in my case a hose clamp around the column at the right height to match my Ilford 500 system with automatic easel

 

[RalphLambrecht]

You need to calibrate the autofocus. Once calibrated (= setting the focus like with any enlarger, then locking the lens with a screw) it will always be in focus

- I generally split grade on the 45vxl but it’s built into the controller. I ordered the ilford 0-5 filter set. What’s the best tray to adapt for it?

Ilford filters in a holder under the lens work perfectly fine


Any timer will do fine

Yes, they will, I have Focotar-2 lenses but when I need more light (very large prints, lith prints) I use a Rodagon 50 2.8 lens

After using many different enlargers, including the Leitz Focomat V35 and many different Durst models, I went back to my good old Focomat 1c, I think it's the best 35mm enlarger ever built.
Note: you need to calibrate the focus with an easel. Best is to use a Leitz easel, the autofocus needs to correspond with the thickness of the easel.
Many models have a very nice mechanism in the base board. When using a Leitz easel, this mechanism allows you to lock/unlock the easel to avoid accidentally moving the easel.

it must clearly be one ofthe best. I had ours equipped with a Heiland Split/Grade, which turned out to be a powerhouse combination; it beats working with filter settings!No autofocus calibration was ever needed and by the way, I still have two Focomat35 for sale if you are willing to come to Leverkusen and pick them up

 

[Tina Kino]

Tina Kino, if the Focomat available is reasonably priced and in good working condition, I would not hesitate to buy it. You can set up the auto focus function with any lens and any easel. The auto focus is just one of the nice features of the equipment. It is very well built and adjusts smoothly and accurately in quick fashion. I love the negative holder.....it holds the film flat against the condenser. I enjoy using mine very much. I would consider a reasonable price as under $200 US.

Thank you for your feedback, Loren!

I bought one locally that was more like $250, but it's a nice late version (grey hammertone, with the long column) and it's in really good condition, and has the late (LFE) version of the Focotar, which I think I'll love.

Now to find a proper easel for it