Leitz Focomat V35 - Negative Masking

[holmburgers]

Hey,

So last night was my first darkroom session with my new enlarger, the Leitz V35.

The main thing I'm confused about are the masks that are controlled by little knobs below the film stage. There are 4 knobs, and they extend or retract masks from all 4 sides (if you had one, you'd know what I'm talking about). At first, I thought, AWESOME!, these are built in blades for cropping and what not. But that's not the case, because since they are a few cm's lower than the negative stage, they are out of focus and don't create a sharp line.

So what's the point... is mine broken or what? I don't think so, but I'm at a loss.

 

[henk@apug]

Two of them on my V35 do not function anymore. I think they are ment to avoid flair

 

[holmburgers]

Hmm, what kind of flair? It seems of limited utility, but maybe with different negative holders it would be more useful.

 

[henk@apug]

I do not use them anyway.


Here is a link which describes the masking knobs (avoiding straylight)

http://www.jollinger.com/photo/enlargers/leitz.html

By the way : fantastic enlarger don't you think ? I use it with a variocontrast module.

 

[holmburgers]

Thanks henk. I too use the VC module, and yes it is fantastic. Probably the most solid enlarger around for 35mm, and so well thought out.