Leitz Valoy enlarger project.

Bioflex

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Picked up this early Valoy enlarger from a flea market. Not sure if it’s just 35mm format? I hope to get missing film mask/carrier from Kienzle in Germany. (They helped me acquire similar missing parts for my Kienzke TR-66(see photo).The condenser is supposed to move downward on to negative, handle moves but not condenser. Looks like a special spanner wrench would be needed to take apart? Very strange wiring on bottom separate from light source, probably some type of timing device? I know there are different opinions, but I would like to mount my leica Elmar lens from my IIIG to print with.Thank you.
 

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OP
OP

Bioflex

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Thank you, I know I probably don’t need another enlarger, but it keeps be busy.
 
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Bioflex

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Well got the condenser column to raise and lower, now I’m looking for a 35mm negative holder. Does anyone know if the holders from valoyII fits? This is a very early Valoy I. Thank you.
 
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Bioflex

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Just got a price quote from KIENZLE Phototechnik of Germany. Looks like I will have a working Valoy I enlarger soon. Thanks
 

evarlam

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New member here!!!! I just bought from ebay exactly the same early Leitz Valoy enlarger. Thankfully it has the negative holder, but no lens. Is it true that in order to install a regular M39 enlarger lens on an early Leitz enlarger requires the special extension tube (code: DOORX)? I searched for this, and it seems they ask for a leg and kidney for a piece of steel threaded tube nowadays...I wonder (and im sure it will be a great help for the OP, who has the same enlarger) , if some specific soviet enlarger lenses , with integrated extension tubes, like the Industars, could work on this enlarger . I read that these soviet lenses usually dont work on most western enlargers (most people get them as macro lenses for their digital cameras)... but they may work on early Leitz ones! And their optics are not that bad either! feedback on this and expert advice is more than welcome!
 
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Don_ih

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18percentgrey said:
Very strange wiring on bottom separate from light source, probably some type of timing device?
Click to expand...

Nothing weird about that - it goes from the outlet to a switch to the lamp. I'd scrap all that wiring and put a new cord just to the lamp. All that old wiring is not trustworthy. I replaced the cord in my ValoyII and all the wiring Focomat. The old wiring had insulation that was petrified clay.

evarlam said:
I just bought from ebay exactly the same early Leitz Valoy enlarger
Click to expand...

Get a Focotar for it. You won't regret it.
 

evarlam

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Thank you so much for the suggestions! With Focotar lens I must buy also the DOORX tube extension? this one looks a good deal, with DOORX tube:

Leitz DOOCQ Leica Focotar 5cm 50mm f4.5 Enlarging Lens. Graded: BGN [#10851] | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Leitz DOOCQ Leica Focotar 5cm 50mm f4.5 Enlarging Lens. Graded: BGN [#10851] at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Also found that early Valoy enlargers came with Leitz Varob 50mm lenses (which had quite long tubes) - and their price in good condition is about 80 euros (plus p+p)
 
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Don_ih

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@Hilo is the Leitz enlarger expert. He can probably chime in with the info you need.
 

evarlam

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Update about my early (prewar?) Valoy enlarger. I cleaned and rewired it and installed a 9W 1050 lumens 2700K filament LED lamp (which is considerably shorter than usual). The condenser lens is of the clear variant, in excellent condition, absolutely no scratches! The negative holder also is in great shape! The best part is that I acquired (for free) a Rogonar 50mm 2.8 lens (the three element plastic cheap one). Lens installed succesfully and guess what? It focuses perfectly without needing an extension tube even at relatively large magnifications. Here are some photos!
The projected negative is an old colour one , at about 24X18cm. The projection is on a plain A4 sheet. I hadn't the slightest problem focusing Rogonar lens, so I think I'm lucky (and very happy as I put back in action this vintage enlarger spending about 10 euros worth of materials)!!! The projected image looks bright because the lens is completely open at 2.8
 

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RalphLambrecht

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too bad you're so far awy. I could give you a newer Leitz V35 enlarger for free.
 

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Don_ih

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Good going! It's a very simple but solid enlarger. Your clear condenser will create newton rings on negatives (I learned the hard way). There is a circle of ANR glass that can be slipped on the end of the condenser. It may be hard to find. Another solution is to make a very thin mask, with an opening slightly larger than the image frame, to put above the negative in the holder, to prevent the condenser from actually touching the negative.
 

evarlam

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Yes, I know about this issue, and I think I have the perfect material for this: thin (less than 1mm) ABS opaque white plastic sheets, of the kind used for air modeling, which can be cut easily and make a mask to put between the negative and the condenser.
 

evarlam

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Just tested a Nikkor 50mm 2.8, and it has issues with focusing (it barely focuses only in very big enlargement). So this one for sure needs an extension tube. For the moment, Im very happy that Rogonar (although it is considered an inferior lens) matched perfectly with the venerable Valoy.
 

evarlam

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Just made the ANR mask! I used thin ABS plastic sheet and cut slots for the pins of the negative holder. Also I cut the frame window slightly bigger, as advised. I tested it and works perfectly (well this means that negative holder slots just fine into the enlarger's head slot). Also I noticed that this mask helps aligning the negative. I saw somewhere here in the forum that the US Leitz importer sold decades ago a similar ANR mask, made from hard coated cardboard (obviously the suitable material for hot tungsten bulbs). But since I'll use LED bulbs, I think there will be no problem.
 

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Don_ih

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Good job. There should be no problem with that.

I use an LED bulb in my enlarger, also. I have yet to find any reason not to.
 

evarlam

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Update about my Valoy enlarger: I got (again for free) an old soviet 50mm Industar 96U-1 lens. Also I bought a set of M39 extension tubes from Aliexpress, dirty cheap! They're brand new, made from machined aluminum. The set includes three tubes, 7mm, 14mm and 28mm. I tested all three lenses I have now (Rodenstock Rogonar, Nikkor L 2.8 and Industar) and all of them work perfectly now!!!!!!!!! I used the middle tube, No2, the 14mm one. This tube is roughly (give or take few mm's) similar to the original DOORX Leitz tube. So I think that with this set of tubes, using in our case only the 14mm one, it will work also for Valoy II enlarger and with some adjustment for the autofocus function, with Focomat Ic. There's also a similar soviet 3 tubes set sold mainly by Ukranian sellers at ebay, with slightly different tube lengths, which I guess it will work just fine as well. I bought also a used Marumi focus finder (a very similar design to the well known Patterson one) and the film grain when focused is sharp and well defined. Especially Nikkor lens (and this I guess is not surprising) gave the finest and sharpest grain focusing of all three (Rogonar is just fine, but not as sharp as Nikkor and Industar is a bit on the soft side, but not bad at all).
Here's the Aliexpress link for the M39 extension tubes:
 
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Hilo

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Don_ih said:
@Hilo is the Leitz enlarger expert. He can probably chime in with the info you need.
Click to expand...

Don, I am only familiar with the inns and outs of the Valoy II. The earlier Valoy (no II) is an entirely different beast. I'm sure by now, the OP knows more about this enlarger than I ever will . . .
 

Hilo

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Yes evarlam, the 14mm tube would be the one. It needs to be in that range. Apart from the Leitz Doorx of 15mm (later called the 17675), I have a heap of east European made extension tubes of various sizes. With the non auto-focus Valoy II and its fantastic helicoid, it is easy to find out which will work. Like, I have a 38mm Olympus lens for half frame and the tube needs to be about 5mm. But this can change when you print large.
 

snusmumriken

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evarlam said:
I got (again for free) an old soviet 50mm Industar 96U-1 lens
Click to expand...
Please report back how you get on with this. I used one on my first 35mm camera - an early Zenith. The Industar was quite decent stopped down, and also reversed for macro - but the corner definition was quite blurry, and I suspect you will dislike that in printing.
 
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