Contact Printing Large Format negatives with a Leica Focomat V35?

[v.kapoor]

Thanks!

SO- it turns out the owner selling the Fotomat V35 for $200 had taken apart the lens to clean out the dust, but never put it back together! Aperture blades everywhere. Seems dicey to purchase it like this...

Pictures attached.

[Fred L]

Thanks!

SO- it turns out the owner selling the Fotomat V35 for $200 had taken apart the lens to clean out the dust, but never put it back together! Aperture blades everywhere. Seems dicey to purchase it like this...

Pictures attached.

YIKES !!! no wonder the price is right.I have two spare Focotars if you decide to get the enlarger. Aperture ring is not super silky smooth. Might be worth seeing what the enlarger comes with (colour or MG module etc) as it cld still be worth getting.

[LabRat]

One thing I discovered contact printing using collimated light (light coming from a lens) is that every dust spec on both sides of the glass, both sides of the negative and the surface of the paper would show clearly.

The old pro-lab trick was to focus the edge of neg carrier sharp on the printing frame, then throw the focus off a little which creates diffusion where dust and fingerprint shadows on top of printer glass vanish...

Steve K

[LabRat]

YIKES !!! no wonder the price is right.I have two spare Focotars if you decide to get the enlarger. Aperture ring is not super silky smooth. Might be worth seeing what the enlarger comes with (colour or MG module etc) as it cld still be worth getting.

Lens can still be OK without iris, as the 40mm Focotar is still deadly sharp wide open (unlike most all other enlarger lenses), and enlarger alignment is very good, so still usuable, just more inconvenience involved...

Super smooth ring is usually not needed, as a printer usually only uses one aperture setting for most all work, and enlarger is bright, so not needed to open lens for focusing every time...

And only a few blades in iris, so someone should be able to put it back together (if all parts are there)...

Steve K

[v.kapoor]

It has the color module. What would you be asking for one of your 40mm/2.8?

Thanks!

YIKES !!! no wonder the price is right.I have two spare Focotars if you decide to get the enlarger. Aperture ring is not super silky smooth. Might be worth seeing what the enlarger comes with (colour or MG module etc) as it cld still be worth getting.

[v.kapoor]

Again, new to darkroom stuff. Wouldn't a wide open lens give me less exposure times, so less time for dodging/burning, etc?

Lens can still be OK without iris, as the 40mm Focotar is still deadly sharp wide open (unlike most all other enlarger lenses), and enlarger alignment is very good, so still usuable, just more inconvenience involved...

Super smooth ring is usually not needed, as a printer usually only uses one aperture setting for most all work, and enlarger is bright, so not needed to open lens for focusing every time...

And only a few blades in iris, so someone should be able to put it back together (if all parts are there)...

Steve K

[Tin Can]

I use a 5X7 enlarger with a big hot enlarging bulb at highest elevation

No lens, just a 3" hole

with DIY center filter for evenness tested with a high end spot meter

now there is time to wave my hands or use a mask

Again, new to darkroom stuff. Wouldn't a wide open lens give me less exposure times, so less time for dodging/burning, etc?

[John Kasaian]

FWIW I like my Printfile proofer under a cheap Meopta 4x4 enlarger for contact printing.
I tried the heavy float glass + bare bulb route, then a POP frame for bit.
Sadly missed out on a real life mahogany contact printer when Adolph Gasser's closed shop.

[v.kapoor]

Blue Moon Camera in Portland, Ore. has plenty of nice old-school contact frames, if you're still jonesing for one.

FWIW I like my Printfile proofer under a cheap Meopta 4x4 enlarger for contact printing.
I tried the heavy float glass + bare bulb route, then a POP frame for bit.
Sadly missed out on a real life mahogany contact printer when Adolph Gasser's closed shop.

[MartinP]

It seems that you don't know what contact-printing is? The light-source doesn't matter. Just use a desklamp with a low power bulb, and maybe a few layers of normal white paper as a way of getting conveniently longer exposures. Save the $200 for paper and chemicals.