I looked in vain the other day for a good photograph of the Leitz Focomat IIc that I could use. Reader Guenther Roth found a great one—it's at the top of Austrian photographer Thomas Eisl's review. I didn't find that in my own search. Here's the link, if you want to see what the big beast really looked like all polished and shiny. It's a nice and informative article, too.
Many thanks, Guenther!
Since I said that the Focomat IIc was not the best enlarger I ever used, several people have asked what was. That's up next, just for fun, but I doubt we will be staying on the topic of enlargers much longer. I was going to say they have gone the way of the buggy whip. But then I realized that I live in an area where horse-drawn buggies are actually very common! They're out in force on a sunny Sunday. The day of rest is apparently also a day for churchgoing, weddings, and visiting friends; I notice more buggies on the roads on Sundays than any other day of the week. But I digress.
Today is also my son Xander's 31st birthday! Happy Birthday Xander.
Mike
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Somehow I have ended up with four enlargers two I bought and two gifted to me. They are a Durst L1000 and a Focomat Ic both of which I bought and an Omega B22 XL and a Besler 23cxl dual dichro which were given me.
I like them all but the 23c suits my current needs to a tee. It came with a collection of carriers and 50 and 105mm Nikor lenses.
Over the years, I made my first print in 1962, I have used a lot of enlargers from Federal coffee cans to that Leitz gem.
They all made nice prints but the 23c is my go to machine. It is rugged and very easy to keep aligned so I guess it's the best for me.
There was a time when you could start a fistfight over the best enlarging lens but I suspect those days are behind us.
Posted by: Mike Plews | Sunday, 04 February 2024 at 03:46 PM
Film photography is growing, at least here I the UK. In addition, many colleges still have analogue photography in their curriculum. I think that it's similar to the upsurge in vinyl records. There is a desire to return to a more hands on experience. Ilford are doing well selling their films and papers, which were always amongst the best.
At first I was pretty upset that the expertise gained from years of printing experience was going to be lost, but change is inevitable. I still have a darkroom and I hope to get it working again (it's a junk room now) just to show my grandchildren the magical process.
Posted by: Bob Johnston | Monday, 05 February 2024 at 03:26 AM
Long ago, you and I encountered one of these beasts at Oak Park Camera, and one of us remarked “Darth Vader’s enlarger.” That still holds true: what a menacing piece of equipment!
Posted by: Nicholas Hartmann | Monday, 05 February 2024 at 07:41 AM
I saw a sign on a pick-up the other day that showed the typical pattern on a manual gearshift knob and said "millennial anti theft device".
Posted by: KeithB | Monday, 05 February 2024 at 02:55 PM
I know next to nothing about how commercial labs work but it's my understanding that for colour printing it's normal to use scanned negs and then "expose" photo paper using a non-optical path (e.g., Durst Lambda?) I believe that's also how they process "chromogenic" (is that the word?) B&W, like XP2.
As an aside, I have never gotten a chromogenic B&W print that I liked, there's always some tint present. Instead I've digi-scanned XP2 negs and printed them myself on an inkjet.
Has anyone ever made a similar contraption for traditional silver-based B&W workflow? I'm not sure if there is any point to this but was curious if anyone has tried.
Posted by: Robert Roaldi | Tuesday, 06 February 2024 at 07:39 AM
Look I what I've just spotted!
https://realcamera.co.uk/product/leitz-leica-focomat-iic-colour-black-white-6x6-6x7-6x9-35mm-enlarger-with-60-100mm-lenses/
Ray
Posted by: Ray Foxlee | Wednesday, 07 February 2024 at 11:28 AM