Leitz Focomat V35 diffusion disc mount

Focomat V35 comes with two optional under the lens accessories : diffusion disc for exposure setting via Focometer (whitish plastic thingie) and red filter.

When I got my second hand Focomat it already had the diffusion disc mounted. After long time searching I finally got red filter accessory and now I’d like to mount it along with diffusion disc - manual says it is possible. The problem I have is : how to unmount the diffusion disc? It is basically a plastic “tube” which seems to be fixed to the lens block with some fancy mount and I have trouble to understand how that mount can be removed. It’s surface is flat so it can’t be unscrewed easily (see the picture). I am sure it has been screwed in from the bottom somehow because there is practically no access possible from the top side of the plate. Any experiences or ideas?

 

Forget the red filter, it's pointless with a tungsten illuminated enlarger.

Forget the red filter, it's pointless with a tungsten illuminated enlarger.

 

- BW module for V35 has built in red filter

- There is dedicated accessory built by Leitz and documented in the manual - the one that I am trying to install, saying “for Focomat V35” on the box

- It is so rare that people built their own one:

Leitz Focomat V35

 

And now you’re saying that it’s all nonsense? :)

 

In the meantime I realized that what I see from below is not the screw - it moves along with plastic piece if I rock it. So the question is how to remove it to get access to the screw...it is either really puzzling design, or me being stupid :) any help appreciated.

And now you’re saying that it’s all nonsense?

Yes!

The red filter only serves a purpose if you're going to use it as an 'on/off' switch for the light while there's printing paper on the easel. I know of nobody that prints that way, and I've worked in a number of professional and shared darkrooms.

 

With a cold-cathode head that needs some warm-up time, it makes some sense to regulate the exposure with a swing filter, but:

1) The filter is usually amber coloured on professional enlargers, and

2) Using a filter to regulate the exposure requires that it be manually swung out of the way, which could induce some vibration.

 

So pro printers using a cold-cathode enlarger generally prefer to use a hand-held piece of black card under the lens to block the light.

 

3) None of the above applies if the enlarger uses an incandescent lamp that 'warms up' instantly.

 

The one other use for a red filter is during focussing, because it (supposedly) allows focussing directly on the printing paper, rather than on the easel or masking-frame. However, it cuts the intensity of the light so much that critical focus becomes more difficult to impossible.

 

In short; the red filter is more of a hindrance than help, and anyone who's tried to use one just ends up ignoring it. Or replacing it with an amber filter.

 

Plus, your Focomat has automatic focussing, which makes a red filter even more redundant!

 

Using the bare baseboard and trying to position the paper directly by red light, as it appears the author of your above link is doing, is time-wasting and nonsensical. Get a masking frame!

Edited July 29, 2019 by rodeo_joe|1

Yes!

The red filter only serves a purpose if you're going to use it as an 'on/off' switch for the light while there's printing paper on the easel. I know of nobody that prints that way, and I've worked in a number of professional and shared darkrooms.

 

With a cold-cathode head that needs some warm-up time, it makes some sense to regulate the exposure with a swing filter, but:

1) The filter is usually amber coloured on professional enlargers, and

2) Using a filter to regulate the exposure requires that it be manually swung out of the way, which could induce some vibration.

 

So pro printers using a cold-cathode enlarger generally prefer to use a hand-held piece of black card under the lens to block the light.

 

3) None of the above applies if the enlarger uses an incandescent lamp that 'warms up' instantly.

 

The one other use for a red filter is during focussing, because it (supposedly) allows focussing directly on the printing paper, rather than on the easel or masking-frame. However, it cuts the intensity of the light so much that critical focus becomes more difficult to impossible.

 

In short; the red filter is more of a hindrance than help, and anyone who's tried to use one just ends up ignoring it. Or replacing it with an amber filter.

 

Plus, your Focomat has automatic focussing, which makes a red filter even more redundant!

 

Using the bare baseboard and trying to position the paper directly by red light, as it appears the author of your above link is doing, is time-wasting and nonsensical. Get a masking frame!

 

Thanks for the explanations. I intend to use the red filter for several reasons:

 

1. Paper positioning on bare baseboard for prints without margins. Yes I know it is limited use case and I do have and use the masking frame for “proper” printing, but I still would like to keep that margin-less option available too.

2. Sometimes when the paper is already in the easel, I want to turn the enlarger lamp on for a short period to see and remind myself certain areas of the negative that I am about to dodge or to burn just before the exposure. Without red filter, the only way is to remove the paper from the easel first and hide it away - which is a bit annoying. Split grade printing removes a lot of dodging/burning activity, but not in 100% of the cases.

3. This is possibly main reason. V35 has one drawback. When lamp is off, the scale of multigrade or color module is not highlighted. If I forget to change the contrast setting on the multigrade module before putting the paper in - and that happens often - I am almost blind and have to reach out to manual red light to highlight the scale on the module. Like in case 2, another way is to remove the paper from the easel. Both these options are again a bit annoying. With red light filter, you just put it on and turn the lamp on - the scale is now highlighted and setting the intended contrast is easy. BTW, exactly the same applies for lens aperture setting.

 

So all in all it is just adding some additional comfort into the process. With red filter the setup is more complete.

 

I agree though, focusing through red filter is nonsense, it will very likely destroy the sharpness as it does on many other enlargers, and like you say this is redundant on an AF system like V35.

It sounds as if you really need a better safelight and a print trimmer to cut the edges off your 'borderless' prints. How are you holding the paper flat with no masking frame?

 

Most people count the clicks on the enlarger lens to get the required aperture too.

It sounds as if you really need a better safelight and a print trimmer to cut the edges off your 'borderless' prints. How are you holding the paper flat with no masking frame?

 

Most people count the clicks on the enlarger lens to get the required aperture too.

 

I appreciate your advice, but seems you did not work with V35 before. You need very, very powerful safelight to read off that scale when the enlarger light is off. I attach the picture of multigrade module illustrating that. Notice that contrast setting looks barely readable even in the day light! If in the darkness I grab regular safelight box or pocket light and direct the beam directly onto the scale from the distance of 10-15 inches, I still need to move my head close to the scale to read off the setting. Why bothering with otherwise satisfactory safelight, if I can get that scale highlighted and perfectly visible with a press of a button?

 

Same for aperture setting. Why should I rewind it back and forth if I can see where I am with a press of a button in case I forgot current setting?

 

As for print cutting. Why shall I bother and reduce print size as a result when the paper has already been cut perfectly for me by the manufacturer? Yes, keeping it flat is a challenge, but it is a challenge with framing mask too. Regular ILFORD RC paper is so bent, that starting from sizes of 7x9.5 (18x24cm) it seems impossible to get it flat without vacuum board or some other tricky technique, regardless if easel is used or not and regardless how long you try to flatten it manually. Unless you set large enough borders, which again reduces print size. On the other hand, try focusing with a focus finder on a 7x9.5 enlargement, and after you’ve found the focus lift the focus finder 1-2, even 3 mm up simulating bent paper. You will see that you won’t be able to notice any difference using standard ILFORD focus finder. I am not saying I am happy to print on bent paper, just saying that easel alone is not solving that problem, and the cost and effort to solve it properly seems out of proportion with resulting microscopic quality improvement. I’d ultimately invest into vacuum board once I get to the point where my prints are worth it :)

 

I finally managed to remove the diffusion disc. It appeared to be a slotless bolt making the trouble. After multiple failed attempts and having almost reached the desperation I finally managed to unscrew it with a pincette. Why would someone use a slotless bolt for this is beyond me. Now the red filter is finally on.

 

 

A slot-less screw seems akin to a wheel-less car. IMHO, all the uses of a red filter seem amateurish, weird or ineffective to me. Never used one in many decades of printing.

Why bothering with otherwise satisfactory safelight, if I can get that scale highlighted and perfectly visible with a press of a button?

 

Same for aperture setting. Why should I rewind it back and forth if I can see where I am with a press of a button in case I forgot current setting?

 

As for print cutting. Why shall I bother and reduce print size as a result when the paper has already been cut perfectly for me by the manufacturer?

That's quite a lot of 'can't be bothered'. Unfortunately it takes a lot of 'can be bothered' to produce a decent print.

 

But if you don't want the advice of someone who's printed professionally, (including colour - where you just can't use a red filter) and has over 40 years of darkroom experience......:rolleyes:

 

The only time a vacuum base is needed is for precision contact printing, or for holding large sheets of film in the back of a process camera. It's complete overkill for an enlarger easel. Any decent masking frame, by LPL or R.R.Beard for example, is more than capable of holding fresh and properly stored paper flat.

Edited July 30, 2019 by rodeo_joe|1

A slot-less screw seems akin to a wheel-less car. IMHO, all the uses of a red filter seem amateurish, weird or ineffective to me. Never used one in many decades of printing.

 

I suspect this is some self-made bolt. I got a picture of original bolt from one seller on ebay and it expectedly has slot.

 

As explained above, particularly on Focomat V35 there are a couple of slightly annoying issues, especially contrast setting scale being almost unreadable when the lamp is off. In case you are or have been V35 user, how did you solve it? I am ok to look amateurish or weird with a red filter in exchange of avoiding the need to move my head close to the scale every single time I have to identify/select contrast setting when the paper is already in the easel. To be honest, even with scale being readable I don’t see why would someone consider usage of red filter as amateurish or weird. Why not?

That's quite a lot of 'can't be bothered'. Unfortunately it takes a lot of 'can be bothered' to produce a decent print.

 

But if you don't want the advice of someone who's printed professionally and has over 40 years of darkroom experience......:rolleyes:

 

Hey, as I said, I really appreciate advice and respect the experience. I guess I listed my real life issues that triggered me to look for a red filter, and I don’t see how these issues can be solved without red filter in a more effective way.

 

In fact, the whole concept of Focomat V35 is targeted at comfort and it is praised by many who used it. Modular design, autofocus....when I put the red filter on to further increase my comfort - in line with Leica recommendation in the manual - I can hardly grasp what is concretely wrong with it :)

 

And again, thanks for all the remarks, it is great to get advice and have a conversation even if opinions are not always matching.

And btw, I don’t have static place for the darkroom, unfortunately. I have to set it up from scratch every time. Someone who has moved V35 around would agree that I am not the type who is afraid of extra effort lol

A good place for a red filter might be on a low power flashlight, so you can read that dial. :-)