From Focomat IIc to Focomat Ic

Downsizing - Film Format

In the past, I shot medium format for studio and selected high-quality work and 35mm for street and reportage photography. As soon as I got a Nikon F6 last year, I started shooting less and less medium format. So I decided to sell my extensive Pentax 67 kit and I did not miss it much - which surprised me quite a bit. Less bulk sometimes equals more fun.

Downsizing - Darkroom

It was only natural to follow suit by downsizing the darkroom as well. About 5 years ago, I purchased probably one of the best enlargers of all time - the legendary Leitz Focomat IIc. I spent a considerable amount to refurbish it - the lenses were serviced by Leica and wear parts were replaced by newly produced spares from Kienzle Germany. It is an incredible machine capable of auto-focus printing up to film formats of 6x9. However, for small format, it is a little bit of an overkill - and it is also very unwieldy weighing about 40kg.

After searching for quite some time, I found my new dream enlarger - a formidable Leitz Focomat Ic. It is the smaller brother of the IIc for 35mm film only. Like the IIc, it is also a condenser enlarger ensuring crisp and contrast-rich prints while being significantly smaller and lighter than its brother. I decided to get one with the tall column for convenient large magnification.

As these machines are quite old now, my Ic needs some refurbishments which I’ll share in subsequent blog articles.

Until then, happy printing!