Focomat v35 repair

[stool]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Greetings,

 

I am novice darkroom user and dedicated 35mm shooter and would appreciate your take on my focomat v35 issue.

 

I recently purchased a focomat v35 for a pretty good deal. It came with a 40mm focotar lens, colour and multigrade heads, as well as a standard lens carrier ($500). The autofocus seemed a tiny bit off when I tested it but the cams seemed to move properly, nothing seemed to indicate the screws in blue paint were adjusted and the arm moves freely and is secured solidly with the knob.

 

I sucessfully made a few 8x10 prints by manually focusing the lens but then was frustrated that the AF did not work so I tried to adjust the lens mount and ended up unscrewing the lens mount too far to the point where the autofocus click stop no longer engaged and a small ball bearing pinged down onto my easel. The unit no longer focuses properly no matter how far I move the lens up or down on the stage.

 

I've been searching for this enlarger for years and will happily make prints for the rest of my life if the enlarger can get repaired. I do not even care about autofocus at this point.

 

Has anyone had their focomat v35 repaired? Should I expect an exhorbitant repair bill? Leica seems pretty uninteresed in repairing the unit when I send them emails asking for a return shipping quote or specifics about whether I need to pack the enlarger base as well. I'd hate to spend $500 to ship the unit to New Jersey only for them to reply that they no longer service the unit.

 

What would you do in my position?

 

[TomB_tx]

The V35 doesn't seem to have as good a reputation as the older models, and I haven't heard of a repair option. I also picked one up on eBay a couple years ago, and then found a cheap one for parts. The focus on mine seems fine - once I compensated the column height for the thickness os my easel. I've tried to find a service manual, but no success.

I was also given a focomat 1b, which is simple to work on, and results close to the v35.

However, I prefer prints made with my old Omega B22XL when my old eyes can hit focus. (Which is why I got the Focomat...)

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[M.Hilo]

If I were in your place I would try to find someone with analog camera/enlargers repair background. These enlargers are all mechanical and it just takes to understand exactly how this automatic focusing works. For someone in that field this is very easy. I would first ask in the more traditional camera stores if they still use someone. Or can give you a name near where you live. Otherwise try to find any independent camera repair company and ask how you can find someone near you . . .

 

I hope you still have the ball bearing !

[stool]

I did not lose the ball bearing luckily.

 

Before I got a chance to do paulmac's suggestion I loosened the collar too far which lead to the ball bearing dropping out of the clickstop mechanism.

 

I've heard back from leica about a month ago with a Curt "send it in" to an email I sent asking if I should pack the enlarger base and all the other parts too like the negative carrier. Asks for return shipping quotes as well went unanswered. I'd like to just send the unit in, but want assurances on costs before sinking in potentially thousands on this unit.

 

I suppose one option it to sell the carrier lens and multigrade head on ebay and get my initial investment back.

 

For now I think I will follow the advice of benutzer and look for a mechanically minded camera repair technician who can reseat the ball bearing and restore the clickstop function.

[M.Hilo]

It is possible there was nothing wrong with the automatic focus in the first place. My experience is only about the Focomats IC and IIC (since 1980) and I have never had any problem with the automatic focus. Mind you, I was taught to always check the grain's sharpness and I do so with each negative I print.

 

I think you are in Canada? Just search in this Leica forum and you will find people near you too. Or open a new thread and ask ! Or find photographers who have (and still are) worked with analog equipment for a longer time . . .

[Brian M]

Hi There

I have experienced this problem recently with a newly purchased V35. Mine had already lost the ball and spring and I managed to obtain  a spring and ball bearing and fixed it myself. The dimensions are given in this article

.http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/v35.htm#Adjusting the AF

It is a fiddle to do but well within the capability of a good camera man. Mine now works fine . The other issue to play close attention to is setting the column height.This may well not be exactly the height of your easel, continue to fine tune the height by checking the focus at 5 times magnification   trial and error will establish the correct height.. You cant do this without the focus click stop in place. 

Good luck 

Brian 

 

[fotohuis]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

You can have full repair for these V35 enlargers at Kienzle in Germany. Also the head can be replaced by a cold LED light source by Heiland in Germany because the special Philips 75W bulb is out of production for a long time. In 35mm one of the best enlargers available.

[Michael Hiles]

If you are in Canada, contact Kindermann in the Toronto area. Look for Gerry Smith - he is amongst the most competent people in the world. They can certainly advise you well.

[epmul]

I purchased a secondhand Leitz Focomat V35 enlarger about 2-3 years ago and never got round to trying it out. I have just found out that the arm is very stiff and I do not want to use force. Maybe it was set up in a fixed position for transport at the time.

 

How do I release the arm (cf. photo) ?  Screwing the release knob (cf. photo) anticlockwise ? It seems very stiff and I do not want to damage the enlarger arm. Maybe a silly question but I would appreciate an intelligent answer !

 

Or do I need to lubricate the mechanism ?

 

Thanks for your advice

 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[epmul]

I have just tried again and found that the locking or release knob is actually a screw and therefore the arm now works smoothly on rotating the knob  ant-clockwise !  However, this advice might be useful for another "novice" in the same position.

[yossi]

On 12/26/2015 at 7:26 PM, fotohuis said:

You can have full repair for these V35 enlargers at Kienzle in Germany. Also the head can be replaced by a cold LED light source by Heiland in Germany because the special Philips 75W bulb is out of production for a long time. In 35mm one of the best enlargers available.

How I wish I were staying in Germany!  The Philips 75W bulb in my V35 just died and now I don't know where could I find a replacement bulb 

Any info. to contact Heiland Germany would be much appreciated.

yossi

 

 

[yossi]

Haha I've found Heiland. 

Cool product, but not sure if I could justify paying  €459,00 for the LED light source though.  

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

   Edited December 14, 2021 by yossi

[4r36]

Dear all,

Another fresh Leitz V35 buyer here, who is experiencing an issue similar to that described by the opener years ago.

The enlarger I bought is in mint condition. The big problem is the focus ring. Following the instruction manual, I tried to set up the autofocus by (I quote):

(1)  Set column height to the height of the printing easel or to 0 if you don't use an easel.

(2) Set head's position to its highest position.

(3) Focus with the large helicoidal ring.

(4) If the ring is outside the notch, unscrew the knob (17) on it and turn the ring (15) while maintaining the lens (16) with the other hand until you reach the notch. Screw the knob (17) and check the focus again.

Since I was not sure whether the helicoidal ring was in the notch, I did (4). However, nothing happened, in the sense that, when I unscrewed the knob and turned the ring while maintaining the lens, the ring simply ran around without doing anything, least of all reaching the notch. In fact, after unscrewing the knob, it was only by turning the knurled ring of the lens (16) that the helicoid system moved up and down at all.

In the end, I loosened the ring to the point of unscrewing it completely. By doing so,I found a tiny spring, which was making resistance to the act of turning, and no ball bearing. Attached you can find the pictures.

 

I would be very grateful if any of you could help me out. Did the previous owner miss the ball bearing and mess up with the spring? Is this the reason why the focus ring runs around and nothing happens? Is there any solution I can find? Thanks guys, by now I'm just confused and disappointed, as I paid a lot for the enlarger and, above all, I was looking forward to using it...

 

 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[4r36]

Sorry for the double post, but I can no longer edit the previous one. To help you understand, I uploaded two videos on YouTube.

 

In the first video, you can clearly see how the focus ring spins without making any "click": 

 

In the second video, you can see how I found the spring while turning the helicoid ring. I had to use a plier to take it out!

 

[schmidtbaer]

On 12/14/2021 at 6:38 AM, yossi said:

Haha I've found Heiland. 

Cool product, but not sure if I could justify paying  €459,00 for the LED light source though.  

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

  

The Heiland LED solution is quite nice. In particular together with their Splitgrade system. But surely for amateur users it is rather pricey.

Nevertheless, using standard electronic components it is possible to put together a DIY LED head as well as the necessary darkroom timer and grade control unit. I have build such a system during the last year and documented the result here: http://www.halide-systems.de

May be this could be of help in the future.

Edited May 14, 2022 by schmidtbaer

[Burgy]

Hi

I also have a V35 that I recently purchased that is in mint condition & came with the original dust cover, however it too has a missing spring & bearing, I have a suitable bearing & can get a spring manufactured ( a watch maker contact) but I am unsure of how they should be installed, I assume that the spring fits in a recess & the bearing on top, which engages with the detent on the focus ring. I haven't dismantled mine to the degree the poster above has, & seeing as the ball & spring left via the screw hole, it should be possible to reinstate it via the same way, (obviously one would have to line up both parts for this to work & I have a suitable pin to manage that). The focusing ring turns through 360 deg & the indent seem to be about 100 degrees from the clockwise limit, does this seem about right?

Edited October 2, 2023 by Burgy

[schmidtbaer]

Hello Burgy,

I recently got a third V35 for spare parts only

The spring and the ball have to be placed into the hole you can see on the first picture. The second picture shows where the ball will "snap in" later, to set the focus position.

I don't think there is only "alignment" of the upper and lower ring necessary. The lower ring is hold by two screws. If those are tightened, the focus can be adjusted. Once in focus, one screws is un-tightened and you turn the low ring until you fill the "snap". Now you can fix the screw again, the play with the focus and easily return to the set focus position by detecting the snap position.

Hope this helps.

Marcus

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!