M.Hilo Posted April 30, 2017 Share #1 Posted April 30, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) This came with an older version Focomat Ic, but as far as I understand it was made for the Leitz Vasex enlarger. I am not sure but I think this enlarger was only made in the thirties. Although it fits the Focomat Ic I think it won't work with this enlarger, for sure not with the diffuser. The bulbs work and their individual switches too. 50 watts for each bulb and their brand is: LARGIPHOT 220v50 Tungsram A78T0I - I have never heard of this brand and wonder if they are as old as the lamp head? The wiring looks original and I am amazed it is still all intact. The diffuser fits well into the lower head of my Focomat IIc, but I have to remove the filter tray and possibly the condenser. The 'ears' of this diffuser seem to be meant to hold it and drop it into the lower head, and they serve to squeeze and fix the diffuser into the lamp head. Quite ingenious. I will attach two more pictures in following posts. Anyone here who has seen these items, or who worked with them? Any information is appreciated. I will print with it over the next weeks and post something about the results. Michael 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/272001-leitz-enlarger-head-with-four-lamps/?do=findComment&comment=3265750'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 30, 2017 Posted April 30, 2017 Hi M.Hilo, Take a look here Leitz enlarger head with four lamps. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
M.Hilo Posted April 30, 2017 Author Share #2 Posted April 30, 2017 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/272001-leitz-enlarger-head-with-four-lamps/?do=findComment&comment=3265753'>More sharing options...
M.Hilo Posted April 30, 2017 Author Share #3 Posted April 30, 2017 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/272001-leitz-enlarger-head-with-four-lamps/?do=findComment&comment=3265754'>More sharing options...
pico Posted April 30, 2017 Share #4 Posted April 30, 2017 Absolutely intriguing! I love the four bulb approach. Being for 220 volt, it almost reaches the single large bulbs available for the IIa or specialized Valoy at 120V but might offer better distribution of light with your diffusing device. I'm sorry I cannot help. As a Leitz enlarger(s) user I'll follow this thread with interest. I use an unusual early Valoy intended for great enlargements with an optional cooling bonnet for a hot bulb and a IIa model for medium format, true 56mm x 90mm. If you get tired of your outfit, let me know. Very Best,Pico Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted April 30, 2017 Share #5 Posted April 30, 2017 Really intriguing... and surely not easy to find... as you say, it was an accessory lamp head for the VASEX large format enlarger : Laney writes it was coded as VADIV, with 4 60W lamps, listed from 1935 to 1939. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted April 30, 2017 Share #6 Posted April 30, 2017 Really intriguing... and surely not easy to find... as you say, it was an accessory lamp head for the VASEX large format enlarger : Laney writes it was coded as VADIV, with 4 60W lamps, listed from 1935 to 1939. Luigi, do you know if were there no powerful bulbs in the Thirties, so they made it up with multiple bulbs? I certainly do not know. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Hilo Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share #7 Posted May 1, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thank you Pico and Luigi ! You have a point Pico, about the yes/no powerful bulbs being available back then With more recent Leitz enlargers (Focomat I and IIc) one needs 150watt bulbs when printing a larger size (roughly from 16X20 and up). It happens I use the 250watt bulb to print more dense negatives to 20X24 (50X60cm). You can't leave the lamp head on too long. Perhaps this lamp head was made for larger prints. What set's it apart from more recent lamp heads is that it has an open construction from the bulb compartment to the upper part. The metal is matte black and the circular openings are half closed on each end opposite of each other. This open construction points to wanting to make it possible to use longer exposure times (for larger prints). The attached picture kind off shows this open construction behind the two lower bulbs. 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! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/272001-leitz-enlarger-head-with-four-lamps/?do=findComment&comment=3265950'>More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 1, 2017 Share #8 Posted May 1, 2017 Here's some marketing text from the 30s enlarging equipment catalog "The Vasex Enlargers": "If, however, complete diffused light is desired for special purposes, as for instance to soften the appearance of much retouched plates, a special diffused light system can be fitted for the illumination system. In this alteration the upper hemisphere with its 75-watt opal lamp is simply exchanged for another with four ordinary 60-watt lamps, and a special combination of matt-surfaced an opal discs put in place of the two removable condenser lenses" [cp. http://lpp06.blogspot.de/2016/01/leica-enlarger-marketing-1930s-style.html] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted May 1, 2017 Share #9 Posted May 1, 2017 Luigi, do you know if were there no powerful bulbs in the Thirties, so they made it up with multiple bulbs? I certainly do not know. Surely in the '30s high power lamps with standard Mount did exist and where normally available - see the two items here, Leitz catalog of 1933 - of course high power brings the problem of heat dissipation... the 500W lamps of the medical device work "en plen air" (note the finder !! nice to use with an honest Elmar 50... ) , but the projektor with 400W lamp has surely a cooling system by air ventilator ; this is a problem with enlargers, because any light leak due to "holes" for air circulation has to be avoided in a darkroom. But I think that the choice of four lamps was mainly due to pursue an even illumination on a wide surface, as is for large format enlargers like the VASEX.... probably the designers evaluated that it was better not to have a single light source, even with a diffusion box under the lamp (which, is anyway rather massive and surely provides a good diffusion effect). 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! Btw... in the '30s an Hungarian Company (Tungsram) was the tech leader in bulb lamps... and the factory was destroyed by Wermacht during the German occupation in WWII... it still exists and is currently owned by General Electric Co. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Btw... in the '30s an Hungarian Company (Tungsram) was the tech leader in bulb lamps... and the factory was destroyed by Wermacht during the German occupation in WWII... it still exists and is currently owned by General Electric Co. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/272001-leitz-enlarger-head-with-four-lamps/?do=findComment&comment=3266124'>More sharing options...
M.Hilo Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share #10 Posted May 1, 2017 Thanks Andi and Luigi ! Both your posts indicate that Leitz intended to offer an accessory lamp head that produced more subtle prints than their condenser lamp heads produced. So, perhaps we should see this enlarger head & diffuser as an early cold light, or diffusing enlarging head. In other words more forgiving than the regular condenser heads. It will be interesting to try to make this work with the diffuser AND without it but with the regular condenser. The bulbs that came with it are opal and not ordinary bulbs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Hilo Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share #11 Posted May 5, 2017 Today I tried this lamp head on my Focomat IIc. Took out the filter tray and replaced it with the rectangular cover plate. Took out the condenser and put in the diffuser, which fits perfectly. Very little light came through compared to what I am used to (150 watt), even though these bulbs make up 4 X 50watt . . . Also, it was a far from even illumination. I tried without the diffuser, terrible and I tried with the IIc condenser, still very imperfect illumination. So that was it for now. Next thing is to do what Leitz suggests: to use four ordinary 60watt bulbs. I doubt if this will solve anything. Looks like the Vasex, for which this lamp head was made, was very different from the IIc Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 5, 2017 Share #12 Posted May 5, 2017 Sorry to hear it did not work out as expected. Does the diffuser work in conjunction with the regular head/150W bulb? That would at least get you to the diffused light option, even though it's not with the Frankenstein head. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Hilo Posted May 6, 2017 Author Share #13 Posted May 6, 2017 Sorry to hear it did not work out as expected. Does the diffuser work in conjunction with the regular head/150W bulb? That would at least get you to the diffused light option, even though it's not with the Frankenstein head. It does not. I just tried that and there's just too little light coming through the lens. I think I will take the four lamps out of this lamp head, then put it on my head, go to Leitz and ask my money back !! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 6, 2017 Share #14 Posted May 6, 2017 LOL. That's an fantastic idea. It's an 1h30m drive up to Wetzlar, but I'll be there to watch this... They'll probably be quite diffus.... eh. confused.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted May 6, 2017 Share #15 Posted May 6, 2017 Today I tried this lamp head on my Focomat IIc. Took out the filter tray and replaced it with the rectangular cover plate. Took out the condenser and put in the diffuser, which fits perfectly. Very little light came through compared to what I am used to (150 watt), even though these bulbs make up 4 X 50watt . . . Also, it was a far from even illumination. I tried without the diffuser, terrible and I tried with the IIc condenser, still very imperfect illumination. So that was it for now. Next thing is to do what Leitz suggests: to use four ordinary 60watt bulbs. I doubt if this will solve anything. Looks like the Vasex, for which this lamp head was made, was very different from the IIc Low illumination has a sense... the diffusion box surely does absorb much more light than a standard condenser... not by chance they originally provided 4x60W... which probably was an upper limit for power, given the rather little space reserved (even if the VASEX had some holes for air... see the picture) The problem of uneven illumination is probably related to the different dimensions of the heads (Vasex/Focomat)... i Mean, probably mounting the lamp head in your Focomat brings to a distance lamps-diffuser surface that is smaller than into the Vasex head assembly... the four distinct light sources are less "well mixed" : here is a photo of the Vasex head : 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! Pity I didn't find an old instruction manual for the Vasex... it would probably include details on the usage of the 4 lamps accessory ... Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Pity I didn't find an old instruction manual for the Vasex... it would probably include details on the usage of the 4 lamps accessory ... ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/272001-leitz-enlarger-head-with-four-lamps/?do=findComment&comment=3269557'>More sharing options...
M.Hilo Posted May 6, 2017 Author Share #16 Posted May 6, 2017 Thank you Luigi, you say what I am thinking ! Anyway, very often things in the darkroom tend to go like this. What seems to be logic is not. So one must take time and make small changes to understand. It is a learning process. I am quite sure that even if I had a Vasex enlarger it would still be like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted May 6, 2017 Share #17 Posted May 6, 2017 The Focomat II (a or c) can adjust the single bulb's location to properly illuminate. Is that not possible with the Vasex? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted May 7, 2017 Share #18 Posted May 7, 2017 Eh... Pico.. "Pity I didn't find an old instruction manual for the Vasex..." ; there are communities of experts on old Enlargers... let's wait from someone of them coming here... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Hilo Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share #19 Posted May 7, 2017 Eh ... Pico .. from the picture of the Vasex lamp head it certainly looks possible to move the lamp up and down to achieve optimal illumination. The three metal coloured and curled screws are there, just like with the more recent Focomats. My problem is I remove that top half and replace it with the four bulbs lamp head . . . that one does not allow any change of the bulbs . . . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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