mardi 4 janvier 2005

Focomat Enlargers Seeing the Leitz in the dark "Ernst Leitz, Wetzlar" is a name synonymous with traditional cameras... in particular the 35 mm rangefinder, but also in recent years with the SLR. Whilst "precision" and "quality" are words which easily spring to mind to describe products from the Leitz factory the word "autofocus" certainly isn't... although the company has made a few compact AF cameras of late. Whether they will ever make a fully specified autofocus 35 mm SLR is open to debate, but that day may be nearer now that the company and factory is "The Leica Camera Group" based at Solms. What many photographers do not appreciate is that Leitz has also made a number of enlargers over the years and for several different formats including 24 x 36 mm (the original Leitz 35 mm miniature format), 24 x 18 mm (the ciné format), 4.5 x 6 cm (the film and plate size for folding vest-pocket cameras) and 6 x 6 cm, or to be more precise, 6.5 x 6 cm (the 2.5 x 3.5 inch size for many other folding cameras also of the period). Whilst they have apparently avoided the AF route with cameras and lenses they have been fully involved in the design, production and, until recently, continual refinement of autofocus enlargers since 1934. Update 15 June 2007 : This article has been moved and can now be read on my new expanded web site 20/20 Visions 9:31:55 PM    comment []