I have the opportunity to purchase a used Leica V35 with a color head, in excellent condition. The asking price is $1200 and I am wondering if this is a reasonable price.

I would be using the enlarger primarily for B&W printing. Are there any problems with this that you know of, or would you recommend trying to get ahold of a B&W head?

I am a novice photographer who is just trying to get some higher quality prints than my low grade Besseler can put out, and heard that this is a great enlarger. Thanks for the help.

-- Carrie Lennon (carrielennon@hotmail.com), July 18, 2001

Answers

Carrie, the V35 is a great enlarger that I'm sure you'll be happy with, if all you need it to do is 35mm. I have had mine for about 5 years now (it replaced a Saunders 4X5). I do only B&W and have the color head and am very satisfied, as it is a diffusion head (much like a cold light head), plus you have the benefit of using the color filters for contrast control. The lens is superb, better than the Schnieder Apo I was using before. And surprisingly the autofocus comes in very handy, especially when making large prints. You don't say what currency the $1200 is in, but in Shutterbug, good used V35's go for upto $2000.00 US. List price for the V35 when it was discontinued (about 5 years ago) was about $3

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), July 18, 2001.

I am an vocal advocate of the V35 enlarger. $1200 is probably a reasonable price for a good V35, although I don't personally like using a color model for B&W printing. Having said that, I gotta say that if you already have a Besseler and your prints aren't good enough then what you need isn't a new enlarger. Used premium quality 50mm f:2.8 enlarging lenses go from $50 (Rodagon, Componon, El- Nikkor) through $125 (Componon-S) through $250 Apo-Rodagon. However, most of the time, if your prints aren't good enough it's because your negatives aren't good enough. I'd say that at this point you need some personal advice from an experienced, competent darkroom worker.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), July 18, 2001.

Thanks for the advice and input, I appreciate it.

I am currently using a Besseler Cadet that cost $199 brand new with the lens and is probably the lowest quality enlarger you can buy, but it sufficed until I could afford something better. I have printed the same negatives on better enlargers at workshops and labs with a definite improvement in quality, so I think I'm on the right track.

-- Carrie Lennon (carrielennon@hotmail.com), July 18, 2001.

Carrie, definitely give the V35 a try. The Cadet was meant to be an entry level enlarger for students and is neither sturdy, nor built with a lot of precision. Spending money on a good lens for this enlarger would be a waste of $$.

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), July 19, 2001.

Carrie

I have used a V35 for years. It is generally agreed to be the King of 35mm enlargers and is the apple of the eye for black and white enthusiasts. I have never done colour enlarging, but I believe that it is equally excellent.

What I would suggest is that you consider getting the Multigrade head if you intend to use multigrade black and white paper. It is a dream to use for multigrade.

I am sure that users of the purely black and white head will be able to contribute their advice. I have one, but never used it.

For me, the V35 is the ultimate enlarger. Perhaps even the last of an era - it's not made any more (but Leica still supply spares, negative carriers, etc.) Keep it long enough and you will have an antique!

James

-- James Harper (drjh@btinternet.com), July 22, 2001.

The price sounds OK, just make sure that it comes with the original Focotar lens (enlarger and lens are matched, has to do with the auto focusing feature) as well as a negative carrier (they some times get lost). Try to locate the instruction manual. The dichro head is fine for V.C. papers. Read Steve Anchell's book on printing with V.C. papers, you'll find useful filter settings for starters. After sometime you might want to do some testing as suggested and described in detail by Paul Butzi,- see his web site.

Good luck.

-- Hans Berkhout (berkhout@cadvision.com), July 22, 2001.

The recent prices on eBay seem to be several hundred dollars below that.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), July 24, 2001.

Carrie

The V35 is a good enlarger but the colour head is a pain to use for B&W vc in my opinion and if you ever want to try medium format you need another enlarger, $1200 also sounds a litle high to me, I recently bought one privately with colour head and 40/2.8 Focotar for about $500 USD in the UK. Good luck

-- jason hall (jason@jbhalldotfreeserve.co.uk), July 24, 2001.

I would get a Heiland Splitgrade head for the V35. It has really helped me to get to the final print much quicker and with less pain. It runs about $1000 but remember it has a densitometer built into it...

-- Russell Brooks (russell@ebrooks.org), July 25, 2001.