'Russian' Enlarger design updated

The title of this Blog has caused some thought today as it is all too common to use the words 'Soviet' 'Russian' and various combinations of CCCP and USSR when making reference to the makers of these enlargers. It is difficult to be precise about the present subject as the literature originated from Ukraine and I have never seen the actual enlarger concerned.

It would appear that the history of amateur Enlargers, from what I will call Russia, is well known  following the immense popularity of  Zenith and similar products in the period roughly 1960-2000 when quality 35mm film  cameras were both sought after and expensive in UK.  A gap in the market was identified and filled with the arrival of a compact enlarger which packed into a suitcase and is well represented on Ebay to this day.  I shall not dwell on this particular machine except to say that it provided a very adequate introduction to enlarging for many.   It was followed by a streamlined version that should have been even more attractive but the days of the enlarger were numbered with the arrival of Digital cameras.

Never available in this country was an even later development which is  interesting in that it appears to draw on the design and appearance of the Leitz/Leica v35,   the last enlarger offered by Wetzlar.

I can only suggest that any reader who can correct what I write about the FOMO enlarger sends me either a email (see header page) or a message in the comment section and I shall do my best to correct things. The FOMO is an attractive machine in the same shape as the Leica v35 and working with a single spring arm and I suspect auto focusing cam. The precise lens employed is unclear but the light source is a small mains bulb of the type seen on earlier designs. The base board and column are much updated but lighting is by double condensers rather than the diffusion system.

I think it best that I show some illustrations from the handbook I have recently obtained, dated Feb. 1985,  leaflet printed in 1984.

Needless to say I should be interested to hear from anyone who uses one of these machines, in particular to learn what lens was used as I have a number of the later lenses which have become available on the market.