Kodak Retina

[badgerhill]

Anyone have any experience with Kodak Retina lenses? I'd like to try one but don't know anything about them.

[estudleon]

I had 28/4, 35/2,8, 50/1,9, 200/4,8.

They are Schneider and rodenstock, so they are excelents.

The retina reflex were camera with great distance between the lens and the film - shutter quid-, so the lenses may be especially designed to this flange. The same case of the voigtlander Bessamatics and ultramatics.

Bad: minimal disance of focus didn't be close.

The series of lenses were (If I remember all)
Curtagon 28/4
Curtagon 35/2,8 (small, good and with a lovely hood)
Xenar 45/2,8 (tessar)
Xenar 50/2,8 (tessar)
Xenon 50/1,9 (Planar design - great ligue lens)
Rotelar 80/4 may be some version in 85 and 90 mm.
tele-Xenar 135/4
Tele Xenar 200/4,8 (heavy and good, was my first lens love at 9 years)
All of this are Schneiders

You can adapt the voigtlander's lenses - the super dinarex 350/5,6 too, it was a bazooka.

Some (not all) Rodenstock were:
Heliogon 50/1,8 (Planar design - as good as xenon)
Ysarex 50/2,8 (tessar)
May be a 35/2,8 but Idon't remember now the name.

In taste, the retina reflex IV is the best, the second was the model III, but all were durables and goods cameras.

Very good luck. Enjoy the lenses.
_________________
M42: tak 3,5/28
CZJ: 4/20, 2,4/35, 1,8/50, 3,5/135MC
Fuji: , 1,8/55, 4/85,
Mamiya 2,8/135
Misc. : jupiter 9

[luisalegria]

Superb lenses, particularly the Schneider 50/1.9

This was my fathers first SLR (Retina Reflex S), and mine also. I have the 28, 50/1.9, 50/2.8 and 135 Schneiders, all excellent. I recently aquired a 200 Schneider, picked up in a deal. There were 35 and 80 also, but I never tried these. And I think other makers like Rodenstock also produced lenses for Retina Reflex, but these seem rare.

Its true about the very long minimum focus on the tele lenses, on the 135 it was 4m, on the 200 it was 9m.

The problem is - what do you use them on ?

Retina Reflex cameras were very complicated and very likely to go wrong. These days it is hard to find one in working condition. Both of mine (S and IV) are broken, with stuck shutters. They are also possibly the most difficult cameras to repair.

There is a way to use them on Viogtlander Bessamatic SLR's, as the lens mount is almost identical, but it requires a little milling work. The reliability of these Voigtlanders is almost as bad as the Retinas.

There are mount adapter from China that you can get for about $120, for Nikon, EOS, M42, etc. But thats a lot for an adapter.

Or you can make one like I did, with a T-mount -

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2405/2482526230_bdb30fc811_o.jpg

This works with the 50/1.9, but its not safe for use in the field as the lens falls out too easily, and no good with the short lenses, because the register distance isn't precise, or with the tele as they are too heavy. Maybe one day I will get the adapter.
_________________
Pentax K100D, SV, SP1000, SP500, LX, SF10, Mamiya 1000TL, Sears/Ricoh TLS, Exakta VX, VXIIb, Olympus OM-10, Nikon FM, Zeiss Contaflex B, Retina Reflex S, IV, Rolleiflex, Speed Graphic & Meridian 4x5, misc. rangefinders and folders, several dozen lenses and etc., et. al., ad infinitum.

[estudleon]

luisalegria

show us your 200 mm (there were two versions chrome and other black). I have the crome. His front element so high was my first lenses love, I saw this at 9 years in the pages of FOTOCAMERA in 1968/9. So young......

Regards.
_________________
M42: tak 3,5/28
CZJ: 4/20, 2,4/35, 1,8/50, 3,5/135MC
Fuji: , 1,8/55, 4/85,
Mamiya 2,8/135
Misc. : jupiter 9

[luisalegria]

My 200mm is black.

Yes, it has that huge front lens.

I will post a picture soon.
_________________
Pentax K100D, SV, SP1000, SP500, LX, SF10, Mamiya 1000TL, Sears/Ricoh TLS, Exakta VX, VXIIb, Olympus OM-10, Nikon FM, Zeiss Contaflex B, Retina Reflex S, IV, Rolleiflex, Speed Graphic & Meridian 4x5, misc. rangefinders and folders, several dozen lenses and etc., et. al., ad infinitum.

[luisalegria]

Here you go - I have my home-made adapter on it -



It looks perfect, but its not easy to make it functional.
_________________
Pentax K100D, SV, SP1000, SP500, LX, SF10, Mamiya 1000TL, Sears/Ricoh TLS, Exakta VX, VXIIb, Olympus OM-10, Nikon FM, Zeiss Contaflex B, Retina Reflex S, IV, Rolleiflex, Speed Graphic & Meridian 4x5, misc. rangefinders and folders, several dozen lenses and etc., et. al., ad infinitum.

[estudleon]

Thanks.

It's great, nice black.

Congratulations and enjoy this beauty glasses.
_________________
M42: tak 3,5/28
CZJ: 4/20, 2,4/35, 1,8/50, 3,5/135MC
Fuji: , 1,8/55, 4/85,
Mamiya 2,8/135
Misc. : jupiter 9