a question for Retina mount specialists

[f6cvalkyrie]

Hi,

I find references to KODAK Retina lenses, and to VOIGTLANDER Retina lenses.
I would like to use some Rodenstock glass on my G1, and found a Voigtlander Retina to Micro4/3 adapter.
Will KODAK Retina lenses fit on this adapter ?

C U
Rafael

[std]

You are talking about the DKL to micro 4/3 right?
The adapters will accept both Kodak and Voigtlander lenses. It is quite long Btw - the lenses will look funny on micro 4/3 but they are certainly good.

Beware that there are lenses for some retinas which cannot be used. For example 80mm f4.0 Retina-Longar-Xenon C.
Those are not DKL and are only part of the lens .. the back element is inside the camera - just the fornts are interchangeable

BR,
Stefan

[f6cvalkyrie]

thanks for your input, Stefan.

I was thinking about lenses like the Rodenstock Retina Heligon C 2/50 or the Schneider Kreuznach Retina-Xenar 2.8/50 or Schneider Kreuznach Retina-Xenon C 2.0/50.

All these lenses seem to fit to Kodak Retina Reflex cameras, so, looking at your answer, they should be adaptable to the G1 via the DKL adapter like this one ?

http://cgi.benl.ebay.be/Viogtlander-Retina-Reflex-DKL-Lens-to-Micro-4-3-adapter-/230549789898?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item35add69cca

C U,
Rafael

[std]

Do you have a picture of those lenses ?
How does the bayonet looks like?

It it is to small it will not fit.

[Sevo]

Did Kodak ever make any interchangeables or part-interchangeables at all? The only Retina with a Ektar that I had was fixed-lens.

[f6cvalkyrie]

Stefan, unfortunately, no pictures of just the lenses.
But the seller lives only a few kilometers from my place, so I could go and check once I have an adapter.

Sevo, with Ektar lenses, you're probably right.
But the lenses I mentionned come from Kodak Reflex Retina cameras and they are interchangeable.

Here's an overview of the range of camera/lens combinations

http://www.wctatel.net/web/crye/retina.htm

C U,
Rafael

[estudleon]

As you will use the voigtlander-retina lenses, take care with the fact that retina's and voigtlander's mounts are a bit differents. To use retinas (srl) lenses in my voigtlander's cams, I had to do a little modification in the lenses mount.

I don't know how do the adaptor in the retina's lenses.

Rino.

[std]

Check this out: page 9 and 10

http://www.cameramanuals.org/voigtlander_pdf/voigtlander_slr_cameras.pdf

[f6cvalkyrie]

[std]

Most probably they will.

The issue is with small difference in the bayonet between Kodak and Voigtlander camera bodies. It is made intentionally and the lens need to be modified.

For current adapters it doesn't matter if you use Kodak or Voigtlander lenses.

This is how the lens bayonet should look like. This is DKL.



And this is the one which you don't need - from 80mm f4.0 Retina-Longar-Xenon C

Note that the bayonet is smaller than DKL (the first and second lense are almost same size )

[f6cvalkyrie]

OK; Stefan, that's good news.
I'll get an adapter from ebay, and take that with me when I visit the seller of the lenses.

C U
Rafael

[Sevo]

All Retinas were made by Kodak Stuttgart (formerly Nagel). All fully interchangeable lenses for Retina series cameras were made by Rodenstock or Schneider.

Voigtländer made cameras (and lenses to go with them) with essentially the same shutter mount (Deckel DKL) as the Retina, but some tabs on the mount were explicitly added to prevent Bessamatic lens use on the Retina and vice versa. Proprietarized DKL mount cameras and/or lenses can be filed down to make them fit other DKL mount cameras/lenses - so the adapter could be hacked to fit all of them if the adapter maker hasn't already done so.

Sevo

PS (In case this thread gets read up by some Retina beginner in the future): Most Retinas are fixed lens, some higher value ones (the IIC/IIIC rangefinders and the original Retina Reflex) have part-interchangeable lenses that only swap the front element of the lens. These cannot be used on any digital. Indeed they cannot even be transplanted to another Retina without servicing, as the front element has to be collimated to match the fixed camera half of the lens. The lenses for the IIIS and the later Reflex (II, IV, S) models are what we are talking about above.

[Univer]

Hi,

I use a number of Voigtlander and Schneider DKL-mount lenses (as well as a few more obscure DKL lenses) on my Pentax K20D via a DKL adapter. While it is true that the various versions of the DKL mount have small physical differences that were intended, back in the day, to prevent mounting one maker's lens on another maker's camera, those differences are of no concern when using a modern adapter. All of the DKL-mount lenses I have tried have worked perfectly. (Note that it is not clear whether DKL lenses for the Voigtalnder Vitessa T will work; I have no first-hand experience, and the reference sources seem to differ on that point.)

@f6cvalkyrie: as others have pointed out, any Retina lens with a "C" in its name (like two of the three lenses you mention) will not work with the DKL adapter; they're not DKL-mount lenses at all. These lenses were designed for the first-generation Retina Reflex, which had a permanent rear group of lenses; the "interchangeable" lenses were add-on lenses that used the built-in lens elements as part of the optical layout. So these "C" lenses are not usable as stand-alone optics. (The Contaflex cameras used a similar system.)

So while the Xenar will very likely work with the adapter, the other two, unfortunately, will not.

Cheers,

Jon

[dof]

[estudleon]

[estudleon]

[std]

Wow Rino you are my hero !
Do you still have this 40/2 Skopagon and can you post some pics of it

Stefan

[estudleon]

No. I sold it time ago, with all my voigtlander and some leica M stuff.

I needed the money and was some satured at the time.

[f6cvalkyrie]

Hi, Retina and Voigtlander DKL lovers !

My first Retina lens and the DKL adapter are in house since this morning, and, although the weather is very gray today, I went for a short shoot at noon !

So, here's a first picture shot with a Schneider Kreuznach Retina Tele-Xenar on the G1



Thanks to all who have given me some good advice on this topic.
Now I'm off searching for more Retina DKL lenses )

C U,
Rafael

[kds315*]

No wonder you start searching Raf, as that looks pretty good to me!! Envy!!

[Bruce]

They seem a good lens
I have a small collection for my eos

28/4 CURTAGON
35/2.8 CURTAGON
50/2.8 COLOR SKOPAR
135/4 SUPER DYNAREX

[estudleon]

[f6cvalkyrie]

This quest for new lenses, adaptable to the µ4/3 mounts is like a jouney through history of photography and cameras. Very interesting !!

The DKL mount was adopted in a slightly different version by Voigtlaender.
The cameras that had that mount, are those the Bessamatics ?

C U,
Rafael

[towermax]

The 85mm f4 Tele-Arton is one of the best Retina lenses. I have all the Schneider Retina lenses, but the 85/4 is my favorite--it pretty much lives on my Retina IIIS.

There's one for sale on eBay right now for $99.00 with free shipping--that's a very good price for this lens. (I have no relationship to the seller--just saw it today.)

[f6cvalkyrie]

Hi, Towermax,

thanks for giving a lead to this lens.
Unfortunately, he ships only to the US and I live in Europe ....

Have a nice day,
Rafael