Kodak Retina IIa

[David]

Picked up an old Kodak Retina IIA at an estate sale on Friday. So I've gotten two of my three rolls back, and it works beautifully. As soon as I have scans, I'll post those. In the interim, I took some photos of it with my macro lens, and a few other lenses, and wanted to share some of the results.


Firstly, here is the camera closed and sitting there.


Here you can see the shutter blades.


Here's a dramatic angle.


I love how the bellows fold arms are in focus as well as part of the logo.



Two similar shots with slightly different post-processing (one received a sepia filter and the other a cyan filter)


It's as though it's looking into you, into your soul, and judging. Silently judging. And there's no way to know if it likes what it sees.


The last one, but not the best.

The distant shots were taken on a tripod at various shutter speeds with two flashes. One, on the camera, pointed variously at 45 degrees up or 7 degrees down, depending on the subject. Typically, I had it at 45 degrees with the diffuser set at an additional 45 degrees. I also used a secondary flash that I held in my hand and could point in different directions as needed to achieve lighting effects.

Here is the whole album:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102333270936007447976/KodakRetinaIIA?authkey=Gv1sRgCNvgsuvvmKaHGw

The photos are turning out very well and I'll try to have some later this week.

[cooltouch]

Looking forward to seeing some pics from this little jewel. The IIa is my favorite Kodak Retina.

[Nesster]

+1 on that.

[Attila]

Congrats!!!

[rbelyell]

yes, i am as well...i am a big retina fan. i believe this particular version also came with a kodak ektar lens.

[Attila]

With Ektar is rarest production was stopped due ww2.

http://forum.mflenses.com/kodak-retina-iia-ektar-5cm-f3-5-type-150-sensia-100-t40769.html

[rbelyell]

i have seen a few ektars on ebay recently. they tend to be more expensive, but i think you can find them...

[David]

Here are some of the photos I've taken with the Retina IIa:

Here is a link to the entire album: https://picasaweb.google.com/102333270936007447976/KodakRetinaIIA


Lime Ridge. I love how he film came back looking like a grainy, old photo. I always assumed graininess resulted from film quality, not lens function. Infinity focus, f11, 1/100th or 1/250th, I forget.


This is a bit more grainy than the actual photo, due to the scanner at work being for documents and not really for photos. Infinity Focus, f16, 1/250th.


Thistle. It could have been taken in 1952. Or it could have been taken Saturday. Who knows? (Hint: It was taken Saturday.) 3.5-foot focus, f11, 1/500th.


Mt. Diablo. Infinity focus, f16, 1/50th.


Bocce! 50-foot focus, f5.6 or f8, 1/125th.


Alcatraz. Infinity focus, f16, 1/80th

[rbelyell]

very nice david, and typical i think of what you can expect from your cam. i dont know what fiom you used, but if you want to brighten up the colors a bit try ferrania. ive also had good luck on retinas with kodak elite chrome.

[Arninetyes]

I received a Retina IIa from my father a few months ago. I finally dug out my light meter and put a roll of film through it.

First, I've never used a rangefinder camera before and found that it takes some serious practice to get it focused in the right place. I think a lot of the difficulty is that the Retina has a very tiny viewfinder. Still, after some practice, it worked. It's an amazing little camera; it's built very well, works beautifully, and, in the right hands (not mine, yet) looks like can perform beautifully. It's a shame no one makes anything like it now--for an affordable price.

Anyway, here are a couple shots from the roll. Most of the roll looks like I didn't know how to focus, which is true, and there were three that were seriously underexposed. Takes a little practice.

The film was Fuji Velvia 50 and the roll was scanned at the same time it was developed.

First, a shot taken in an Ford repair waiting room. The V10 engine cutout was just begging to be photographed. Taken about five feet from the subject, shot at f/4. Most of the light came from the large window, outside the frame to the right, but some light came from overhead flourescents lending a greenish hue to the image.


The second shot was taken on a cloudy day in a local shopping center. Shot at f/11.

[GrahamNR17]

Wow, that's a honey I think the IIa was my favourite of the Retina range. I'm a little bit envious

[luisalegria]

Beware !

These are notoriously trouble prone. The weak point is the shutter cocking linkage.

Many of these on ebay aren't functional and they are difficult to fix. For an amateur anyway.

The Compur shutter is often jammed - which is normal for old shutters - and this causes a jam in the cocking mechanism,
sometimes the cocking rack (straight metal piece with teeth that engages with a gear) "jumps" some teeth when forced,
possibly even breaks or wears them down. Just re-aligning this, because of all the other bits it interlocks with, is not easy.

I know from bitter experience !

[Arninetyes]

[erkie]

Maybe mine is odd. But I have used it continuously since 1979 and my grandfather used it before then since it was new. I almost had it CLA'D last year because of stiff focusing while in Winnipeg. But it was peachy again after it warmed back up above -40 degrees . So I nixed the teardown.

[Arninetyes]

[erkie]

I would at the very least make sure it is lubricated properly. Mine has never sat idle for more than a few weeks so maybe that helps to keep things from stiffening up. And I do not do particularly rapid windings with any of my cameras but that's just me the intense cold really had me worried and I don't look to subject it to further minus zero temperatures .

[Arninetyes]

[erkie]

I have never personally seen a service manual. I have an owners manual but it is of no help with anything technical. I have lubed the focus Twice and winding mechanisms once in my lifetime. Not sure if it was ever done prior to me. I would never recommend it to a novice but if you have serviced other cameras before ,I would not hesitate. I have cleaned the shutter a couple of times and adjusted the RF once. Adjusting the RF is something I NEVER wish to repeat. It's not difficult to get close but It's very time consuming to get perfect. By far the hardest RF to adjust That I have tackled. But I haven't done that many