praise to the kodak Retina..... IB

caila77

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Nov 1, 2005
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I truly love this little jewel: the Retina IB

There is no getting around it: although I own and have owned several cameras (some much more expensive and certainly more high-performance) I often find myself carrying a Kodak Retina IB (Type 019) with me.

I can’t quite explain why, but I feel a special connection with this 35mm folding camera. It is compact and discreet; I can easily slip it into my jacket pocket or my trekking backpack. Not to mention the quality of the lens, the sense of solidity and precision, and the reliability of the light meter.

It matters little that focusing is done by estimating the depth of field. The results are always excellent, even in difficult conditions like low light or the gray winter weather of Milan in December, and even when using a film pushed perhaps a bit too far (Fomapan 100 @ 400 ISO).
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No idea why Retinas don’t get more love — I shoot my IIa more than my Leica Ms because it’s more compact and results are indistinguishable from the much more expensive cameras. Fashion, I suppose.
Well, Retinas are old and many people don't even know they exist.

My favorite is the Retina IIc ... I have slowly accumulated three of them, all completely overhauled and serviced now. But my favorite-favorite is a Retina IIIc which I bought with a dented top and bad meter for $12. I had it overhauled like the others, and for this one I found a very bad IIc with a good clean top cover and the other required bits ... and made a Retina IIcx out of it, to get the Schneider Retina-Xenon 50mm f/2 lens (a stop faster than the IIc f/2.8 lens), assembled sans meter. It's truly a performance match to my Leica M4-2 with Summicron-M 50mm f/2 lens.

G
 
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