Pulled out the Retina II type 11 with the Ektar lens- bought for $20 at a "second hand shop"... the finder on it also cleaned up well. Same conditon as the Type 14: cleaned up quite well. The finder on these two cameras compare well with my Contax IIIa color dial and the Nikon S. The Retina finders are brighter. The finders on the Contax and Nikon are in good condition. My Nikon M finder has deteriorated, and is not a good comparison.
The Retina IIa that I have is not as nice, deterioration in the beamsplitter. The worst I've seen of 6 or so IIa's that I cleaned. These cameras are 60+ years old.
The Retina IIa that I have is not as nice, deterioration in the beamsplitter. The worst I've seen of 6 or so IIa's that I cleaned. These cameras are 60+ years old.
The Leica IIIf and Zorki do not have combined VF/RF as do the Retina II series cameras. The Vito II does not have a rangefinder, just a viewfinder. I do not have a Vito II, but do have a Vitessa N, Vitessa T, Prominent I, and Prominent "1.5". All in all- the Retina II finder is on par with the Voigtlander RF's of the same period.
The Contax and Nikon are squinty, and use prisms for the splitters. The eye-relief is poor on both.
The Contax and Nikon are squinty, and use prisms for the splitters. The eye-relief is poor on both.
batterytypehah!
Lord of the Dings
Brian, can we agree to disagree? Obviously your experience differs from mine. That doesn't invalidate mine.
Viewfinder of the Leica IIIa, Leica IIIf, and Zorki- brighter and easy to see out to the edges. Combining the rangefinder image requires a beamsplitter, and the Contax and Nikon S finders are darker than the Leica and Zorki. Mine are also darker than the Retina II finders.
batterytypehah!
Lord of the Dings
I'll say it again since you insist: My Retina II is much worse than my Contax IIa. It has nothing to do with brightness or combined VF/RF. It has to do with the edges not being in my field of view. Not dim, not dark -- not there.
I rarely run into people with worse eye-sight than my own. Must be the prescription.
But I just do not have a problem using the finder on the Retina II, and my original statement that the eye relief was better than the Contax II and Nikon S was made by looking through them this evening. These cameras have squinty finders by mid 1950s standards. The Leica M3, Nikon S2, and Canon V series cameras raised the ante on useable finders, and Zeiss just did not keep up. The Retina IIC and IIIC finders are very good. For extended use - worth looking at.
But I just do not have a problem using the finder on the Retina II, and my original statement that the eye relief was better than the Contax II and Nikon S was made by looking through them this evening. These cameras have squinty finders by mid 1950s standards. The Leica M3, Nikon S2, and Canon V series cameras raised the ante on useable finders, and Zeiss just did not keep up. The Retina IIC and IIIC finders are very good. For extended use - worth looking at.
Brian Legge
Veteran
This thread inspired me to spend some time cleaning oil off the shutter blades of my IIIc which started sticking. Also cleaned the lenses a bit as they had some haze while I had the front and rear elements out. Not perfect but we'll see how a test roll goes.
The IIIc is very simple to pop the top and clean the finder. rewind knob comes off, three screws on the top plate- done. I will put together a thread on it. Same with the IIIS top plate. The Retina II- the advance knob is reverse threaded.
The IIa is the most difficult: I end up using dental floss to hold back the claw that locks the advance lever at exposure zero. It took a lot of attempts to learn that trick.
The IIa is the most difficult: I end up using dental floss to hold back the claw that locks the advance lever at exposure zero. It took a lot of attempts to learn that trick.