Retina II Type 142 Question

[EPPaar]

Almost every Retina II Type 142 I have seen has a badly clouded lens. I have two questions.

1) Is this a problem with this particular model?

2) Can it be repaired?

Thanks for helping.

Peter

 

[colyn]

Many of these pre-war Retinas were stored over the years in damp or otherwise improper way. As a result many have balsum separation which causes cloudiness in the lens. It can be fixed but is a rather expensive job.

There are still a number out there that have clean/clear lens and can still be found cheap..

 

[EPPaar]

The only copies of this particular Retina (Type 142) I have seen for sale in the last two years with out a fogged lens were made for the European market. While this problem occurs in some cameras, I have never seen it appear in apparently every copy. I know some Leica lenses have the same trouble.