Retina IIIS (from Retina Automatic III)

[pshinkaw]

Brian:

I was able to get the 1973 edition of Neblette's book from Amazon for just a few dollars. A discarded public library edition with a very robust binding. Thanks for the info.

My favorite IIIS lens is the 50/1.9 followed by the 35mm.

Richie:

You can sometimes find great deals on Retina rangefinder coupled lenses by looking at e-Bay auctions for for Instamatic Reflexes. They sometimes accompany these bodies as accessories. Just look for the "Retina-" before the name, Curtagon, Tele-Arton, Xenar or Xenon.


-Paul

 

[richiedcruz]

Brian:

My viewfinder was surprisingly clear. It is so clear compared to any other camera that I have ever gotten that I think that it may have been cleaned recently. And thanks for checking to see if you have a spare shoe 🙂

Paul:

I was thinking about getting a Retina Reflex, too, but a 35mm version since I have always been curious about what it is like to use German leaf shutter SLR's.

Bob:

It seems to me that every time I look here there is some new post about some lens or camera that I am interested in. Maybe that makes all of us co-depenedent enablers for our own GAS attacks, or whatever the term is 😀 😀

Richie

 

[pshinkaw]

I have a pair of Retina Reflex III's and an Instamatic Reflex that I am trying to rewire to a single 3 volt battery. the Reflex III's both need CLA's . One theses days I will have that done. With the Reflexes in my collection, I am able to utilize those non-rangefinder coupled lenses that I have accumuilated in various batch purchases. The Reflexes ar great for fill-flash shooting since they sync flash at all speeds.

-Paul

 

[Sonnar Brian]

The accessory shoe for the Retina Reflex-S is the same as the IIIS; the screws are also the same. A lot of parts were common between them, all the way down to the fitted case. I've transplanted the meter module from a Dead Reflex-S to the IIIS. I must add that the Reflex cameras are not reliable, and that the gears in them wear out due to the force required to lift the mirror and open the aperture of the lens to the taking position against a spring to close it down once it is released. I had a Reflex-IV rebuilt once, it lasted 5 or so years before breaking down again. I have one Reflex-S in good working condition, Ronsonol to the rescue. But, it gets low use.

 

[pshinkaw]

Thanks Brian. I'll keep that in mind before I invest too much in both of them. I may restore one for use and keep the other for spare parts.

-Paul