Retina lllC

[John E Earley]

I came across this Retina at the flea market this morning. $40 although the case is a bit ragged. The camera itself is quite nice and everything works. It has a pristine Xenon C f2 lens with clean shutter blades and all the metal work and leather are very nice. The rangefinder is clear and contrasty. The advance lever sounds a tiny bit raspy but works ok. I haven't put film through it but the meter matches my Gossen Pilot exposure value.

Anything I should do before loading any film?

The seller threw in the picture of the little girl with the birthday cake. Precious isn't she (in a past tense kind of way)

 

[colyn]

Nice find..

Don't trust the strap. It may look good but when you least expect it it will break because of age..

 

[John E Earley]

Nice find..

Don't trust the strap. It may look good but when you least expect it it will break because of age..

Thanks

Here's another view. It's still a bit smudged so I'll have to clean it up.

 

[Gumby]

That was a very nice find and an astoundingly good price. It's a great camera with great optics. It will be well worth your money to get it overhauled. The "grindy" shutter advance could be sign of imending problem and the shutter could probably use a good overhaul based entirely on age. You won't be disappointed if you have it done right!

 

[Gumby]

p.s. yes, the little girl is precious. Looks like every one of my girl-cousins back in those days!

 

[John E Earley]

Who would you suggest for service work?

 

[Gumby]

Not knowing where you are, IDK for sure. I have one I'm going to be taking to my regular guy, Steve Choi in Culver City CA, but the "go to guy" is more like Chris Sherlock in New Zealand. He's on this forum from time to time, or google his website for more information than you ever wanted to know about this fine camera.

 

[Gumby]

p.s. I'm pretty jealous at the moment.

 

[John E Earley]

p.s. I'm pretty jealous at the moment.

I tried to talk the seller down to $20 but he said it was probably worth at least $50 😀

 

[brainwood]

That's a beautiful camera.
My father-in-law had one new in the 1950's. They were very hard to get hold after the war but his brother who was mechanic with an emerging Grand Prix racing team managed to get him one in Germany. It made its way back to England in the dry sump of the racing car. The camera is still in the family, my brother-in-law has it now. Sadly it's tucked away in a drawer but seeing your camera makes me wonder if it would not be good to put a roll of film through it and see how it has survived.

good luck with yours - post some pics here if they come out ok

Chris

 

[Gumby]

I'll give you $20 for it... but no more than $40. 🙂

 

[Peter_wrote:]

congrats to your purchase!

it's a nice camera and especially the lens is great!

i have the retina IIC, which is quite indentically to the IIIC just without the lightmeter.

i have heard that one should be carefully with the advance lever. so advance gently, and don't let the lever snap back into position.

 

[John E Earley]

congrats to your purchase!

it's a nice camera and especially the lens is great!

i have the retina IIC, which is quite indentically to the IIIC just without the lightmeter.

i have heard that one should be carefully with the advance lever. so advance gently, and don't let the lever snap back into position.

Thanks for that tip.

 

[Brian Legge]

Look up how to open and load it (ie be sure to set the film counter). It's a quirky camera.

I found a $15 IIIc (little c) at an antique store. I had to clean some oil off the shutter blade but it was otherwise ready to shoot. Stunningly great lens.

 

[kanzlr]

I'd recommend Chris Sherlock: retinarepair AT gmail.com

 

[farlymac]

You also might want to download the manual at http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ When you reach the 36 mark on the frame counter, the camera will lock up, so don't let it make you think it's broken. Just push down on the little guarded button next to the counter, then slide the ridged button on the back of the camera to the right to advance the counter a couple of places. And you can't close it if the lens is not at infinity focus. If you get any of the Kodak 32 filters (actual 29.5mm screw if you get some other brand), you can leave one on the lens and still close the cover. But if you use a 32mm push-on, I don't think it will.

It's a great camera, and when I consider what all was in the box of stuff I paid $200 for (Dukes Antiques, just north of Lexington), mine probably cost just as much as yours.

PF

 

[hausen]

Superb little camera. I have the iia and iiic small c and they great little users. I use an external meter on mine and VF is a little dim but allround and great user.