Retina IIa Review

If you are a collector of cameras, or a user of vintage cameras, there is one model that you should own -- the Kodak Retina IIa. You really would be hard-pressed to find another camera that fits in a pocket, has an all-metal construction, completely manual, and has a 50mm 2.0 Xenar lens.

First, a little bit about the Retinas. With the exception of the Kodak Ektra, The Bantam Special, Medalist, Chevron, and the Super Kodak Six-20, Kodak's premier metal-bodied cameras came out of the Nagel factory in Stuttgart, Germany. Eastman Kodak purchased the Nagel Kamerawerk in 1932, which became Kodak A.G. The first camera from the factory to use 35mm film was the Retina I, which appeared in 1934. A long series of cameras with the Retina (and lower-priced Retinette)designation appeared, ending with the Retina Reflex Instamatic camera in the 1974.

While other Retina models followed the IIa with advances such as meters, better rangefinders, and interchangeable lens elements, I think the IIa best embodies what makes a pocketable 35mm camera of its combination of quality and features. The strut-mounted lens allows the cover to collapse over it, protected from just about anything. The Schnieder Xenon f/2.0 lens in a Compur shutter with speeds from B to 1/500 sec., with X flash synch is excellent. The Retina IIa was sold from 1951-1954, meaning my two examples are both nearing 60 years old. Yet, the smooth operation of the camera and near-silent shutter is far better than many cameras of more recent vintage. The Retina IIa also features a "cold shoe" for use with an external flash (using a PC synch connector near the edge of the lens), or one could possibly use an external albada viewfinder for easier framing. Like many of its contemporaries, the Retina IIa viewfinder is rather squinty. Glasses-wearers are always at a disadvantage with the small viewfinders. The RF focusing patch works pretty well, except in low light situations, such as when I took these flash shots at a recent Ann Arbor Crappy Camera Club meetup at the Wolverine tap room. I used a small flash bracket and a modern Sunpak flash with a diffuser. The flash was set on Auto, and the camera was set at f4 and 1/50 sec to catch ambient light in the background. The beauty of a Compur leaf shutter is that the flash syncs at every speed.

This shot by Ross Orr with his Fuji 6x9 (Texas Leica) and Tupperware flash shows me with my Retina IIa setup:

(photo courtesy of Ross Orr)

This camera has the name "Edgerton" inscribed front and back. I bought this camera at an estate sale of a long-time collector in the Detroit area. I often wonder if Harold Edgerton had previously owned the camera. That would be pretty darn cool. My other Retina IIa was given to me by Bill Brudon in 2001, and that one is in even better shape, but the rangefinder needs to be adjusted.

Finally, a few samples of the shots taken with the setup described above, using Kentmere 400 b&w film:

35mm Stealth - The Olympus Trip 35

Olympus has long made some legendary cameras. While the OM-1 and its descendents qualify as some of the great compact 35mm SLRs of all-time, some "lesser" cameras are deserving of cult status. Consider the Olympus Trip 35 -- Not a whole lot to adjust. It needs no batteries, as a selenium cell surrounds the front of the lens. There are two shutter speeds - 1/40 sec and 1/200 sec, as the camera operates in "A" mode unless you set it for flash (at 1/40 sec). A zone focus camera, you can see where you have it set for via a small window that shows in the viewfinder. A thumb wheel advances the film. The shutter is pretty silent. In terms of a "stealth camera" - this one really fits the description. The 40mm f/2.8 Zuiko lens focus from about 3 feet to infinity, and is a Tessar design. The ISO range adjusts from 25 to 400. There is a PC socket and an ISO hot-shoe for flash. Some limitations, to be sure, but I have seen some really fine images taken with the Trip 35. Of course, the camera has a durable metal body and very classic styling. I think it's one of those under-rated cameras that have achieved cult status simply by doing a pretty decent job with minimal controls. A minimalist street camera that has auto-exposure. Not too shabby.

I haven't shot much with the one that I have, and that's probably just because I have too many cameras to give every one of them a lot of use. If you find one for sale, test the electronics by opening the back and pointing the camera toward a shaded area. If it's all working correctly, the lens ought be be wide open where it's darker and at its minimum in the sun. Here are a few images from mine.
Stocking up.

Wallflowers

Construction at work

How does the camera stack up with an even smaller camera such as the XA? The XA has a slightly wider field of view, is more compact, but depends on a battery for the shutter to operate. The Trip 35 has a more classic rangefinder styling, and looks remarkably a lot like the new digital Olympus Pen series. If you find one, have fun using it. Maybe you'll surprise yourself at how capable the camera really is.

The Film Rollercoaster

The past few weeks have seen a lot of postings on various forums about Kodak dropping various films, the discontinuation of Kodak's Plus-X, good announcements on new products from Harman-Ilford, and the usual speculation about the role of film in the movie industry. With all these things in mind, maybe it is time to list them and provide some good links and commentary about the roller coaster we have been on the past few months.

A shot from a few years ago, with many expired films!

The Good and Bad (you decide)

Kodak's new Portra 400. Fine-grained, superb latitude -- maybe the best C-41 color film ever. Pushing Portra: from the folks at the Film Photography Podcast
Useful reviews:
photomfa
rebophotography
figitalrevolution
twinlenslife

A new pinhole camera from Harman, with a DIRECT POSITIVE paper from Ilford. I really want to buy some of that 4x5 positive paper as soon as it is in stock. Nice video review here.

Kodak's discontinuation of Plus-X -- a great summation of this by my friend Ross Orr on his blog.

To be honest, Plus-X was never my "favorite," and in medium format, I really think Verichrome Pan is the one film that I miss. However, it did offer a decent medium-speed solution and an "old-style" look. Tmax 100 is a "better" film, and uses less silver, so I can see why Kodak would drop Plus-X. If you want a good Plus-X replacement, try Ilford's FP-4+ (which I always liked better).

If you are interested in how Kodak produces its film -- this book is for you!

Digital Cinema is making inroads that will possibly eviscerate movie film sales in the coming few years. This article has some interesting information. That's on top of the fact that companies that make professional movie cameras are now stopping that... One can argue that there are likely to be a lot of used cameras available for quite a while, but the writing is on the wall for those people.

On a bright note, however, Lomography has introduced a new camera that allows you to produce short movies using conventional 35mm film - the Lomo Kino. I was at first a bit skeptical, but after seeing what some very creative people have done, I think it's a really cool, retro, and creative tool that will attract quite a bit of interest. I have to hand it to Lomography -- they do have the ability to think "different." Maybe they should buy the Kodak film business?

So, you want to try a different B&W film? ORWO sells in the USA: $40 for 100 feet of 35mm is pretty decent. I hope someone gets a roll to test it out and post their results.

Not sure if I care about this -
Kodak is ceasing production of KODAK PROFESSIONAL ELITE Chrome 100 Film by year end 2011. Kodak's dropping of Elitechrome doesn't matter to me. I so rarely have a reason to shoot transparency films anymore, since digital accomplishes tasks that I used to use transparency films for - macrophotography, dragonfly and other insect images, images for work, color landscape work, etc. (and obviously 90% of the former users of slide film have switched). I might use a roll from time to time in my medium-format cameras, or tungsten film to be cross-processed. Given that there are no reliable local E-6 labs, everything has to be mailed out, too. However, if you find yourself shooting transparency film, Kodak recommends suggested replacement is the E100G 135-36 or Elite Chrome 100 Extra Color / EBX 135-36.

Clarification from Kodak
Kodak isn't dropping these films -- they are just changing the packaging and how they are marketed.

T-Max 400 120, will now be sold in "propacks" of five rolls
Tri-X Pan 120 400 films will also be packaged in propacks of five rolls
Kodak's Max 400 rolls of 12 exposures will cease to be offered, with the firm choosing to only market rolls of 24 frames. These rolls will be available to purchase in packs of four in the US, and in singles and packs of three throughout the rest of the world.
BW400cn packs of three rolls will now only be sold in single packs.
Read more from the British Journal of Photography and Unique Photo.

Does any of this mean that you should be concerned with obtaining film for your cameras? No. If you have been buying your 35mm film at Walgreens or some other store, well, I have news for you. Stop that at once and purchase film from a local photography retailer (if you have one), or go online to Freestyle Camera, Adorama, B&H, Ultrafine Online, and a number of other places. Heck, go to Urban Outfitters and buy film repackaged by Lomo. You'll have many choices at these stores, and the opportunity to try some films you may never have even heard of before. What you find in the department or drug store has no bearing on what's really available out there.

The Olympus Macro Stand + bellows

Back in early October I picked up an Olympus macro photography stand with the matching bellows for an Olympus OM-series camera. It's quite similar (but better-constructed) than the Minolta macro set-up that I used to own. I rarely use film for macro-photography anymore, but at a price of $25, I could not pass up the Olympus macro stand. As you can see in the photograph, I have it it set up with my OM-1 and a 50mm 3.5 Olympus macro lens. By itself, the lens does 1/2 size (1:2) maximum magnification. With a typical set of extension tubes, one can go a little larger than 1:1 (life size). With a bellows, you can go several times life size, if you want to shoot small objects, or magnify parts of larger subjects. The problem with a bellows and extension tubes, is that the working distance (the distance from the front of the lens to the subject) is very small -- from a few inches to fractions of an inch, depending on the extension. In addition, there is significant light falloff, shallow depth of field (DOF) and movement is magnified. So, the easy way to avoid some of the drawbacks is to use the camera like a microscope, by keeping the assembly locked down to a solid rail as you can see here. Typically, one would use a ringlight or a couple of small flashes near the subject for great DOF at f/16 or f/22 and to avoid camera shake. However, you can also use fiber-optic lights, and other high-intensity LED lights to get proper lighting at these close distances. The other thing to note is that there are two remote-release cables. One is for the lens (to activate the aperture prior to making the exposure, and the other operates the camera shutter. That is typical for bellows, as the lens is not linked to any actuating mechanism on the camera body.

I took a few shots with the OM-1, and here is the side of the thorax of a Canada darner dragonfly. I would imagine that if you had an OM-series adapter for your DSLR or Olympus Pen (digital), it would be a great way to shoot small things. Macrophotography is one of the great things about shooting digital!

Camera Porn! - 500 Cameras by Todd Gustavson

I was at my local Barnes & Noble bookstore and picked up this book for $15.96 (hardcover!). 500 Cameras is a wonderful book for anyone that loves the history of photography, old cameras, or just likes looking at and reading about beautiful mechanical things. This is Mr. Gustavson's second book on the subject, a sort of pared-down version of his 2009 book "Camera: A History of Photography from Daguerreotype to Digital." All of the cameras featured in 500 Cameras are from the George Eastman House Collection in Rochester, NY, where Mr. Gustavson is a Curator of Technology. While not an exhaustive guide such as McKeowns' Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras (2006), this book covers the evolution of cameras and all of the examples are beautifully photographed in color. Some of the cameras from the GEH Collection were formerly owned by famous photographers, are rare examples, or historically significant examples in the evolution and development of photography and technology. I can't think of a better gift for anyone that loves old cameras, and as I state at the top, this is pure camera porn.

If you don't live near a B&N, Amazon also sells this book, for just a bit more. It's a nice addition to my library, and while I don't have the camera collection I once had, this book makes me glad I didn't decide to collect wood view cameras, or Kodak folding cameras. That would be a never-ending quest, and believe me, this book takes up MUCH LESS space than 500 cameras. So, sit back with a copy of this book and enjoy some beautiful camera porn and interesting stories about 500 cameras.

500 Cameras, by Todd Gustavson. 2011. Sterling Signature Books. 480 pp., ISBN: 1402780869.