Retina IIa Photos

[Steve M.]

I posted some photos about a month ago from a Retina III w/ a Xenon 50 2.0 that I'd bought. Sold it, and found a IIa w/ a similar lens that is also very good. What is it about these Retinas? Must be one of the most undervalued rangefinders around. They're cheap, small, and take wonderful photos.

Here's a few from the IIa w/ $1 a roll C-41 B&W film and my usual Walgreens scans. The second photo of Jasmine the Cat shows a lot of flare, so I better get a hood on it. I love these little cameras.

[Brian Sweeney]

They are addictive. I ended up bidding on another Retina IIIS, got it for a bit over $110.

[hausen]

I just got a IIIc for NZ$100 (about US$80) and it is mint. Love mine and am just waiting for a Leica 50 evf for it because only issue I have is frame lines in mine have gone.

[hausen]

A couple from my iia

Sunset in Auckland on film. by BigHausen, on Flickr


Magnolias on film by BigHausen, on Flickr

[colyn]

I've posted this one before. It was taken with my Retina IIa with S-K lens.


barbeque by Colyn's fotografs, on Flickr

[Brian Sweeney]

Those are beatiful.

The 50/2 Xenon is a great lens, equal to a collapsible Summicron. The 50/1.9 Xenon for the IIIS and Retina Reflex-S is also first-rate. I loaded up the new IIIS after cleaning the VF/RF, cleaning the clutch-mechanism for Shutter-speed/F-Stop. Took it out with the 85/4 Tele-Arton. I'll post a thread after shooting with a few of the lenses.

[unclescarMT]

I'm nodding in agreement with all the previous posts. I have a IIc w/ the 2.8 xenon and it's no slouch. Here's a shot taken w/ tech pan/technidol combo:

Please, let's keep this little rangefinder secret to ourselves. I want more of them!

[Brian Sweeney]

Somehow I've managed to collect 20 or so in working condition, and a box of spare parts. Many of them $30 and less, brought back to life with Ronsonol.

[Steve M.]

Great photos guys. Every one of them. I'm new to Retinas, and had no idea they were this good in IQ. The Rodney Dangerfields of the photography world. It's even more amazing because these are mostly vintage folding cameras. Old folders at that.

With medium format, things can be misaligned, to a point, and you still get sharp shots. But to have these old 35mm folders make such great images is baffling. I don't know why they're such good cameras, they just are.

A couple more from my Ektar 50 3.5 that's on the Ia.

[Arvay]

Amazing pics/ I'd love to have Retina...

[Roscoe]

Seems like a great little camera. I have a IIa that I've never put film through, but unlike most I've seen with the 50/2 Xenon, mine has the 50/2 Rodenstock. Anyone have any examples?

[rbelyell]

lovely photos that show off these very underappreciated and underrated cameras/lenses. i have a iii and a iv with a full complement of S-K lenses, most of which (especially the 35/2.8, 50/1.9 and 84/4.0) are very special. i enjoy them very much when coupled with kodak elite chrome.

in addition, for some reason, they are truly spectacular lenses when adapted to my ep2. the color and clarity are almost unrivaled on that little digi-beast! curiously they do not perform well at all on my 5d.

the only negatives with this series is that they are slow and their minimal focus distance is awful. i do have the 'close up' kit, and that does work well.

[WStrew]

Thanks for sharing these. There is nothing like the iia.

[Brian Legge]

The IIas seem to be getting more popular. I saw them going for ~$40 a few months ago and was tempted. I had an IIIc - bigger, but working - so I passed. The IIIc is having oily shutter problems though now and I don't have time at the moment to fix it. I looked back at the IIas and they've definitely gone up in price.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by Roscoe

Seems like a great little camera. I have a IIa that I've never put film through, but unlike most I've seen with the 50/2 Xenon, mine has the 50/2 Rodenstock. Anyone have any examples?

The Rodenstock Heligon should be equal in performance.

I've had a Retina II (type 014) with 50/2 Xenon and a Retina IIIc with 50/2 Heligon. They were equally good.

Later I had two IIc, one with Xenon 50/2,8 and Heligon 50/2,8 and the Heligon was a bit sharper. It's important to remember, though, that the lenses on the c-models are of a different design than on the earlier models.

I sold them, but a few years later I missed Retinas so much that I bought two IIc, again with the same lenses. And this time the Heligon still is the sharper lens of the two. I now also have the wide and tele accessory lenses for them.

I'm a Heligon fan, but it's possible that I had bad luck with my Xenons. There can be some sample variation. The Xenars I have on my Ib and IB perform great.

If you look at my avatar, there's a Xenon 50/2,8 on a pre-war Retina IIa (type 150), made between 1939-41. This is actually a five element Xenar (a Xenar with an extra front element to give better corrections at 2,8) It's uncoated but a sharp fine lens.

[Dirk]

Santa Monica, CA. New to me Retina IIa with Xenon 50mm f/2.

[yek]

Some pictures with my Retina IIa and the Xenon 50/2 lens:

My daughter's friends.


A tree.


Some flowers

[Dirk]

Taken a couple hours ago. Beautiful day at Paradise Cove in Malibu, CA. Very nice Pepperdine U basketball ladies enjoying some time at the beach, just up the road from their campus. Retina IIa Xenon Kodak ProImage 100.