The Kodak Retina thread

[Tippling]

Hi everybody, I'm Marc from Aachen in Germany and a huge fan of the fine Kodak Retina cameras from Stuttgart. I've got a small, but fine collection of these fine machines and use them regularly.
If you share the same passion, please introduce yourself and maybe your favourite Retina or photo taken with a Retina. Looking forward to read from you!

 

[leicashooter]

Hi everybody, I'm Marc from Aachen in Germany and a huge fan of the fine Kodak Retina cameras from Stuttgart. I've got a small, but fine collection of these fine machines and use them regularly.
If you share the same passion, please introduce yourself and maybe your favourite Retina or photo taken with a Retina. Looking forward to read from you!

I have a Kodak Retina 1, that was my fathers camera during WW11. He used it in the Western Desert, Borneo, Tarakan, and New Guinea, where it got infected with a tropical mould. The back door is now badly corroded and I have to tape it up to make it light tight. It is the second camera I ever used. My father gave it to me when he realized I was serious about photography, at the age of 13 years.
My father 'acquired' the camera from a German soldier in the Western Desert campaign. I later learned that a bayonet was involved. I believe the German soldier was one of Rommel's men. I regret that that soldier had not been affluent enough to match his camera with Rommel's Leica. However, I do have a very personal memento of those events, along with the many photos that my father took while he had it in those combat zones. I just wish I could find some contact with that German soldier.
The camera functions are now a bit suspect, but I can manage to put a roll of film through it and it has impressive definition, despite some light leaks.

 

[Tippling]

That is a very, very impressive history for such a small camera! So it's a family jewel. It might be worth to have i revised. Spare ones should be easily to find on Ebay or the German www.kleinanzeigen.de market with a bit of patience.

Yours looks like a type 119 model, the third version after the very first 117 from 1934 and the 118 from 1935 (Sir Edmund Hillary had one of these when he climbed Mount Everest). The 119 was manufactured from 1936 to 1938.

I've got a few pre-war Retinas as well and wish these machines could tell what they have seen in the past...

 

[Knipser]

My name is Fabian and I also have a nice
Collection of Retina-Cameras.
My father gave me a Retina IIc when I was
a young boy and told me how to use it.
Sadly I lost it. But the Virus was inside me
so I began to collect. Now only a few are
missing. Pre war ist Everything there.
It is impressing How well they were made
and take still Perfect pictures.
Best wishes from Fabian