*The Collection
*Kodak - Nagel
*Folding Retinas I
*Folding Retinas II
*Retina Reflex III
*Retinette |
Kodak Retina III S
1958 - 1960
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The story of the Kodak Retina
III S is unfortunately a short story that began in 1958 and ended in 1960.
To me, the Retina III S is the culmination of all the non-folding Retinas
and represents a remarkable technical success and accomplishment that
unfortunately and apparantly were not a commercial succes since it was
discontinued after only 2 years. Only a little over 45000 were made, and my
guess is, that Kodak wanted to put all their effort in the constantly growing SLR
market by focussing on the Retina Reflex series introduced in 1957. Maybe
that was not entirely a good decision all together. The rangefinder users
tend to be a loyal and hard headed group of photographers, which Leica
probably prooves better than no other manufacturer. The fact is, that the
Retina III S are an awesome rangefinder which offers not only a built in
lightmeter, rangefinder and a bright viewfinder with parallax
correction, but also offers a nice range of interchangeable lenses of very
good quality. Similar to f.e. Contax and the "Contax grip" you've got to get
the "Retina grip" and get familiar with the quirks and special ways of
operation, but in those days cameras often had their own personality and style
related to the specific brands and makes. A car is not a car. A 1958 Citroen
handles and drives very differently than 1958 MG or a Mercedes Benz. If you
want a rangefinder out of the ordinary, and have the patience to collect a set of lenses,
the Retina III S should be right there on top of your list. Spend the money
needed for a total CLA, and take the time to get to know this wonderful
rangefinder and you'll enjoy evry minute of using it. And that's a promise
;-). |
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Design icons of the German
car industry in 1958 |
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Retina
III S (027) -
(1958 -1960) RF
Serial no.:
71825 + 76066 + 78530
Format:
24 x 36 on 35 mm film (135)
Optics: Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon 1:1,9 50 mm
Shutter: Synchro Compur B + 1 sec. => 1/500 sec.
Misc.: Gossen lightmeter, external match needle metering
Interchangeable lenses, Deckel-Retina (S) bayonet mount
Accs.:
Schneider-Kreuznach
Xenar 1:2,8 50mm
Schneider-Kreuznach Retina Curtagon 1:2,8 35mm
Schneider-Kreuznach
Retina Curtagon 1:4 28mm
Schneider-Kreuznach Retina Tele-Arton 1: 4 85mm
Schneider-Kreuznach Retina Tele-Xenar 1: 4 135 mm
Schneider-Kreuznach
Xenar 1:2,8 45mm (no RF cam)
Schneider-Kreuznach Retina Tele-Xenar 1: 4,8 200 mm (no RF cam)
Sample pic here
Left the Xenon 1:1,9 50 mm
standard lens. Usually you will find the Retina IIIS with the Xenar
1:2,8 50mm shown middle and right on photo.
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Taking into
consideration that the Retina III S are a mid cost rangefinder it
has a lot to offer, Apart from the interchangeable Schneider lenses
mentioned above there are a similar range made by Rodenstock.
Actually I don't really now just why Kodak had these 2 similar
ranges of lenses available. All the lenses for the III S can also be
used on the Kodak SLR's Retina Reflex S, III and IV. However
it is not always the case the other way around. When looking for
lenses for your III S just have to make sure, that the lens has the
Rangefinder cam (RF cam) or else the lens will not engage the
rangefinder on the III S. Below is a pic af the RF-cam. After the
Retina III S was discontinued, Schneider and Rodenstock continued to
make lenses for the Kodak SLR's but they were often without the
RF-cam, so watch out !. Other unique features are the
viewfinder brightlines, that automatically changes when you
change lenses, moving depth-of-field indicators and the parallax
correction. The Retina III S most (in)famous quirks are the
aperture setting wheel below the lens (see pic below) and the manual
reset framecounter that blocks the shutter when it reaches max.
exposures. The aperture wheel operation does takes some
getting used to just like the EV value interlock but at the end of
the day, when you are looking at the pros and cons of the Retina III
S, there are more pros than cons. No other rangefinder offers
the possibility of switching lenses with SLR's and have brightlines
that automatically changes when you change the lens. Finally you can
collect a fine set of superb Schneider or Rodenstock lenses for much
less than most other rangefinder cameras and can also use them on
your Kodak SLR.
But wait ! Theres
another unique possibility !. A minor modification of the S-bayonet
on your lenses will make you able to use all the lenses on
the Voigtländer Bessamatic SLR too !. I will describe this in
details on the Voigtländer pages. |
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Click on thumbnails below to view
lenses and details
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Xenon 1:1,9 50 mm |
Xenar 1:2,8 45mm (no RF cam)
Scale focusing only |
Curtagon 1:2,8 35mm
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Curtagon 1:4 28mm
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Tele-Arton 1:4 85mm
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Tele-Xenar 1:4 135 mm
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Tele-Xenar 1: 4,8 200 mm
(no RF cam) Scale focusing only |
The Deckel S bayonet |
Manual reset frame counter
and match needle window |
Aperture setting wheel
and lens release button |
RF cam |
Lens selection |
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