I had so much fun taking photos with my Kodak Retina Ia that I figured this Retinette IA (type 042) would be a hoot too. Boy, was I wrong.
I’m sure this Retinette was a very nice camera in its day. It cost $45, a little under $400 today. That was way more expensive than an average Brownie but probably quite a bargain for its fine German lens and brick-outhouse build quality. All type 042 Retinette IAs come with a Pronto shutter and a 45mm Schneider-Kreuznach Reomar lens at f/2.8. Earlier Retinette IAs (types 035 and 037) have different shutter/lens combinations. The later type 044 Retinette IA has a hot shoe and either a Prontor 250S or 300S shutter. These cameras all look much the same otherwise.
I have written before about the perils of buying old cameras on eBay, and I learned as soon as I put my eye to the viewfinder that I fell into one of them with this camera. One of the pieces of glass inside the viewfinder had worked its way loose – maybe it happened in shipping, or maybe the seller just neglected to mention it in the listing. Whatever, the glass’s funky angle blurred the view – instant myopia! – making framing shots difficult.
I have written before about the perils of using a camera without reading the manual first. I took a bunch of shots before I realized that the camera’s focus scale is in meters, not feet. I got a lot of out-of-focus photographs.
I have not written (but believe me, I have stories to tell) about the perils of old-camera mechanical problems related to age and disuse. I was able to shoot only 11 photos before the film jammed in the camera. I was able to rewind the film, and so I did, and so I called this experiment a failure.
I had better luck with my other Retinas and Retinettes. Check out my reviews of the Retina Ia (here), Retina IIa (here), Retina IIc (here), Retinette II (here), Retina Automatic III (here), and Retina Reflex IV (here). Or check out all of my camera reviews here.
I loaded some Fujicolor 200 and carried this camera around with me for a couple weeks. This was the most interesting composition, but I underexposed it badly and had to breathe life into it in Photoshop. You might guess I took this shot the day after Halloween.
When I focused correctly, the lens was capable of good sharpness. The controls all worked smoothly. If only the viewfinder wasn’t messed up.
This is probably the best photo from the roll, uninteresting as it is. I was really off my game in choosing interesting subjects.
To see more from this camera, check out my Kodak Retinette IA gallery.
I chose to shoot with my Retinette IA this time because blogger Kristarella had so much good luck shooting with hers. Maybe she used up all the Retinette karma. Maybe I just had a bad few days with this camera. Either way, I did not fall in love with this camera and passed it on to a collector who thought he could repair it.
If you like old film cameras, check out all of my reviews here!
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