# Antique hunting ...



## dxqcanada (Aug 10, 2018)

Spawned by @Dany and @IanG, I went to an Antique Market (which I don't normally do) ... cause they really find some interesting stuff ... I was expecting to find very over priced stuff (and most of the cameras were) ... I lucked out at a junk pile.

Kodak Retina II type 142 in pretty good shape ... hmm, nice German camera.
Second version after the failure of the first one with the faulty winding arm.




Kodak Retina by Dennis, on Flickr

It should clean up nice.


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## compur (Aug 10, 2018)

Nice.

I have a couple of Retinas.

Retina collecting used to be a big deal. The goal was to have one of each model (and there were _a lot_ of models).


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## dxqcanada (Aug 11, 2018)

I've kept an eye out for one of these, but I can see why people want to collect these ... you can feel the quality of them (very un-Kodak).


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## compur (Aug 11, 2018)

Yes, most are very nice indeed. Made by Nagel, an old high-end German manufacturer bought out by Kodak. Some models have Kodak lenses but most have Schneider and a few have Rodenstock. The II-series and III-series were the high end models. The "II" models had rangefinders and the "III" models had RFs plus meters. Then there were the "C" and "S" models which also had interchangeable lenses.

I have a IIIC and a IIIS and one or two "I" models.


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## Derrel (Aug 11, 2018)

Somewhere around here I have a Retina I, made from 1946-1949....no rangefinder, just the viewfinder and focus by scale. I read @compur's comments about there being many Retina variants...checked it out on Wikipedia, and Wow! are there ever a lot of Retina variants!  Kodak Retina - Wikipedia


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## compur (Aug 11, 2018)

Retina collecting is/was a complex hobby. There were certain lens/shutter/body combinations which were more rare than others. And, certain models weren't exported to the US making them more rare and desirable, etc. For example, Rodenstock-lens models are more rare in the USA and usually fetch a higher price.

But, they're all really nice little jewel-like machines with fine lenses. Well, all but the last two models: the S1 and S2 which were plastic and not up to the Retina standard. There were also the Retinette models which were a lower cost alternative. Not as nice as the Retinas but some of them are still of interest to collectors (if there still _are_ any collectors).

And then there were the Retina Reflex SLRs which never had a great collector following. They are usually found these days in non-working condition and too complex to repair. But, the SLR lenses will fit the Retina IIIS rangefinder camera (a rare case of SLR & RF using the same lenses) though not all of the SLR lenses can couple to the rangefinder on the IIIS.

The SLR lenses can also be adapted to various DSLR mounts so they are still of some interest for that purpose.


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## Gary A. (Aug 12, 2018)

I want one!


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## epatsellis (Aug 13, 2018)

I have one for sale, I’ll have to dig it up and see which model it is. 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ysarex (Aug 13, 2018)

Gary A. said:


> I want one!



How badly? I have a Retina IIC working and in very good cosmetic condition with the complete matched set of Rodenstock lenses (35mm, 50mm, and 80mm). When I cleaned out all my film gear and antique collection I saved this one -- it's a thing of beauty. Open to offers any time. 

Joe


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## dxqcanada (Aug 13, 2018)

Jeez, now everyone wants to sell off their Retinas !!


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 13, 2018)

Get out of the way Gary!! lol


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## compur (Aug 13, 2018)

My Retina IIIC and IIIS:







... but they're not for sale.


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