Kodak Retina iiC - Vintage Mechanical Camera

For some time I wanted to buy a real analog camera to take some film. We still have my wife's Canon from the 90s left but this is an electric camera. I wanted to find a real mechanical one, preferably from after the war. There is plenty of e.g. Leica available but they sell for a very high price e.g. 2000 USD for a good model. I have been visiting flea markets every weekend to see if I could find one to save or something with similar quality as Leica. I have found a few Leica but they were all in bad condition and probably impossible to restore.

Last weekend we visited the flea market in Bern. One trait of the best models was that they had radioactive lenses for reduction of chromatic aberrations. When my radioactivity detector started to scream I knew I had found something.

Kodak is not famous for their high quality cameras. However, in the 50s they purchased a German manufacturer - in those years all quality cameras came from Germany and there were actually many of them. Thus, over night, Kodak became a leading manufacturer of very high quality cameras. The camera has interchangeable lenses.

This Kodak Retina iiC was manufacturedaround 1955-1957, probably. It is not the first series of this model. Back then the camera retailed for about 1200 USD in todays money. I paid 30 USD for this camera which I feel is very little for what I got, a piece of photographic history. The Kodak Retina series was made to compete with Leica and is considered of almost similar quality.

The camera is beautiful - the focus is very smooth and everything is easy to adjust. The leaf shutter is extremly silent, everything feels just right.

The camera is a Rangefinder. This means that in addition to final image you also see what is around. This makes it easier to compose and ensure that nothing is left out and no opportunities missed. A modern camera will not show you what is outside the image.

The camera has 4 scales

• Exposure value - this model has no light meter so you need to estimate it visually or e.g. use an app on the phone. 12=Bright sunlight, 4= fairly dark room
• Aperture, from 2.8 to 22
• Exposure time, ranging from 1 s to 1/500 s
• Depth of field

How to Use

There is no battery in this camera so when you want to take a picture you must first "load" the camera. On the bottom you have a lever to load film and tighten the spring for the leaf shutter.

To make one exposure

1. Measure light (EV, exposure value) using an app on the phone
2. Chose EV from the lower scale. Aperture and speed are now fixed - they are interlocked. You can not go wrong.
3. Compose the shot and choose the compromise between exposure time and aperture.
4. Focus and check depth of field - The focus is very nice. In the middle there is a diamond - when the diamond is sharp then you know you have the focus correct.
5. Shoot the picture

There is also a 10 s delayed exposure so that you can join in the picture.

Example Images

The camera is fully functional. I do not have images but next spring I will load the camera with film and try. I will buy some special color/B&W film and shoot when there is a special occasion.

Here are some pictures in B&W on another site link

Here are some pictures in color link