You're the man when it comes to the Retina cameras. I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of your videos Chris. I had no idea about the Kodak Retina IIIC until one came up for sale on my local Craigslist for $20! It works perfectly with the exception of the rangefinder image being slightly off vertical. The focus is tack sharp, but it kind of bugs me, so I'm not sure if I'm going to live with it being off, or make the adjustment yet. I don't want to fiddle about and mess it up. Your video gives me confidence to make the adjustment, so Cheers!
Thank you Chris again for all your videos. On the big C the adjustment for min focus is replaced by just a little nut and the rule of thumb is to adjust it to match min focus, check at infinity, move the minimum focus eccentric so that you halve the error margin at infinity (without using the main adjustment eccentric) , adjust minimum focus and you should have both correct. The minimum focus eccentric should be turned a bit counter clockwise if the minimum focus is matching but at infinity the mark moves further left then infinity (the arm is going too far back so you need to turn the eccentric to push the arm a bit forward at infinity) and it should be turned a bit clockwise if you have the issue that it does not reach infinity. I highly recommend paying more attention to minimum focus with a focusing screen and a very high magnification loop as the rangefinder is most usefuly when actually taking photos of things that are closer to you than infinity. On that note: Infinity on Retina cameras (at least the ones I worked on) almost always focus further than infinity (20 meter mark or so). Use a collimator to check infinity, remove lens block after marking the infinity position of the focus collar on the aluminum block behind, turn the focus collar to loosen first the hidden screws behind the rangefinder ring, turn back to the mark, loosen the rest and set it to infinity, reattach the lenses and check with the collimator for infinity. I dont know why they focus further than infinity, I just know they do, and much more than any focus shift there could be.
Thanks for these tutorials, Chris. You make these tasks easy to understand and perform. You do us all a great service by providing this information! Thank you.
Thanks for this very Clear description, I could adjust my retina III c easily. I checked with a ground glass on the film plane what is the minimum focus distance, and I found it to be 66 cm which is quite remarkable for a camera of this age, usually the minimum distance is 100 cm. I adjusted the range finder accordingly. I've overlooked the retina for too long and I really think it's among the best of the non auto exposure rangefinder. I have a Voigtländer Vitessa L, and though I like it a lot, it definitely does not stand the comparison with the Retina, and I'll soon sell it.
Great video! Many thanks. I followed the instructions and was able to make adjustments to a very ugly but otherwise perfectly functional IIc that I rescued from a junk store bin (along with an extra 80mm lens) for 12 dollars. I was able to get the close distances adjusted correctly. However, whenever I adjust the infinity distance it will not hold. I will move down from infinity to closeup, and when I go back to infinity the rangefinder just stops moving at about 5-6 feet (no problem with the focus ring itself). It appears to me the arm in the slot slips, as there is another 2-3 mm it could go back further (i.e. closer to the camera body) - however it simply stops at the 5-6 point. I can push it back with my finger, but I cannot replicate that through the movement of the focus ring. I tried a number of combinations of distance and closeup adjustments, but the slippage occurs every time. Both of the release screws (close up & distance) are tight. Any suggestions?
Probably the rangefinder is sticky and the return spring does not reliably return the arm to the infinity position. It will need to be removed and stripped down.
@@ChrisSherlock Thanks! It sounds a little beyond my skills! Probably I will just use it as viewfinder, or with my old Watameter rangefinder. Plus, I understand the rangefinder would not work with the 80 mm lens. Is that correct?
I got a IIIC (big C) a few years ago and finally getting around to working on it. Everything is great except the rangefinder is way off (slight bit of oil on the shutter but the timing is still right so I'll hold off on working on that for a bit). But this video has a different rangefinder style than the one I am working with. I can adjust the rangefinder mechanism a similar way; however, I have run into the problem that if it is correct at infinity, then it isn't correct at the shorter distances. How do I adjust this on the big C rangefinder?
Basically the same as for the IIa or IIc, IIIc types. You need to change the angle of the cam at the tip of the rangefinder arm. In the case of the IIC and IIIC you need to loosen the nut on the top and rotate the cam at the bottom until you can get the distant and near adjustments correct. Of course as soon as you disturb the close-up settings, the infinity end shifts too. It can be a very time consuming business going back and forth between the adjustments.
@@ChrisSherlock I took my apart and there were no screws... Fortunately I had some stuff laying around. on the other hand My Rewind lever clicks like a ratchet its kinda rough.
You're the man when it comes to the Retina cameras. I can't tell you how grateful I am for all of your videos Chris. I had no idea about the Kodak Retina IIIC until one came up for sale on my local Craigslist for $20! It works perfectly with the exception of the rangefinder image being slightly off vertical. The focus is tack sharp, but it kind of bugs me, so I'm not sure if I'm going to live with it being off, or make the adjustment yet. I don't want to fiddle about and mess it up. Your video gives me confidence to make the adjustment, so Cheers!
Thank you Chris again for all your videos. On the big C the adjustment for min focus is replaced by just a little nut and the rule of thumb is to adjust it to match min focus, check at infinity, move the minimum focus eccentric so that you halve the error margin at infinity (without using the main adjustment eccentric) , adjust minimum focus and you should have both correct. The minimum focus eccentric should be turned a bit counter clockwise if the minimum focus is matching but at infinity the mark moves further left then infinity (the arm is going too far back so you need to turn the eccentric to push the arm a bit forward at infinity) and it should be turned a bit clockwise if you have the issue that it does not reach infinity. I highly recommend paying more attention to minimum focus with a focusing screen and a very high magnification loop as the rangefinder is most usefuly when actually taking photos of things that are closer to you than infinity. On that note: Infinity on Retina cameras (at least the ones I worked on) almost always focus further than infinity (20 meter mark or so). Use a collimator to check infinity, remove lens block after marking the infinity position of the focus collar on the aluminum block behind, turn the focus collar to loosen first the hidden screws behind the rangefinder ring, turn back to the mark, loosen the rest and set it to infinity, reattach the lenses and check with the collimator for infinity. I dont know why they focus further than infinity, I just know they do, and much more than any focus shift there could be.
Thanks for these tutorials, Chris. You make these tasks easy to understand and perform. You do us all a great service by providing this information! Thank you.
Thanks for this very Clear description, I could adjust my retina III c easily. I checked with a ground glass on the film plane what is the minimum focus distance, and I found it to be 66 cm which is quite remarkable for a camera of this age, usually the minimum distance is 100 cm.
I adjusted the range finder accordingly.
I've overlooked the retina for too long and I really think it's among the best of the non auto exposure rangefinder.
I have a Voigtländer Vitessa L, and though I like it a lot, it definitely does not stand the comparison with the Retina, and I'll soon sell it.
Nicely explained :) cheers
Great video! Many thanks. I followed the instructions and was able to make adjustments to a very ugly but otherwise perfectly functional IIc that I rescued from a junk store bin (along with an extra 80mm lens) for 12 dollars. I was able to get the close distances adjusted correctly. However, whenever I adjust the infinity distance it will not hold. I will move down from infinity to closeup, and when I go back to infinity the rangefinder just stops moving at about 5-6 feet (no problem with the focus ring itself). It appears to me the arm in the slot slips, as there is another 2-3 mm it could go back further (i.e. closer to the camera body) - however it simply stops at the 5-6 point. I can push it back with my finger, but I cannot replicate that through the movement of the focus ring. I tried a number of combinations of distance and closeup adjustments, but the slippage occurs every time. Both of the release screws (close up & distance) are tight. Any suggestions?
Probably the rangefinder is sticky and the return spring does not reliably return the arm to the infinity position. It will need to be removed and stripped down.
@@ChrisSherlock Thanks! It sounds a little beyond my skills! Probably I will just use it as viewfinder, or with my old Watameter rangefinder. Plus, I understand the rangefinder would not work with the 80 mm lens. Is that correct?
I got a IIIC (big C) a few years ago and finally getting around to working on it. Everything is great except the rangefinder is way off (slight bit of oil on the shutter but the timing is still right so I'll hold off on working on that for a bit). But this video has a different rangefinder style than the one I am working with. I can adjust the rangefinder mechanism a similar way; however, I have run into the problem that if it is correct at infinity, then it isn't correct at the shorter distances. How do I adjust this on the big C rangefinder?
Basically the same as for the IIa or IIc, IIIc types. You need to change the angle of the cam at the tip of the rangefinder arm. In the case of the IIC and IIIC you need to loosen the nut on the top and rotate the cam at the bottom until you can get the distant and near adjustments correct. Of course as soon as you disturb the close-up settings, the infinity end shifts too. It can be a very time consuming business going back and forth between the adjustments.
@@ChrisSherlock Thank you so much!
I bought a very good condition IIIC but notice the rewind knob is a bit wobbly when there is no film in it, is this just normal? Thanks. Great video!
That is not uncommon. If it is really slops from side to side then possibly the screws holding the bush to the camera body casting are loose.
@@ChrisSherlock I took my apart and there were no screws... Fortunately I had some stuff laying around. on the other hand My Rewind lever clicks like a ratchet its kinda rough.