Kodak Retinette, User Manual

Page 1: ...body itself is rigid bellowless the lens and shutter unit being mounted on the front panel The Retinette film track is specially designed to keep the film really flat without risk of scratching the emulsion The film is wound on by a transport lever which with one full swing advances the film to the next frame and also moves the film counter and re tensions the shutter That system provides an effic...

Page 2: ...odel IB E2 meter cell E4 exposure setting ring coupled with exposure meter needle E6 film speed adjustment Viewfinder V1 finder window shows exposure meter needle on IB V2 eyepiece Film and transport T1 rapid winding lever T4 film counter T6 film indicator in rewind knob T7 rewind knob T8 reversing button Body B3 back lock B7 tripod bush B8 accessory shoe with second flash socket Top Top view of t...

Page 3: ...coupled to the aperture setting The shutter is the Pronto LK speeded from 1 15 to 1 500 sec B line frame finder and f2 8 Reomar lens Retinette 1954 Is similar but fitted with a simple eye level optical finder The earliest models of 1954 did not incorporate a light value scale on the shutter PRE 1954 MODELS Between 1942 and 1952 some cameras of the Retinette family were made with bellows pressed me...

Page 4: ...tter speed or aperture without changing the exposure If you alter the shutter speed the aperture will automatically set itself to the correct value or if you change the aperture the shutter speed adjusts itself automatically to keep the effective exposure constant To change the shutter aperture combination just move the speed setting ring until the index mark points to the required aperture or shu...

Page 5: ...or details see page 59 THE VERO SHUTTER of the Retinette IA has four speeds 1 30 1 60 1 125 1 250 sec and B set by turning the outer milled shutter rim to the required speed Time exposures are made as described for the Compur shutter There is no delayed action THE PRONTO LK SHUTTER of the Retinette IB has 6 speeds 1 15 1 30 1 60 1 125 1 250 l 500 sec and B with built in delayed action and flash co...

Page 6: ... the film indicator 1 Loading the Retinettes 2 Open back 3 Pull out film rewind knob 4 Insert cassette with film in film chamber 5 Push back rewind knob 6 Thread film end into slit of take up spool 7 Close camera back 8 Turn film counter to mark 9 Make blind exposures 10 Set film indicator 1 Turn the double lever surrounding the tripod bush in the direction of the arrow Then press the little butto...

Page 7: ...unexposed frames 8 Set the film indicator in the rewind knob by pressing the index finger against the serrated ring in the centre of the indicator and turning it until the index mark points to the type of film loaded into the camera PRE 1954 RETINETTE MODELS Right The 1951 Retinette model was a folding camera with a somewhat different body layout The lens was a 2 in 50 mm Reomar f4 5 in a Prontor ...

Page 8: ...mera front The left hand grasps the camera body on its left side After every exposure move the right thumb to the bottom of the camera and pull out the rapid winder to advance the film For vertical photographs Rest camera upright against forehead and nose holding the top of the camera with the left hand Keep the left thumb pressed against camera back The right hand holds the camera from below righ...

Page 9: ...referably in it s ever ready case Below Whenever possible support your body against something solid or prop your arms on a fence railing or even on your knees when sitting on the ground This is specially important with slow snapshot exposures Use a cable release for time exposures from a tripod ...

Page 10: ...g screw which prevents the Retinettes from falling out of the opened case SHOOTING Top row Advance the film with the rapid winding lever left set the light value Retinette and Retinette I centre Retinette II and IIB right Second row Select the aperture speed combination Retinette I left Retinette IB II and IIB centre and right Third row Set the distance Retinette and Retinette I IB left Retinette ...

Page 11: ...e front of the shutter On the Retinette II and IIB move the focusing lever below the lens The distance has to be estimated or can be measured with a separate rangefinder see page 21 which may be attached to the camera accessory shoe See also page 40 5 The optical finder with bright line frame of the Retinette I IB II IIB shows the subject area outlined by a brilliant frame reflected into the view ...

Page 12: ...exposures have been taken i e when the film counter has reached No l or No 36 on old models the film has to be wound into the cassette in order to remove it from the camera Do this in subdued light 1 Depress reversing button 2 Rewind film 3 Open camera back 4 Pull out rewind knob 5 Remove cassette 6 Close camera back or insert new film 7 Depress the reversing button in the bottom of the camera On ...

Page 13: ...have to be extricated by opening the cassette in the darkroom for subsequent re insertion into the camera 3 Take the re wound film out of the camera For reference note the number of exposures still left on the film and write this number on the label of the cassette Then put it into a container or wrap it up Now you can load the camera with any other type of film 7 Do not press the shutter release ...

Page 14: ...ch can be marked with notches or drawing pins to indicate various distances let us say for 12 24 36 exposure of film This considerably simplifies the measuring of film lengths in the darkroom The trimming of the film ends is performed most simply with the aid of a 35 mm film trimming template At the beginning of the roll of film make the wedge shaped cut for the centre spool and measure off the re...

Page 15: ...s of the daylight loading films are intended by their makers to be used once only However they can be re loaded quite a few times if handled carefully WINDING AND TRIMMING FILM 1 The correct trimming of the wedge shaped end which is fitted to the centre spool of the cassette with a standard trimming template 2 Trimming of the curved cut with a standard trimming template 3 The appearance of the tri...

Page 16: ...cial light which is richer in red than daylight INFRA RED FILM Infra red film is a negative material which unlike panchromatic films is made sensitive to infra red rays which are not visible to the human eye Special applications of this material photography by invisible light long distance shots fog or mist penetration scientific copying and research work ORDINARY FILM For copying black and white ...

Page 17: ...tc LATITUDE Latitude is the ability of the film to yield usable negatives even with a certain amount of under or over exposure Films with wide latitude are likely to have less resolving power causing loss of definition The negative material has a number of additional properties which help towards good results There is e g a special protective coating a hardened gelatine layer on top of the actual ...

Page 18: ...s Avoid great contrast such as deep shadows For photographs in daylight on reversal film use daylight type film Use artificial light film when taking pictures indoors by the light of electric lamps or Photofloods Daylight film may be used in artificial light and vice versa with the special conversion filter recommended by the makers Some of these conversion filters for reversal film Wratten are su...

Page 19: ...our enlargements can be made from transparencies These cannot show the full tonal range and brilliancy of the projected picture but are generally acceptable particularly if the transparency does not show undue contrast range is correctly exposed and is sharp The colour negative can be printed or enlarged directly on colour paper to produce a colour print of any size Alternatively the colour negati...

Page 20: ...f5 6 while we set the distance indicator first at 5 ft then at 8 ft and last at 25 ft We learn that in the first case the depth of field stretches from 4 ft to 6 ft In the second case from 6 to 10 ft and in the last case from 13 ft to infinity So we see confirmed that the depth of field grows as we set the lens at distances farther and farther away from the camera and incidentally may conclude tha...

Page 21: ...f field on the previous pages it is clear that the stop is used to regulate the definition of the picture in depth both towards foreground and background from the point at which the lens is actually focused Now the idea could occur to the beginner to try to use the smallest stop every time to make sure of sharp pictures That however would mean that in the majority of cases he would not arrive at a...

Page 22: ...f8 8 ft 80 ft Landscapes 25 ft f5 6 12 ft inf Marked in red as the most suitable hyperfocal distances setting the far limit can be taken as being virtually infinity Close Up Work with the Retinette While the Retinette cameras focus down to 3 ft you can work at still shorter distances with the aid of close up supplementary lenses or the Kodak close up rangefinder with supplementary Kodak N lenses T...

Page 23: ...ld appears in the centre 3 Turn the focusing wheel on top of the close up rangefinder until the subject details in the yellow and blue fields coincide Note the position of the focusing wheel There are three separate scales marked respectively with one two or three lines for the NI NII or NI NII lenses combined Attach the corresponding supplementary lens or lenses to the camera lens When the scale ...

Page 24: ...27 62 65 37 25 33 75 0 062 15x22 75 31 12 37 87 30 37 40 62 29 87 43 5 28 37 49 5 27 12 58 25 15 32 5 0 066 14 37x21 75 30 5 35 62 29 5 37 28 12 39 12 27 5 44 37 26 37 53 37 10 30 25 0 070 13 62x20 5 28 37 33 5 27 12 35 25 26 37 37 37 25 25 41 12 24 25 48 8 29 25 0 073 13x19 37 27 5 32 26 5 33 5 25 5 35 24 37 38 12 22 5 43 7 28 37 0 076 12 5x18 5 26 30 25 25 25 31 24 25 32 75 23 12 35 5 21 62 39 7...

Page 25: ... 13 12 11 25 13 11 13 5 Measured from the subject to the focal plane this corresponds approximately to the rear upper edge of the camera top The Table Stand The table stand is designed for close up subjects which allow or need longer exposure times as well as for all types of close ups where quick setting up and absolute steadiness of the camera are important The stand consists of a U shaped base ...

Page 26: ... figures in Tables 1 2 and 3 The sum is the light value to be set on the shutter For Retinette models without light value scale convert the light value to apertures and speeds with Table 4 Set the shutter to the nearest marked speed if necessary e g 1 25 for 1 30 and so on 1 Subject and Weather Subject Clear Sun Cloudy Light Cloudy Medium Dull Distant landscape 13 12 11 10 Landscape light foregrou...

Page 27: ...xposure reading to obtain the best results So there is more to using a meter than just pointing it at the subject and accepting without question the reading indicated REFLECTED LIGHT MEASUREMENT The usual method of using a meter is to point it directly at the subject The light reaching the photo electric cell is therefore that reflected by the subject so this method is called reflected light measu...

Page 28: ...nd then double the exposure indicated COLOUR FILMS have little exposure latitude so particularly careful reading is advisable The meter is used in the same way as for black and white films although the incident light method is often considered best for reversal films This is because exposure of these should be based on the highlights and the diffuser itself constitutes a highlight with the meter i...

Page 29: ...following list gives a summary of the filters recommended and a short explanation of their use The Focal Filter Chart gives all filter data fully and at a glance YELLOW FILTERS reduce the actinic effect of blue rendering it darker and are therefore particularly suitable for landscape photography in order to obtain clearly defined cloud effects on a normal blue sky In the case of a very light blue ...

Page 30: ...s fully open This permits flash shots with shutter settings up to 1 30 sec for all ordinary M class flash bulbs With electronic flash units any speed up to 1 500 sec can be set With the Retinette IIA Prontomat ordinary flash bulbs and electronic flash may be used For setting see page 12 The Prontor SV and S shutter fitted to Retinette models made between 1951 and 1953 has adjustable synchronizatio...

Page 31: ...chen bathroom or with films faster than 100 ASA use next smaller aperture In very large rooms at night outdoors or with slower 40 64 ASA film use next larger aperture APERTURES WITH BLUE FLASH BULBS For 32 ASA Daylight Type Reversal Colour Film Distance PF 1 B No 1B AG 1B PF 60 97 No 22B 3 ft 1m f16 5 ft 1 5m f11 f22 7 ft 2 2m f8 f16 10 ft 3m f5 6 f11 CONVERSION OF FEET AND INCHES INTO METRIC UNIT...

Page 32: ...20 m 66 ft 0 in More Focal Press Guides The Retina Guide 1965 edition The Retina Reflex Guide 1970 edition You may copy and print this document or parts of this document for your own personal use You may not however reprint or republish this work in whole or in part without prior permission from me Mischa Koning Such republication includes inclusion of this work in other Web sites Web pages FTP ar...