Given a KODAK RETINA with some 'weird' features --

[pentaxpete]

I was given by a Kind Lady who contacted Brentwood & District Photographic Club a Kodak RETINA 118 from 1935-36 according to research on Chris Sherlock's Site -- the World Expert on RETINAS .
It is badly worn with black paint scratched off but there is a Czechoslovakian COIN screwed into the base and the Depth of Field Scale is in FRENCH and moved to top of camera. !
I took off coin -- underneath on reverse of coin is a 'rude Lady in the Nude holding a sheaf of Wheat and Figure '1' ' and underneath D of F scale are 2 screw holes a washer and a plain flat plate. The Shutter works well. I want to get some special Black Paint 'Humbrol Matt Black 33' i've been told to match the Kodak Paint.
Lady said it was her father's who died 20 years ago and had been in the Navy -- maybe picked up camera in his travels.
Kodak Retina 01 by Peter Elgar, on Flickr
Kodak Retina 02 by Peter Elgar, on Flickr
Kodak Retina 03 by Peter Elgar, on Flickr
Kodak Retina 04 by Peter Elgar, on Flickr

 

[BrianShaw]

Interesting hacks.

But what makes you think a nude allegorical figure is “rude”?

 

[blockend]

Would the coin have kept the Retina flat for selfies? I had a 1a and although it was a clean example, found the lens's virtues somewhat oversold. Only my Jupiter 12 flared more. This is clearly an even earlier design. The depth of field scale looks set for longitude and equinox.

 

[AgX]

That mounted coin is interested as is the relocating of the DOF calculator. The user for sure enhancedd ergonomics of his sample.
But I do no see why you consider that scale being in French as extraordinary.

 

[removedacct1]

A shame its been so badly scuffed up. The 118 is one of my favorite cameras - I use it often. Moving the DOF scale to the winder position seems an odd choice, because the DOF dial moves as you wind on each frame. It also appears that the original Rewind knob (where the DOF scale is mounted) is not the original: the machining style doesn't match the Advance knob. There were two styles of machining of the Advance and Rewind knobs: one with vertical furrows and one with a kind of diamond shaped hatching. Often, one or the other of these knobs was replaced during servcing/repair and the new knob is a mismatch for the original.
Also, the viewfinder component is not the original the camera was mounted with: those often fell apart and had to be replaced (The original was a housing of three separate pieces: body, front panel and back panel, and the front and rear panels had a way of falling off too easily). The Viewfinder on yours is the style that was used to replace the original when it was sent back to Kodak for repairs. All three of my 117/118s have the replacement style viewfinder.

Chris Sherlock has many excellent videos demonstrating the disassembly and servicing of many of the Retina models, so I urge you to have a look, even if you are only curious about whats under the hood of your new camera:



The servcing of the 118 is similar in many ways to what you do with a 010, which is covered quite thoroughly here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDDcV5sY4JWKa-2_3org8hCJ-Ua3ZQ3cP

However, should you opt to service the 118, beware that removing the Advance knob is NOT like that of the 010, and if you attempt to simply unscrew the knob, you will break it! (Best to send it to Chris for proper servicing, should it require it). The Compur shutter is fairly easy to disassemble and clean, and the 010 video tutorials will tell you most of what you need to know. There are design differences between the Compur in the 118 and the 010 of 15 years later, mainly in how the shutter lever activates the B or T setting (DO NOT attempt to cock the shutter to use either B or T! They work WITHOUT cocking the shutter on this model. )

Are you going to run a roll of film through it to see if it all functions?

Paul

 

[AgX]

A shame its been so badly scuffed up.

Is that so bad? That camera has been cleverly modified to work better, it has been strongly used. Shouldn't that make it more attractive over an original but unused, forgotten sample?

 

[removedacct1]

Is that so bad? That camera has been cleverly modified to work better, it has been strongly used. Shouldn't that make it more attractive over an original but unused, forgotten sample?

I'm sure that to some, it is more attractive. But there is "used" and there is "used up".

 

[AgX]

What a disappointment... the Lady is not even nude.

 

[TheRook]

Is that so bad? That camera has been cleverly modified to work better, it has been strongly used. Shouldn't that make it more attractive over an original but unused, forgotten sample?

Exactly.
Many photographers today are highly reluctant to modify their camera in any manner as it will likely diminish its resale or trade-in value. Decades ago, people generally purchased a camera with the intention to use it for as long as it continued to work. A camera's resale value was not an issue photographers were really concerned about.

 

[AgX]

And with the fact that the coin is from CSSR one may wonder what way of life that camera had made in the days of the Iron Curtain.

 

[__Brian]

Is unscrewing the advance knob different from the Retina II? On the latter, the advance knob is a reverse thread.

 

[Helios 1984]

My favourite kind of cameras, a nice project indeed.

 

[AndyH]

When I was young and poor, I bought several Retina I's. I loved (and still love) their pocketability and optics. A couple of them had user-installed modifications, ranging from meters and rangefinders to an odd, funky sportsfinder that sits in the top shoe. I learned camera repair on some of these, with much trial and error in those pre-YouTube days. I think the coin is to replace the thickness of the DoF scale, allowing the camera to still sit flat. But I have never, ever seen one with the DoF indicator moved to the top surface. It's a clever fix, in my opinion, especially for a scale focusing model.

Andy

 

[removedacct1]

Is unscrewing the advance knob different from the Retina II? On the latter, the advance knob is a reverse thread.

Yes, completely different procedure!

From Chris Sherlock, when asked about this very subject: "Yes, the advance knob is tricky. You have to remove the A-R lever first, this is held down by a collar with two small screws, then it is threaded into a drive dog down in the film advance shaft, conventional right-hand threaded, but a very steep pitch. It is pulled downwards by a spring in the advance mechanism so you need to lift the A-R lever up over the stop pin on the advance knob to rotate it free of the advance shaft dog. Once that is off the film advance knob is left-hand thread, and you need to hold the shaft inside the camera to stop it turning while you unscrew the knob. Failure to do that will break things. The advance knob is often VERY reluctant to unscrew."

Refer to the photo: you can see one of these screws in the slot of the A/R clutch lever when rotated to the right position. The other screw is at the opposite position.
I have (so far) avoided this procedure, as my 117 and 118 both work well without needing to remove the top cover/advance knob. Until such time as it becomes absolutely necessary I'm not interested in attempting it!