Kodak Retina III Automatic

[dabsond]

I recently made a trip home and picked up my Father's old Kodak Retina III Automatic. I am sure it has not been used for 20 plus years. When I first tried firing the shutter, nothing. The camera would wind and shutter button would depress, what sounded like the shutter releasing was heard. The shutter was not firing. After many many attempts the shutter is now firing sometimes. I am making sure the frame counter is reset to 36 and repeatedly firing the shutter. It is operating at about 7 out of 10 attempts. The aperture blades are slow to close down as well. I emailed Zack's Camera Repair and they responded saying they do not work on this type of camera. Questions: Any other locations that will work on these cameras and give it a good going over in the US? Will I do it harm by continuing to operate it to loosen it up? Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[GRHazelton]

Chris Sherlock in New Zealand is a Retina specialist. Here's his site: https://retinarescue.com/ These folks did a fine job on my AsahiFlex IIa, making a part or two as needed: https://www.advancecamera.com/

 

[BrianShaw]

A second shout out for Chris. Shipping to and fro was expensive but his Retina overhauls are world class.

 

[Chrismat]

2nd recommendation. I've sent a Retina IIIS, a Retina IIc to Chris, always very good work. For shipping, I've always used the least expensive USPS First Class International, never had a problem shipping to NZ, but it takes a couple of weeks to get there. Chris even has a few Youtube videos. Here's one:

 

[removedacct1]

Chris Sherlock, absolutely. I've had 5 cameras serviced by Chris, and he does a superb job.

 

[JPD]

Sorry, but Chris Sherlock doesn't repair the Retina Automatic cameras.

https://retinarescue.com/kodakretinarepairservice.html

"Retina Automatic I, II, & III

Sorry, I do not repair these models. They are exceptionally time-consuming to repair, which translates to 'really expensive'.

There is another serious problem with these cameras, and that is their dependence on the the built-in exposure meter. The selenium cells are often much lower in output than they were when new . The output is not linear, and so advice like 'Just set the meter one or two stops higher to compensate.' will not make the meter acurate across the range.

Aside from that, I just don't like them."​

 

[dabsond]

I have continued to exercise the shutter and aperture. It has loosened up quite a bit and seems to be firing reliably. I am pretty sure the light meter is not accurate. I will put a roll through shooting manual and see what happens. Thanks for all the input and help.

 

[MattKing]

A sticky aperture may be something some repair people would be willing to look at, even if they wouldn't be willing to deal with the rest of the camera.

 

[markjwyatt]

I have continued to exercise the shutter and aperture. It has loosened up quite a bit and seems to be firing reliably. I am pretty sure the light meter is not accurate. I will put a roll through shooting manual and see what happens. Thanks for all the input and help.

I bought a Retina Reflex IV on ebay, and it worked, but had winding issues (plus a misaligned aperture/shutter-speed view window). I gave it to Ross Yerkes in Los Angeles area, and he fixed it very quickly and reasonable cost. He worked for Kodak repairing Retinas in the past, so knows them well.