Question regarding the viewfinder of the kodak retina ii 014

[analogatog]

Hi Everyone,

So this is prob a newbie question but i cant find any details in all my searching. Just got into this hobby and i currently have a Kodak retina ii, i believe is the 014 version, however, as i am new to all of this, looking online through various post, reviews, original manuals etc, im a bit confused.

My question is when looking through the viewfinder, what section of what i see will be captured onto film? Is it the entire viable area when looking through the viewfinder, or just the frame of the focusing patch? There are no grids or lines in my viewfinder, just the small focusing box, and looking online, i get different info, possibly because of the multiple models.

Sorry for the dumb question but just not sure based on my research. Any insight will be much appreciated!

 

[MattKing]

It would help if you could show us some photos of your camera - there are a few people here with lots of Retina knowledge, who can help you confirm the version.

If your camera does not present with bright lines in the viewfinder, it usually means that the entire area visible in the finder corresponds substantially with the image that will be recorded on film.

 

[analogatog]

Hi Matt, thanks for the insight, here are some pics. From my understanding, the fact it has a "film type" wheel makes it a 014. Also is a pic through the viewfinder, not sure if this helps or not.

Not sure if the viewfinders is cloudy and hiding lines, but i do not see any form of markers or indicators in the viewfinder.

 

[MattKing]

It is probably the 014 version - that looks like a PC flash socket - but even if it is the 011, the viewfinder would perform similarly.
With any of these cameras, it will serve you well to take some photos, because viewfinder cameras always present at least a small difference between what appears in the finder and what shows up on the film. At least some of those differences would not have presented a lot of problem for the large number of photographers who used these cameras to make mounted slides - the mounts always blocked a small portion of the image.

 

[analogatog]

Thanks for the info!

 

[MattKing]

Both my Retina IIIc and my Retinette Ib (see my avatar) give me a lot of satisfaction, in a slightly quirky way .
Have fun with your camera.

 

[analogatog]

I know exactly what you mean. Ive shot 2 rolls through it already and just waiting on developing chemicals to be delivered so i can process the film and see what happens. Really a huge fan of the mechanical nature this camera, the fact its quiet and small, and just looks beautiful.

Now to research a few more questions on here. Onward!

 

[250swb]

You should be able to download a free manual for it here

https://www.butkus.org/chinon/

 

[guangong]

You should be able to download a free manual for it here

https://www.butkus.org/chinon/

But chip in a few bucks for Butkus.

 

[Chan Tran]

I have the Retina IIa but I think the viewfinder is the same. The image area is the entire viewfinder. It doesn't have paralax compensation and thus no frame lines.

 

[BrianShaw]

The situation where the viewfinder WYSIWYG-ness differs is when photographing near and close-up scenes. You’ll see some cut-off due to parallax failure. Later Retinas had aids in the viewfinder for that. There should be, but I haven’t checked, discussion of this in the user manual.

 

[retina_restoration]

The Retina II viewfinder doesn't give you a very complete idea of what's going to be included in the frame. Basically, it's everything you can see through the window, give or take a few percent.
Yours is indeed a Retina II, type 014.