Retina IIa - Problem

I am checking out a Retina IIa that has two problems.

I. Focus - It appeared to focus correctly a few times then stopped. Looking over the lens to what you can see of the mechanism, it looks like the knob moving with focusing, is no longer connected to the arm that moves the mirror. I would say there is a hole on the mirror arm and the knob has worked out. There does not feel or look like there is any binding in the mechanism.

II. Shutter - The shutter is cocked but will not release. You can see the button mechanism trying to push the shutter release on the lens, but the release will not move. If you push the film release button next to the shutter release, you can move the rapid winding lever through the complete range again, as if the shutter was not already cocked. But the shutter will still not release.

Are either of these common to the Retina? Easily correctable?

open the back & rotate the sprocket. Some cameras have to have film in them to release the shutter lock.

Sorry. Didn't help.

Chris Sherlock has many tips on his Retina page: http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~Srawhiti/

Take the lens and shutter out of the camera and try to cycle it by hand (push the little gear on the shutter body until it clicks, then push the shutter release lever). If that checks out, it has to do with the cocking mechanism and/or cocking rack.

It sounds to me with my limited retina experience (I have a iic I occasionally shoot and had a iiic which I stripped and rebuilt, but never could keep the shutter reliable) that it is gummed up and needs a CLA. Not sure about the rangefinder, but I am nearly positive the shutter will just be glued up with old lube.

Depending on how you feel, it is fairly easy to expose the shutter innards by going in from the front. You can try the lighterfluid cleaning routine, perhaps followed by sparing use of light oil.

My experience is my iic would stick, I'd clean it with lighterfluid and in a month or three it would stick again. In the end I used some watch oil and lubed it slightly more than "sparingly" - i.e. a small-medium drop on every bearing and contact point, on the basis that if it all went wrong and the oil got everywhere, it would still need a CLA and I would be no worse off. So far, no oil on the shutter blades and it has remained snappy for months now.

I like the retina - fun to shoot with as it looks and feels like it is from another era (which it is), but its small and has a good lens.

I couldn't bring myself to jump off into the deep end and start taking it apart. Took it to the shop and the diagnosis (CLA) and estimate were within bounds, so I went that way.

Now, I just have to wait a week before I can run a roll through it.