Retina IIIS, at last

[Brian]

The lenses are nice- but the close-focus on the telephoto lenses is limited. As mentioned, ~12ft on the 135/4, ~6ft on the 85/4 Tele-Arton.

The 50/1.9 Xenon is my favorite, used to go for cheap. The 35/2.8 Curtagon is very good.

When looking for lenses, make sure that have Cams for the IIIS. Most chrome lenses with moving DOF indicators have them, but not all.

I will check my stash for extra lenses.

[Julio1fer]

Updating. First test roll is in, a short strip of Pan F (more than 40 y-o, scratched). The Retina IIIS works well now, and that Xenar is a great lens indeed. These two are crops, about 50% of total neg area.





I need to get used to the ergonomics of the IIIS. Aperture is set by a little wheel down, then you can switch combinations of exposure and aperture that keep the light value constant. The lens has two moving prongs that bracket the actual DOF for the aperture, how cool is that? RF is clear and sharp but (I believe) a bit off in the distances.

Maybe now I might look for some additional lenses. The Xenon 1.9 or the 35mm Curtagon would be possible, although prices are high. Maybe the 28mm instead (I thought that the Xenon and the 28mm in the Reflex S were great, about 45 years ago).

Filter mount is bayonet type (a hood would be nice to have, too). How is this type of mount called?

[PFMcFarland]

Very nice, Julio. Amazing that they are crops, and still look tack sharp. The mount is called Deckel. Voigtlander used a version of it, and either the Kodak lenses can easily be modified for use on the Voigtlander cameras, or vice-versa.

PF