Brightening the View

I pulled the prism out of a junker Minolta XG 1 and installed it in my Retina Reflex.  Chris Sherlock's web site and his YouTube videos on servicing the Retina Reflex cameras are good guides.  It looks like he can get the top off and install the prism in under twenty minutes.  It took me longer trying to figure out the proper positioning of the shutter release components, and I also spent quite a while crawling around on the floor looking for a little coil spring. Everything did fit back together eventually, and the result is a much more usable camera.  The view is not quite as bright as some of my other slr cameras, but it is a big improvement over the cloudy image through the old desilvered prism.

I loaded some Kentmere 100 into the camera and took it down to the river to test the results of my efforts.

The Retina Reflex, Type 025 was the first slr produced by Kodak in 1957.  The design is very similar to that of the IIIc rangefinder with which it has many parts in common, including the bayonet mount for the front lens group.  I probably won't bother to get the accessory wide-angle and telephoto lenses, but I do have a Series VI adapter and a 2X close-up lens (which I used to shoot the gutted X-1).