Shooting with my Grandfather’s Kodak Retina iiiS
Black and white images normally do best with strong shapes and contrast. Despite the high grain of HP5 the 50mm lens is still able to resolve good amounts of detail. 1/250s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
Currently in the digital age we are amongst a transition in camera technology. From tried and tested DSLRs that carried on where SLRs left off in the film era, to the state-of-the-art mirrorless cameras that offer uniform stills and video capabilities and that overcome the physical limitations of a moving mirror. Go back to the late 1950s and early 1960s and you would have witnessed a similar transition from the then popular rangefinder cameras to SLRs. The latter offering the key advantage of being able to see exactly what your lens sees, including the depth of field for more accurate focusing, especially when getting shallower with larger apertures.
The Kodak Retina iiiS came in its own high quality leather carrying case. Nowadays you’d be lucky to be given a lens sock.
My Grandfather’s (or the Welsh Tad-Cu as I and my sister called him) camera was one of Kodak’s last rangefinder offerings – the Retina iiiS. Made from 1958-1960 it was available concurrently with the Retina Reflex range of SLRs that were released to combat the aggressive innovation from Japanese competition. It differed from previous Retina models by having a fixed front instead of folding bellows, an improved viewfinder, a range of interchangeable lenses (that could also be used with the SLR range) and a few other small re-designs. This camera came equipped with the 50mm F2.8 Xenar lens. It also came with the annoying LVS system that automatically changes the shutter speed when you change the aperture to compensate, giving you the same exposure. It can be overridden but I guess this is an early attempt at something resembling Aperture Priority mode.
The first image I took with the camera at Trafalgar Square, the day following England’s women winning Euro 2022. 1/250s 50mm F8.0 Ilford HP5+.
My mistake with framing in the viewfinder based on the 35mm lines meant a much narrower image that I originally intended. 1/125s 50mm F8.0 Ilford HP5+.
Looking down Strand. The flags were flying in light of the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. 1/250s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
One of London’s famous red Telephone Boxes. A notice attached inside says it is no longer in service. 1/250s 50mm F8.0 Ilford HP5+.
My dad says this was my Tad-Cu’s pride and joy and he bought it around the time my aunt and dad were born. He shot a lot of slide film (something we still have and that I need to go through at some point), as well as a lot of black and white which he developed and printed himself at home. I believe this camera also went with him on the family holiday to Austria in the late 1960s and I really would love to find some images of that. Unfortunately, it was broken by my dad when he dropped it on a field trip in the mid-1970s and it remained broken ever since, attempts in the past to fix it being unsuccessful. Fast forward to today I took it to Sendean Cameras in Shoreditch who managed to breathe new life into. For a price; though completely worth it when you consider the sentimental value.
Chinese Lanterns in Chinatown. 1/250s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
The Chinatown Gate. Notice the loss of contrast due to direct sunlight entering the lens. 1/250s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
I thought this film poster stood out well for a monochrome image. 1/60s 50mm F5.6 Ilford HP5+.
One of the last images I messed up the framing for until I realised the mistake I was making. I am however impressed by the detail of the building in the background. 1/250s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
Holding the now-working camera in my hands after I picked it up from repair was very special. To think that this was the camera that my Tad-Cu had taken so many important family photos with all those years ago, and it was now the camera I was using, was very moving. It was also my first time using a rangefinder camera so that in itself was a learning experience. I had to get used to not seeing what the lens is seeing, estimating the distance for focusing and trying to get it down to a T with the aid in the viewfinder. After a while it all becomes second nature and I actually found it more fun to shoot with than an SLR in some ways. There’s something freeing about not worrying too much about focus through the viewfinder, the large depth of field from stopping down the aperture gives plenty of margin for error. Therefore, it is better to use a high-speed film like Ilford HP5+ so you can use a small aperture but keep a usable shutter speed. Looking in the user manual though, the Kodak film range of 1958 was very slow. Everything apart from Tri-X was less than ISO 100 and Kodachrome went all the way down to ISO 10! Not something you’d want to shoot F11 with.
A fancy metal Japanese teapot on display. 1/30s 50mm F8.0 Ilford HP5+.
Amazingly I managed to hold still enough to pull of this slow shutter speed handheld. I wanted to capture the motion of the spinning blades in a low light environment. The lack of mirror means you don’t have to worry about mirror slap. 1/15s 50mm F2.8 Ilford HP5+.
This camera is all mechanical but does come with a novel light meter using a selenium cell. I was amazed that it was still somewhat functional after all these years, as this is not something that can be replaced as the cell slowly dies over time. When it does work it is fairly accurate, though the reflected light reading is not always fool proof, and the occasional external meter reading doesn’t go amiss. I find the sweet spot to be shooting this camera at F8 or F11 with a shutter speed at or above 1/125s. This gave a very usable depth of field and allowed slow moving subjects (like people) to be in sharp focus.
On duty photographing a local cricket match. 1/250s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
This house is well photographed locally, covered in Virginia Creeper. 1/125s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
A long horned cow grazes by the sidewalk. 1/250s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
One slightly embarrassing mistake I made initially was mis-judging the viewfinder. It has two markings inside, one for the 50mm lens and the other for the 35mm. I was using the 35mm lens lines until about halfway through the first roll which meant my composition was off. A trap the inexperienced can fall into when you aren’t looking directly through your lens.
A local car show proved to be a great opportunity to shoot period cars with this camera. This shot of an Aston Martin DB6 also further shows off the sharpness of this lens. 1/125s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
A firm favourite amongst classic car enthusiasts - The MGB. 1/125s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
Classic bikes like this Harley Davidson also made an appearance. 1/125s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
All-in-all this is a fantastic camera. Yes the all metal construction is heavy but it does feel solid and well built. It may not have the prestige or its absolute quality of a Leica (nor the price), but the small lens is still very sharp. Though you do need to be conscious that it lacks the coating of modern ones, shooting into direct sunlight is not advised. It’s certainly reignited my interest in 35mm photography after I’d been more heavily focusing (pardon the pun) with my medium and large format cameras. It’s been with me on a few trips over the summer and I look forward to sharing those images with you in future blogs. It’s sat in a box for long enough, it’s about time it got used again.
This Ford Mustang engine actually sits in a Rover 75. 1/125s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
A beautiful line-up of cars lead by this Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. 1/125s 50mm F11 Ilford HP5+.
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