Kodak Retinette IB Type 037 – Cheap is Not Always Nasty

Apart from the Pentax 17, new film cameras are not exactly hitting the shelves every month. While film continues to be popular its a fact that we have to shoot older and ageing cameras to continue it.

The celebrated and coveted brands – Hassleblad Rolleiflex, Leica as well those workhorse behemoths from Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Mamiya et al. all deserve their awards and reputations.  What marvelous cameras they are.

But, they represent the very pinnacle of the great camera pyramid.  There exists a wide array of cameras that don’t excite the masses nor do they get the “must buy” moniker those photographic poster children get. There are a wide array of reasons for this, not least that many of these poor cousins were the budget models of their respective brands stable.

One example of these budget line cameras, are the Retinette series of cameras from Kodak. Most of you will have read or know about the Kodak Germany cameras under the Retina model line. There are many pages of deft prose about Dr Nagel, the Kodak Retina and how great they are. I own three myself, a IIS, IIC and IIIC. All amazing cameras and in regular use.

Today’s camera though is the every-man model, the Nikkormat to the Nikon F2. The Kodak Retinette IB. My model is the first of two versions of the IB, the Type 037.

Made between October 1959 and February 1963, the IB was budget model of that periods Retina IIC and IIIC.  In 1959 Kodak Germany updated their Retina/Retinette line with new “Brightline” viewfinders amongst other things.  Metal construction though more tin than brass, the camera has less in hand mass than the Retinas, but enough to have that solid feel.  It has a built-in coupled selenium meter and that aforementioned bright-line viewfinder. The brightline viewfinders are big bright and make framing a pleasure.  Equipped with a 3 element Rodenstock Reomar 45mm f/2.8 in a Pronto LK shutter, speeds run from 1/15 to 1/500 second, plus Bulb.

The film is advanced the same as most post war Retina/Retinette cameras via the under body mounted lever. Unlike the high end Retinas, its made from plastic not metal. There were about 224 000 type 037 cameras made.

On a cloudy Autumn day this year I loaded up some Ilford Fp4+ and took my Retinette IB out for a walk around a little village down the road from my home. I was interested to see how the resulting photos compared with my Retina IIS and its Retina-Xenar 45mm f2.8. The Retina line were equipped with higher spec 4 element lenses whereas the Retinettes had mainly triplets. Does the extra element make a meaningful difference?

I took a number of images in the same walk with the previously mentioned Retina IIS, comparing the images was interesting and I’ll share that in a subsequent article.

What do I think of the results? I like them. The 45mm f2.8 Rodenstock Reomar is a perfectly capable lens and delivers rather nice images. All the images were shot at around f8-11 and of course that is the sweet spot of the lens. The tonality, sharpness, character and rendering are all pleasing to my eye.

Its a quirk of fate but many Kodak Retinettes are known to have their selenium meters still working fine after all these years as opposed to the Retinas which are mostly exhausted. Personally put it down to the likelihood that Retinettes have spent most of their life carried in their leather every-ready cases and then in a cupboard with the meter in darkness, whereas the Retinas have seen a lot more use and exposure to light.

Are these budget models worth it?  This model is.  There’s a lot of positives.  The Reomar triplet is a nice character lens.  Sharp enough, nice rendering and I like the character it displays.  Whilst the metal is tinny, it is metal.  Feels nice.  No rangefinder but the controls interact well.  Zone focusing is simple and easy and the brightline viewfinder is always a pleasure to use.  Price?  These models are WAY cheaper than their Retina IIC and IIIC big brothers.

Overall, the Kodak Retinette IB Type 037 is good camera, enjoyable to use and that’s what you want.  Don’t discount the budget cameras of yesteryear.  Some are nice little cameras well worth your time.

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