Kodak Pocket Rangefinder

Many focusing Kodaks were scale focusers. The photographer estimated or measured the distance to the subject and adjusted the lens using the distance scale marked on the lens. One gadget for measuring the distance was the Kodak Pocket Range Finder. The photographer made the two halves of the subject line up in the range finder eyepiece and read the distance from the scale visible in the eyepiece or on the front of the range finder. The range finder used a movable mirror to line up the split image of the subject. A lever with one end riding on the cam cut in the wheel that surrounds the top window adjusts the tilt of the mirror nearest the eyepiece according to the distance from the range finder to the subject. When the range finder is set to the same distance as the subject, both halves of the subject appear to coincide. A small magnifying lens enlarges the tiny distance scale etched in the top window. The scale is repeated on the front of the wheel surrounding the top window. The patent drawings differ a little from the actual production model. Once built-in focusing aids became standard for adjustable cameras separate range finders became obsolete. Nowadays electronic autofocus cameras do the focusing for the photographer.

Front, posing on a Kodak 35 scale focusing camera.

Back.

The view through the eyepiece.

The box it came in.

Patent drawing.

120 v. 620 Film

A 120 spool (left) and a 620 spool

There probably are perfectly good cameras lying unused in drawers because the owners can't find film for them. A workaround is available for cameras that take 620 film: re-spooled 120 film. Apart from the spool the film is wound on, there isn't any difference between a 620 roll and a 120 roll. Kodak discontinued 620 film in 1995, but 120 film is made to this day. All you have to do is unroll the 120 film, in the dark, and roll it onto a 620 spool. You can get old, metal 620 spools from eBay or from junk store box cameras. You also can get new, molded plastic 620 spools from Film Photography Project, but be aware that their plastic spools might not fit some old cameras. Re-spooling film is no harder than loading film onto a developing reel. This Youtube video shows how: 620 Film: How to use 120 film in your 620 camera. If you don't want to roll your own, you can get newly rolled 620 film from Film Photography Project or Film for Classics (sold by B&H). Ask your photo lab to return your 620 spools for reuse.

A little history: 120 film was first made for the No. 2 Brownie camera in 1901, and was adopted by many other companies for their cameras. Agfa also made the same size film, but called it B2 instead. Kodak decided to shrink the spool in 1931, and stopped making cameras for 120 film. Most Kodak 620 cameras were simple Brownies, although Eastman did produce some high quality commercial 620 cameras like the Kodak Medalist. The last 620 camera made by Kodak, the Brownie Flashmite 20, came out in 1960. Consumer 620 and 127 roll film cameras were replaced by the hugely successful Kodak Instamatic line in 1963. 120 film has continued to be made by Eastman and other companies for commercial or advanced amateur photographers.

[Update] 620 film is now available from the FPP store: https://filmphotographystore.com/collections/all/620-film

Post-war Kodak Retina IIa (Typ 016)

The Kodak Retina was a quality camera for amateur photographers. About 172,000 Kodak Retina IIa cameras were made in Stuttgart-Wangen, West Germany, during 1951-1954, by Kodak AG, Eastman Kodak Company's German subsidiary. The camera is not much larger than the original Retina of 1934. 35mm film cameras were best known as miniature cameras and a pocketable size was a selling point. The list price in 1951 was $168.50 or about $1,700 in depreciated 2019 dollars. This camera was followed by the model IIc.

Front, folded.

Front, open.

Top

Bottom

Left

Right

Back

Film Chamber

The lens on this camera is a coated, Schneider Kreuznach Retina-Xenon, f/2.0-f/16 50 mm that close focuses to 3.5 ft. The shutter is a Deckel Synchro-Compur leaf shutter with speeds of 1/500, 1/250, 1/100, 1/50, 1/25, 1/10, 1/5, 1/2 and 1 second plus B (bulb). The shutter will synchronize with flash bulbs (M setting) and electronic flash (X setting). There is a PC flash sync socket on the shutter. The shutter release is on the top of the camera and is threaded for a cable release. The film advance lever also is on the top and is centered around the exposure counter. The exposure counter is manually set to the number of exposures on the roll and counts down to 1 as the film is advanced. The film advance locks when the counter reaches 1. The rewind knob is on the top and has a film reminder, marked for some Kodak films, in the center.