Rustybucket Loc: England

Hi folks.

I'm fairly recent to UHH and wondered if you could answer a question.

I currently use a Canon 450D with a550EX Speedlight. My grandaughter is studying photography at A Level grade and wanted to get some experience with a film camera. I have an old Kodak Retina 1B which is fitted with a hot shoe and belonged to my father (I'm now 62 myself so it has a bit of age to it). My question is....would the 550EX work on the Kodak Retina 1B. I wouldn't like to ruin the camera or the flash so thought it prudent to ask you guys (and gals) first. Any and all input welcomed. The Kodak was made somewhere between 1935...1950 ish

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

Yes, I believe you can. The trigger voltage on the 550EX is below 5 volts so it should work just fine on the Kodak Retina 1B .
But you will have to use it as a quasi-automatic flash; no TTL control between camera and flash as was the case with the 450D.

Rustybucket Loc: England

Festina... Many thanks for that. I just wasn't sure enough to try it. I'll post a couple of frames from the film when it's been processed if it all works out.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

You need to look and see if it has an x sync. If it does it will also have an M. The M for flash blubs. If the camera does not have x sync (the latest Retnas did) the flash will go off but the shutter will still be closed. The M sync goes off just before the shutter opens so flash blub has time to get to full strength when the shutter opens. - Dave

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

You will also need to check the flash contacts on the flash itself as some of the newer ones do NOT have the proper contact for an older style camera. Compare the flash 'shoe' and the flashes 'foot' to see if there are contacts in the correct positions. If not it either won't work or could cause problems.

Rustybucket Loc: England

Wahawk....Good point, thanks. I'll check up and see if the shoe and foot marry up. I'm probably making a problem where none exists. I think my grandaughter wants to try out darkroom skills as much as anything else. I don't think the 1B has seen the light of day for about 35 years. In it's day it must have been cutting edge. I'll post a photo of it when I get it back. Many thanks for your advice.

Rustybucket Loc: England

Dave...Thanks...another valid point. The more I go into this the more I'm inclined to advise her to just take with available light. Now I think about it, I can remember having a flash on it many moons ago but it had a little cable which plugged in just below the lense. I think using the Canon flash will be a no go...but many thanks for your help.

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Just a little more. I looked at my Retnas. The older ones had no flash at all. Then they had a flash bu no x sync you would need to use a flash blub. The newest had both m & x sync. The IB has a strobe sync and flash blub sync. None had a "Hot Shoe" you will have to get a sync cord to hook to strobe & camera. She will have 4 things to think about. The asa of the film. Then the shutter speed and apeture to get a good exposure. For this an expsure meter would be great. If not kodak had some calculators that had a sun - clouds - shade - that you would put a pointer on and it would give the differant combinations you could use. If all else fails you can use the sunne sixteen rule. (f/16 and shutter speed the same as the asa of the film) Then she will have to eiter guess or measure the distance to the subject and set this measurement on the camera. If you want send me an address and I will send you a strobe that will work. Ive got severel. - Dave

Rustybucket Loc: England

Dave... Thank you so much for the offer of sending a strobe. As Alice goes back home to Swansea (UK) next week I think it might be too late. The film I loaded is ASA 200. Up till recently I had never heard of the sunny 16 rule and shooting at the same shutter speed as ASA rating. We're going to a zoo tomorrow and lo and behold, the weather is to be sunny for a change. So I'll get her to shoot some at "sunny 16" and some adhering to the light meter reading. It has a solar powered light meter (no battery needed) Just read off the light value and set it using the red numbers round the bottom of the lense. It must have been quite innovative in it's day. I've just looked on the net and found the same camera. http://www.pixis.info/CameraPages/Retina1B.html

This will give you some idea of it. I nicked these photos from the net
Thanks again
Cath

PS.... There is one difference. Mine doesn't have the little square viewing thing on the far right as you look at it closed. Not sure what it is or what it does??

Retina 1B closed


Retina 1B top


Retina 1B bottom

wilsondl2 Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

Looks like the one they have is a later model with a exposure meter built in. Does yours have the two windows together. Mine dose not. If it does it has a rangefinder and you can match the images in it to make sure it is in focus. Mine you have to set the distance by measureing or guessing. A little history - as the site you listed stated that Kodak brought out the film casset that you shot the film and then rolled in back in and then sent it out to process. The other 35mm of the day you bought the film in lengths of 36 shots and then you had to load your own cassets. Most had a take up casset that had to be taken out and send to a cutom prosessor or do your own in a dark room. Most people did not want to mess with this so just a few used 35mm. The other camera companies quickly took up the Kodak system. Lieca was the first to do 35mm but the Kodak casset was what made it popular. I would go with the light meter. - Dave

Rustybucket Loc: England

Hi Dave. Mine seems to be that same as yours, without the rangefinder. I didn't realise that that was what the other window was for. It is quirky and fiddly to set compared to modern cameras but it will challenge her :-). Today's the day we are off to the zoo so wish us luck. Hopefully I'll get some good digital shots to post and if Alice can get some negatives scanned I may be able to upload a couple to UHH, but it won't be for a while after she gets back home. A little history about my Retina. Around 1960 my father was a cargo handler at Prestwick airport in Scotland (the one that Elvis flew into many years ago). Anyway, the Retina sort of "fell off the back of a plane" , as a lot of things did in them days

:oops: and it has languished in a drawer for many years since then. It will be interesting to see how it performs after all these years :-).
Thanks once again.