this post was submitted on 14 May 2026
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Need Advice on how to use an old camera (feddit.org)
submitted 5 days ago by Waldelfe@feddit.org to c/photography@lemmy.world
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Hello everyone, I bought an old Kodak Retinette 1A in a fleamarket. It seems to be in working condition, although I'll only know for sure after I developed the first photos. I found a manual for a later version (or a different one, the manual is in English and the camera is from Germany) but the lense and the labeling on the lenses are very different from mine.

I was hoping maybe someone with more knowledge of photography could help me make an educated guess. I assume the part labelled with an "m" is distance in meter, but otherwise I have no clue.

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[–] gomp@lemmy.ml 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

You have distance to the focus plane on the focus ring and f-numbers on the aperture ring.

The ranges visible in the second picture show the approximate depth of field at various apertures.

Eg. in the photos the aperture is set f/11, the focus at 20m, and the markings for "11" show that the depth of field goes from ~4m to infinity (ie. everything from 4m and beyond should be relatively sharp).

[–] Waldelfe@feddit.org 2 points 5 days ago

Thank you.

[–] hildegarde@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

The first ring is the aperture, the second ring is the exposure time, and the third one is the focus ring. The distances are in meters.

The ring visible from the front of has the aperture numbers arranged in an expanding pattern from the top center. Those show the depth of field. If you set the aperture to 11, the area in focus should extend from the focus distances shown between one 11 mark and the other.

I would recommend checking the light seal around the film door if you've not put film in the camera. The adhesives on those break down with time. It may need to be replaced.

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

I have a Graflex that looks similar. To focus the Graflex, you look through the one viewfinder, and find something vertical in the image (a pole, for example) and get it to line up vertically. There a horizontal line in the viewfinder.

That viewfinder doesn't actually show the true composition of the image though. That's a different viewfinder!

[–] tmyakal@infosec.pub 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Not familiar with this specific camera, so I'm just guessing, but it looks like there's three rings of control built into the lens. Outside ring is aperture, middle ring is shutter speed, and inner ring is focal distance. And, yes, I'd expect the "m" on the dial distance is for meter.

Does the eye piece have a built in light meter? I imagine this guy would be tricky to get good shots on without a light meter or a bonkers level of experience and confidence.

[–] Waldelfe@feddit.org 1 points 4 days ago

Thank you. I have zero experience and I'm going with bonkers level of completely unfounded confidence :D

[–] AbidingOhmsLaw@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

in the top down picture the ring closest to the body marked 3.5 to 22 is the apature and the other is the shutter speed in fraction of sec. with B for "Bulb" ( shutter stays open as long as the release is pressed)

The lens on picture the outer ring is the apature and inner ring is the focal length, I assume in meters because you said it was from Germany.

Edi: spelling, correction on shutter speed

[–] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

22 is the apature and the other is the shutter speed in thousands of sec.

Correction:

...shutter speed in fractions of 1 sec.
1/30, 1/60, 1/125 etc.

[–] AbidingOhmsLaw@lemmy.ml 2 points 5 days ago

Correct, fixed.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

The top-down picture shows depth of field for each aperture. The black triangle points to the focus distance, and the f-stops on either side indicate the depth of field from the focus plane. Wider f-stop gives deeper depth of field. In the pictures the focus is set to 20m, and the f-stop is set to 11, so the depth of field is from infinite to 4m.

Now all you need is a light meter, unless the camera has one built in. Optionally, you can use a chart like this to set exposure, it works well-enough for B&W film, and small over or underexposures are handled during printing.

[–] Waldelfe@feddit.org 1 points 4 days ago

That sheet is very handy, thank you.

[–] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Manuél Exposure, PhD (Doctor of Photography)

[–] Waldelfe@feddit.org 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Thanks!

[–] AbidingOhmsLaw@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Just to avoid confusion what @DarrinBrunner refered to as top-down view I refered to as lens on view. But Darrin is correct it shows depth of field.