ZIIIc Retro (A boy and his lathe)

Growing up, my dad took all the family photos with his Kodak Retina IIIc, mostly on Kodachrome. I was always amazed at how sharp they were. The camera used a Schenider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon 50 mm f/2 lens in a Synchro Compur shutter. Unlike the almost identical lenses used on earlier Retinas, this one has a radioactive front element. No internet hearsay- I confirmed it with a Geiger counter.

 

So, the question is, would anybody have a spare IIIc lens in their parts bin and be crazy enough to adapt it to their Nikon Z? Raises hand sheepishly. The short register of mirrorless cameras makes all sorts of lens adaptations possible, as evidenced by the huge number of inexpensive adapters available.

 

Not seeing anything inexpensive that included focusing, I picked up a 39 mm-to-Z adapter. The idea was to focus using the 39 mm thread, as the Retina focusing mechanism is in the body, not the lens/shutter. Hint- the original 39 mm spec was a 39 mm thread with 26 tpi (threads/inch), and 55 degree Whitworth to boot. Today everybody cuts their parts with a standard M39 x 1mm thread. I've no idea when that change was adopted, but probably quite a while ago. Enlarging lenses seem to use the modern standard. Those two specs sort of work together if you don't have much engagement length, but ideally, like should mate with like. Thus, I machined a 1 mm pitch tube to mate the lens/shutter to the 39 mm adapter. After I made a 26 tpi one that didn't work worth a darn. Naturally the inside is painted flat black.

 

 

That screws into this.

 

 

And mates with this. Long ago I made a "Wretna Wrench" for the rear retaining ring. The lens is pretty good, but has a bit of haze in the front group that I haven't figured out how to access and clean.

 

 

All screwed together you get the ZIIIc, or FrankenZ!

 

 

You can see a small piece of red enameled wire on the shutter "button" The shutter has only B, so it's necessary to block the button to keep the shutter open. I suppose one could even use the leaf shutter if it was fired in the middle of a short time exposure on the Z, but I can't think of any reason to do so.

Edited September 6, 2021 by conrad_hoffman

So how does the crazy thing work? I haven't had much time to test it, but center sharpness is excellent. Focusing is a bit annoying due to the fine pitch. If I were more dedicated I'd do a multi-start thread and new insert for the adapter, but that's too much work for this experiment. Focusing is best done magnified or with peaking turned on. Test image was at f/5.6-

 

 

 

More to follow when I have more time to shoot!

Amazing! Skill, ingenuity, and dedication. Kudos!

Oh to have the tools and the capabilities to use them! Excellent!

If only I had the skills, equipment and talent... Wonderful work, Conrad. Thank you for sharing. Edited September 6, 2021 by rick_drawbridge

Well done Conrad, and I never knew the Retina Xenon was in the radioactive club.

 

The only thing I miss about work is not having access to a lathe and milling machine.

 

But why do you keep your Nikon Z in a cage? Does it bite?

I've had a small lathe and some other shop stuff pretty much forever. No idea how "normal" people get through life without one. ;) As for the cage, it's protection from the clumsy (me) and provides a lot of useful mounting points for small lights, mic, reflectors and anything else I might need. Surprisingly, I'm not much of a video person. A while back I was using a copy stand and needed a tripod socket on the side of the camera. With the cage, there it was. Sometimes, to make things heavier and even more stable, I'll fasten a big old Sunset grip to it. Hmmm... might as well carry a Speed Graphic. If that's not enough, the tripod comes out.

I really like this one - though I'm a sucker for any good hack.:rolleyes: