Chris's camera pages

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G'day All, my name is Chris Sherlock and I collect and repair Kodak Retina & Retinette cameras.

As you may know, the Kodak Retina family of fine 35mm cameras began life in 1934 with the type 117 Retina camera, introduced with Kodak's new daylight loading cassettes of 35mm film.

The Retina cameras were manufactured at Kodak A.G. in what had previously been the Dr. August Nagel Camerawerk factory in Stuttgart. The business had been purchased by Kodak in 1931.

A large number of models of the Retina, and later, the Retinette cameras were made right up until 1969. One day I hope to have an example of them all, but my collection is work in progress at the moment, as it always will be I suspect.

I trained as a camera technician with Kodak in Wellington in the early seventies. Not surprisingly, I started collecting Kodak's Retina and Retinette cameras and lenses. Like many other collectors though, I find that it is hard to resist gathering up examples of other fine classic photographic equipment of the same period, and so my collection has grown. These days I live in Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island.

In recent years I have revived my skills to enable me to repair the cameras in my growing collection so that they are working as they should. Perhaps it was inevitable that I would also end up repairing these fine cameras for other collectors as well.

I've usually got some Retina repair project here that I am working on for another Retina owner. These cameras come here from all over the world. It seems to be getting harder and harder for collectors to find a local camera repair business willing, and/or able to work on these older cameras. My repair service.

I'm always looking for suitable "parts or repair" cameras to join those sitting in boxes waiting for a transplant, or the chance to become an organ donor. If you have a dead Retina that might be suitable for me to use for parts, or if you'd like some advice with a repair project of your own, please email me. retinarepair@gmail.com