Albuquerque Color

My bicycle is one of my best photography accessories; it lets me explore places in the city that I might not otherwise get to.  I took a couple rides in the last week through the Old Town and Downtown districts  carrying along my Retina Ia which easily fits in a pocket; it was loaded with Fuji 200.

The Ia model, produced from 1945 to 1949 is a direct descendant of the original Retina which kicked off the era of 35mm photography in the mid-1930s.  A number of variations on the first model appeared in the pre-war years, but the pace of development rapidly gained additional momentum after the war.  Enhancements incorporated into the Ia included a lever advance coupled to a Synchro-Compur shutter with speeds to 1/500, a depth of field scale on the lens mount, and a synthetic leather-like covering that precluded the development of Zeiss bumps.  My example has a sharp Xenar lens.  The Wikipedia Retina page is very helpful for sorting out the many models in the line.

Chris Sherlock has a great series on youtube about servicing the Retinas

 The little Gossen Pilot meter is a nice companion to the Model-Ia for light-weight travel.