This interchangeable front component concept was introduced in 1954 with the folding Retina IIc and IIIc models.

The Retina Reflex is, on rare occasions, found with very similar lenses made by Rodenstock.

After exposure the mirror stays up until the bottom-mounted single-stroke film advance lever is again wound.

The camera's top plate has the manually set frame counter, the shutter release, the film rewind knob with film reminder dial, the exposure needle window, meter adjustment knob with EV and ASA/DIN scales, the film (advance) release button, the frame (counter) advance slider, and the accessory shoe.

In use, the Retina Reflex frame counter works down from 35 (or 20) to 0, at which point the film advance locks.

In other words, when in use, the camera is normally locked into one EV setting until the aperture release tab is pressed.

[6]: 25  For the Retina Reflex, the wide-angle 35 mm f/5.6 unit could be fitted, but this combination was not recommended as the resulting image on the ground glass screen would be dim and hard to focus.

[7]: 5–6 Users were cautioned to stay with the same manufacturer for the front conversion lens units: that is, cameras originally equipped with the Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon are intended to be used with the Retina-Curtar-Xenon or Retina-Longar-Xenon front lens units exclusively, while those originally equipped with the Rodenstock Retina-Heligon were advised to use Retina-Heligon wide-angle and telephoto front lens units.

[1]: 334 [8]: 27 When equipped with either of the telephoto (80 mm) lens units, the minimum focusing distance is 6.5 ft (2.0 m).

Kodak sold a close-up lens labeled "T 1/60" (denoting application, diopter, and attachment thread size) that extended the minimum focusing distance to 3.5 ft (1.1 m).

This same mount, with minor differences, was also used by a number of other German camera makers, including Braun and Voigtländer.

The selenium cell exposure meter is now coupled to a "setting wheel" located on the very bottom of the lens mount.

This setting wheel sets adjusts the camera's exposure value (EV) by changing (in a most complex fashion) the aperture and/or shutter rings at the same time that it changes the depth-of-field pointers on the camera's lens.

The camera was originally equipped with the same coupled selenium meter as the Reflex S, but after 1962 a larger one was fitted, again made by Gossen.

The Reflex III features the same "setting wheel" and interlocking aperture/shutter rings as the Reflex S. As it was fashion in the early 1960s the shutter release button on top was replaced by a shutter release shifter beside the lens mount.

For the Xenar 45 mm lens included with most kits, the aperture could be linked to the focus to provide the correct exposure when using flashcubes.

[2] The 135 mm lenses could be fitted with the earlier "T I/60" close-up lens to bring the focusing distance range to 1.43 to 2.0 m (4.7 to 6.6 ft), or a "T II/60" close-up lens, which brought the focusing distance range to 2.0 to 3.72 m (6.6 to 12.2 ft).

The 85 mm lenses could be fitted with a "T I/32" close-up lens, which brings the focusing distance range to 1.0 to 1.8 m (3.3 to 5.9 ft).

This article was originally based on "Kodak Retina Reflex" in Camerapedia, retrieved on 27 December 2012 under the GNU Free Documentation License.