Exakta and Exa Appreciation Thread

[onre]

Nowadays the cheapest 50 mm Trioplan has a small folding camera attached to it.

 

[julio1fer]

Be careful, they multiply like rabbits. They violate the laws of economics, because often body + lens is cheaper than lens alone.

I got first an Exa Ib, which has M42 mount. Then I got a second Exa Ib for a steal, basically to get a prism viewfinder. Some really good pictures came out of the Exas, so I was curious to get an Exakta. Eventually a VXIIb was found locally in excellent shape, with a Tessar lens. Learned the left-hand tricks and started to get additional lenses - what good is a SLR without glass? Then, one of those lenses (Isco 35) came attached to a second VXIIb. To make it short, now I keep all the Exakta things in my office, I run out of room at home!

A really great system camera. Right now I have a Pancolar to test with Pan F+ in one of the VXIIb bodies.

 

[AgX]

The Exa 1's being system cameras?

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

The Exa 1's being system cameras?

The Exa (zero as it is often called) and the 1 series all had interchangeable prism or folding hood viewfinders.
The 1b and 1c were M42 mount.
http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/exakta/exa-serial.html

 

[AgX]

I have a 1B. Actually I only bought it for the unique shutter design. Not as a user camera...

To me the limited shutter speeds alone exclude it from being a system camera.
The basic camera alone should be decent. Then have a number of accessories.
Whether interchangable finders/screens are sufficient can be debated on.

 

[onre]

Well, it has interchangeable lenses and can mount basically anything that VX models can. With longer lenses, the finder view will be slightly cut, but still.

 

[AgX]

http://www.wrotniak.net/photo/exakta/exa-serial.html

The author of that site seemingly mixes up manufacturers. Pentacon did not licence EXA production to Certo, but to Rheinmetall.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

The author of that site seemingly mixes up manufacturers. Pentacon did not licence EXA production to Certo, but to Rheinmetall.

According to this author and I have seen references to it elsewhere, Pentacon / Ihagee did both: some of the original EXA was produced by Rheinmetall and the M42 mount 1B (part of production) and 1C by Certo.

M42 Exas made by Certo

1. VEB Pentacon licensed the production of screw-mount Exas (some late Ib *4.4 and all Ic *4.5) to another East-German maker, Certo. Cameras built by Certo have serial numbers preceded with a letter C.

 

[AgX]

Well, in 1954 the Ihagee Cameraworks under custodionship licened the production to VEB Rheinmetall. Two independant firms thus.

In 1983 though the by then formed combine Pentacon transferred the Exa Production from the former Ihagee plant to their daughter firm VEB Certo. A sub-firm that two years later even is dissolved and becomes a mere Pentacon department.

 

[Ricardo Miranda]

Thanks AgX.

 

[Jerevan]

Are there any better screens (brighter, microprism, splitimage) that fits the Exa (have a '61)? And what to do with a tarnished mirror? Get another spare parts camera and try to find someone who can replace it?

I'll have to run a roll through the camera, but I am taken in by the handling characteristics this far.

 

[AgX]

The screens are combined with the field lens!

In case the lenses have similar FL you might be successful in adapting Praktica sreens in size to fit an Exa.

 

[railwayman3]

I got first an Exa Ib, which has M42 mount. Then I got a second Exa Ib for a steal, basically to get a prism viewfinder. Some really good pictures came out of the Exas, so I was curious to get an Exakta. Eventually a VXIIb was found locally in excellent shape, with a Tessar lens. Learned the left-hand tricks and started to get additional lenses - what good is a SLR without glass? Then, one of those lenses (Isco 35) came attached to a second VXIIb. To make it short, now I keep all the Exakta things in my office, I run out of room at home!

Not doubting what you say, but I never realised than any Exa's or Exakta's used an M42 mount ? My first serious 35mm camera was an Exa, supplied with an interchangable waist-level finder, I think it said just "Exa" on the logo on the front. My Dad had an "Exa 500"(?) with a fixed pentaprism, while he and other photo club members also had various Exakta's. SFAIK, all were the proprietory Exakta bayonet fitting. Just curious?

 

[faberryman]

My Dad's Exakta VX with Carl Zeiss Tessar 50mm f3.5 and waist level finder, purchased by him sometime in the 1950's, perhaps while in Korea, was my first camera. I moved on to a Pentax SP500, found a M42 flange for the Exakta, and used it as my backup body. My friends had Spotmatics and Mamiya/Sekors and we shared lenses. I traded both the Exakta and the SP500 sometime in the mid-1970's for an Olympus OM1 which I still have and now use as a backup body to a pair of OM-4s.

 

[AgX]

Not doubting what you say, but I never realised than any Exa's or Exakta's used an M42 mount ?

Exa (1951), Exa 1 (1962), Exa 1a (1964) = bayonet

Exa 1b (1977), Exa 1c (1985) = thread

 

[onre]

Exaktas are beautiful.

Picture was taken with another Exakta, Biotar and the shortest macro ring.

 

[naeroscatu]

Wow, this thread gets my mojo flowing . I have couple of Exakta VX IIa with the 50mm and 20mm Carl Zeiss lenses. I sent one of them for a CLA as I intend to use them more often. Great cameras

 

[Ian Grant]

Exaktas are beautiful.

Picture was taken with another Exakta, Biotar and the shortest macro ring.

They are definitely beautiful in their own unique way, and with the right lenses the images are superb. Some of the best 35mm negatives I've printed were made with a VX1000 and 35mm, 50mm and 135mm CZJ lenses, as good as M series Leica lenses, and that says a lot

Ian