Any EXA fans out there?

CameraQuest

CameraQuest

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I'm fascinated by the EXA, believing EXAS deserve far more recognition and respect than they are usually given.

First of all, EXA film is still easily available -- standard 35mm film. No bother like re-rolling film for 110 or 126 or 626 or ..... what ever.

The EXA mounts hundreds of high quality Exakta and Topcon lenses, lenses far better than any 110 or 126 camera could ever take. Name any European 1950's lens maker. They almost certainly made Exakta lenses - that would also fit the EXA. Including but not limited to Zeiss, Steinheil and Angenieux.

EXA's are relatively small, compact and inexpensive.

The EXA was the first line of 35mm SLRs designed as a lower cost entry level SLR camera - which could lead to serious appreciation of the .. at the time .. expensive professional EXAKTA cameras. The Nikkomat marketing plan came out of the EXA playbook.

EXAS were a photographic trojan horse .. developed by those super smart East Germans to get as many of those nasty American $$ as possible.

Not only are EXA's cute, they are capable of outstanding images thanks to their great lenses.

Stephen
 
I enjoy using mine. The simplicity is attractive, and the results speak for themselves.


Ihagee Exa with Zeiss Pancolar 50/2 and metered finder. by Mike Novak, on Flickr


Ihagee Exa, Zeiss Flektogon 25/4, ORWO UN54+, FA1027 8:30 by Mike Novak, on Flickr

I think that Koudelka used an Exa with a 25mm Flektogon for his photos of Hungarian gypsies, as well as his photos of the Prague Spring. With the big old Flektogon, it is an outstanding camera for the street. I would like to get a WLF for mine.
 
Yes. These are cute little shooters and lots of fun too - especially with the WLFs (waist-level finders).

Exa 0 w/WLF & Carl Zeiss Jenna Flektagon 2.8/35
Exa 1a w/WLF & Carl Zeiss Jenna Tessar 2.8/50
Exa II w/Meyer-Optik Görlitz Domiplan 2.8/50



Exa 0, 1a, and II by rdc154, on Flickr
 
Threads like this drive the prices up :D
I‘ve got an EXA 1 and adore the strange shutter mechanism. Top speed is 1/175 but it is reliable (unlike my Exakta which has badly wrinkled curtains).
 
I've got an Exakta Varex IIa, it's a wonderful machine. The Exas can still be had quite reasonably, but I've always thought they looked a bit crude compared to the Exaktas. Maybe I'll rethink that.......(like I need any more cameras!)
A separate forum might be a good idea, but I always scan all posts as I have an interest in many fields.
 
Don’t have one now but one thing I remember about it was at 1/25 the drum shutter was almost silent. Picked it up at a second hand store but other than the little triplet that came with it never got any more lenses and so let it go at a photo show for what I’d paid.
 
I like the fact that you can change between WLF and prism finder when it suits you. I would definitively go for one with a metal body, some of the earlier ones look real classy.
 
CameraQuest said:
nice links to Exa / Exakta sites

I wonder how popular an Exakta / Exa forum would be

Stephen
Click to expand...

Yes please!

Would love to see a forum including both: the Exacta Varex is quite nice and a bit of a different beast.

a9958dd0ed6e772dbda8677b80e670c3.jpg
 
CameraQuest said:
nice links to Exa / Exakta sites

I wonder how popular an Exakta / Exa forum would be

Stephen
Click to expand...
I would love an Exakta/Exa forum. I owned an Exa from the 1950's once. It was an OK camera, nice handling actually, decent viewfinder, but the shutter tapered. Many, if not most, need servicing these days. Today I use an Exakta Varex in good shape. I also own a brand new boxed VX500 that I can't bring myself to actually remove from the box and use!

The best part about the Exakta system were the many interesting lenses made for it, some quite fine, and some even reasonably priced today.
 
I got two Ihage Exakta Varex SLRs after seeing Josef Koudelka's work in Tokyo. The 25/4 Flektogon he used for his outstanding photo-essay of the Roma people ("Gypsies") looked interesting as do the cameras but the mechanic reliability of my Ihage Exakta Varex cameras (IIb and RTL1000) was less than outstanding. The film advance lever of my RTL1000 broke in two parts when advancing the film and the the IIB needed two layers of liquid electric tape to make it light tight. At some point I gave up the idea of restoring it by myself but I got the repair book.
 
maddoc said:
I got two Ihage Exakta Varex SLRs after seeing Josef Koudelka's work in Tokyo. The 25/4 Flektogon he used for his outstanding photo-essay of the Roma people ("Gypsies") looked interesting as do the cameras but the mechanic reliability of my Ihage Exakta Varex cameras (IIb and RTL1000) was less than outstanding. The film advance lever of my RTL1000 broke in two parts when advancing the film and the the IIB needed two layers of liquid electric tape to make it light tight. At some point I gave up the idea of restoring it by myself but I got the repair book.
Click to expand...
In my experiments with Exakta's some years ago, I found the late era VX500 and VX1000 models fairly reliable and not too expensive. The older models usually need servicing. The main thing to look for on 50's era Exakta's is to make sure the shutter curtains are light tight and clean. This is the Achilles heel of a vintage Exakta.
 
My Exakta Varex IIa is currently in Russia for shutter repair, so in the meantime I picked up this beauty to play with. Very nice condition and everything seems to work. The prism viewfinder came with a split image ground glass which was a nice surprise. I don't know if the Exas originally came with split image finders, my Exakta came with a plain ground glass. I already had the Steinheil Auto-Quinar, but it looks nice on the Exa too. Only problem is that the shutter release plunger on this lens is not long enough to trigger the Exa's shutter button. I will look for a soft release button for the Exa, that ought to fill the gap.

U73354I1618065147.SEQ.0.jpg
 
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