Be very careful buying Exakta zoom lens

Exakta zoom lens does not necessary Exakta mount.

 

Exakta zoom lens can be Pentax mount, Canon mount etc

 

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Exakta-MC-Macro-35-70mm-f-3-5-4-8-Quality-Manual-FF-Zoom-Lens-Pentax-K-TEST-PICS-/262846641328?hash=item3d32e174b0:g:EJQAAOSwzJ5XX2Qu

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/NOSTALGIA-EXAKTA-AF-Zoom-Lens-70-210MM-1-4-5-5-6-MC-MACRO-LENS-MINOLTA-SONY-/222116588324?hash=item33b72e2b24:g:N9cAAOSwRLZUC3BH

For a very long time, Exakta (& variants) was a camera made by Ihagee in eastern Germany.

The lenses were Zeiss, Meyer, and other German lens makers.

Toward the end of the history of Ihagee, east German companies were being "unified' into the vast VEB Pentacon.

Some late zooms for that company were made in Japan (the East made few zooms themselves) under brands like Exakta. With the end of the German Democratic Republik, some of these Japanese-made Exakta, Pentacon, etc. brands seem to have escaped legal control and went "free-range", so to speak.

 

There are also some prime lenses not in Exakta or Pentacon/Praktica but with those brand names.

Also some oddball "Helios", I have observed...

Yes, at one time Technical & Optical Equipment (British importer of Soviet cameras) marketed a line of Japanese-made "Helios" brand lenses alongside the Russian ones. The Helios name was appropriated for other photo accessories as well (flash units, bags, etc.).

As far as I know there were just a few zoom lenses available from VEB Pentacon in M42 and/or Praktica B mount towards the end of production of the Praktica line in the late 1980s. Most if not all of these lenses were manufactured in Japan.

 

I have never heard of any zoom lens originally made for Exakta mount in the GDR, or at least marketed by GDR companies. Also, Exakta never was a company but a camera designator. You cannot expect an Exakta zoom lens being manufactured by a company which never existed under this name. All these Exakta lenses are of far-east origin and were marketed by western companies.

 

BTW there are also some newer lenses with an "A. Schacht" designator. Production of original Schacht lenses was stopped somewhere in the 1970s so all these lenses are also re-branded far-east lenses and have nothing to do with the older Schacht lenses.

And then there's the mysterious "Carl Zeiss Jenazooms". I've never seen it finally established whether the lenses were manufactured by some Asian company, possibly Cosina, on behalf of Zeiss, or whether Zeiss just licenced the use of the name and logo. Quite competent zooms, made in a range of mounts including Exakta, I believe.

I would be very suspicious of any Exakta Zoom, and if I saw one I might assume it's in M42 mount. I can't recall ever seeing any Exakta mount zoom lenses. I'm intrigued by Ricks reply "Jenazoom" I have never really studied the marque, but by the mid seventies.. the Exakta was pushed out and the Pentacon namesd seemed to absorb everything and the names could not really differentiate the mounts, Praktika M42 Zeiss Ikon, Exakta etc ..That's the fun and the curse at the same time!!