Bidding on a 1937-Kine-EXAKTA-Version-2-Camera Anyone else?

<p>Bidding on this on Ebay. if anyone else is bidding let me know so we do not drive price up needlessly</p>

<p>I will NOW be bidding on it!<br>

Actually, I'm <strong>not</strong>, of course. I have not yet expanded into pre-WWII and WWII versions -- perhaps just as well. ;)</p>

<p>No problems Donald, my bidding days are well past!</p>

<p>Congratulations! You will love restoring this camera and using it. In my sample the gears had worn out a bit. So, I could restore it up to the speed of 1/500 second. The 1/1000 sec does not work. I would rarely need that. The subsystems and the way they are integrated is a marvel of engineering. I am not surprised that <strong>JDM</strong> would be tempted! Good luck with the machine; hope to see many pictures from that. SP.</p>

Like JdM, The prewar models are just too old. True museum pieces If I had one of course I'd want it to work

and I hope the one you'Re bidding on will be in good enough condition to work! This is truly the first SLR

system camera..

<p>Please let us know the results. When is the auction ending? I love old tanks, they feel so comforting in the hand. Sort of like a warm Blonde. Well, maybe not that.</p>

<p>I'm ashamed to admit that it is not the age (I have some other prewar cameras from Germany that do work), but rather the last gasp effort to reduce my camera GAS.<br /> However, I have to confess that I have just got some early digital cameras. Is there no hope for those of us who love old machinery?</p>

<p>At least it's not old tractors; imagine what a collection of those would involve.</p><div></div>

<p>Well, that sure is a pretty camera. Best wishes. (Not competing, I switched from Topcon to Pentax to enable digital.)</p>

 

<p>Bidding ends in 5 days. I wish I could tell you my top bid to get some input. Thanks<br>

JDM no problem if you do. Nothing wrong with it going to a better home. Just would not like to drive up price for either of us needlessly. Just looking at it is cool.</p>

 

<p>Donald, it looks like just two of you are chewing it over right now. I hardly ever get into the bid thing--much preferring to hop in during the last 5 seconds of the auction and hit it with the highest amount that I am willing to pay. Sniping usually takes the day, and quite a bit of the time at considerably less than my top 'gotta have it' one shot bid.</p>

<p>Good luck. Do you have a lens in your collection that you would pair this with? And as to the pop up not closing--a bit of duct tape will fix that problem straight away and on the cheap@</p>

If you bid early you are bidding against yourself. I found that out early on. I once bid on a book for $10. Only one other person was interested so he bid $11. I bid $15 and he bid $16. I bid $20 and he bid $21. Finally I got the book for $25. If I had not bid along and waited until the last minute I would have put in that $15 bid and got it for $12 one more than his max bid.

<p>Usually I just bid my highest and and just leave it. But your system makes more sense sometimes. In this case if there is some on photonet who is willing to pay more than my top bid then why should I bid them up higher than needed if we are the 2 highest bidders. If they are willing to pay more than me in the end then my bidding would serve no purpose but to drive up their bid and I would drop out if I would not win it anyway and visa versa. I would just let it sit at the current bid and pass it on at the same cost .</p>

<p>I have a few lens from other early exas. I have an Aragon 135mm lens (French made) that I took a few nice shots but recently it was very disappointing. Was it the camera or the lens I have yet to discern.</p>

<p>Well, good luck to you, Don, or to whoever wins the Fleabay auction. I've now got two of those 1937 Kine Exaktas, both acquired via that same Fleabay route, one with an F2.8 Tessar and the other with an F2.8 Schneider Xenar. The shutters were still working just fine, but the reflex mirrors on both were beyond redemption and had to be replaced. Strange that Ihagee of Dresden could produce such an advanced but nevertheless bullet-proof FP shutter along with most everything else, but not a long-life mirror! (Pete In Perth)</p>

<p>Well, I did win the camera but I decided I wanted that camera no matter what and my top bid was ridiculously high. It cost more than I expected but not disappointed. I have 2 rationalizations, 1-If it is worth $x.xx to someone than paying $x.xx plus $1.50 is not that bad (unless the other bidder is crazy. But this is a;so my swan song. I have no need to buy another camera no matter what and will not buy anymore no matter (lol) what so why not? I hope to show some results in 3-4 weeks but I am not going to shoot pictures just to see how it works.</p>

<p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=3667779">Subbarayan Prasanna</a>, just hope that restoration is simple nuts and bolts, I have read that exactas are among the most dificult to work on.</p>

<p>Good for you Donald.<br>

As an aside, in foolishness, some people misread the name on the old Exaktas and I have seen them listed as "Thugee" cameras. Those old Indian cults were apparently everywhere.;)</p>

The Thugee uses an assassin lens I think.