Exa II

Does anyone know of any good resources for information regarding the

Exa II (manufactured in Dresden, Germany, by Ihagee)? Please do post

any relevant information. Thank you very much.

Here is an online manual:

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/exa_ii/exa_ii.htm

 

Send the sit owner a few dollars to help maintain this site. Lots of camera manuals.

 

Here is more info on the history of the mark:

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

The internet has a great search tool called google.com. Give it a shot.

Thank you, Gene, for your very sarcastically helpful comment. I absolutely adore when people on fora tell others to "google it." Astonishingly, I've been through Google, Yahoo!, and the like; I've found some sources, but was hoping that people who are interested in this item might have more knowledge of sites with more information on the product, across which I might not have run. In any event, thanks for your help with the matter.

 

Also, thanks a lot George (sincerely). I've already been to the wrotniak page, but I hadn't ever stumbled across Butkus's, before; it actually had scans of the EXACT manual that I'd been wanting to look at. I hadn't seen this anywhere but in one Ebay auction, and it was in German. I'm going to have to send the guy a thank you e-mail, and maybe even a small contribution. Thanks again!

http://www.exaklaus.de/homepage.htm

Gene was simply giving good advice. No need for the nasty reply.

You will find a nice discussion of the Exas and Exaktas in Ivor Mantanle's book "Collecting and Using Classic SLR's".

"Exacta Cmmeras 1933-1978" by Clement Aguila and Michel Rouah. Hove Photo Books: Copyright 1987; reprinted 1989. I purchased a brand new copy within the past few years: try Amazon.

It is one of the oldest line (if not the oldest) of reflex system cameras in camera history.

 

Quite a few books on them if you want to spend some money. Otherwise, google will do just fine. I know it is a pain to recognise the useful sites from list of few thousand answers that Google or a similar search engine spits out every time.

But they do churn out relevant information.

the exas a way cool camera. You got to get used to the mirror blackout thow. my old man had one and it took great pictures.

H.P., regarding Gene's response, I felt it was rude, so I replied in kind.

 

Anyway, thanks for some of the titles you guys have given me. Though Ebay seems useless for the purpose, Amazon, indeed, appears to have some good material (it's not free, but I guess I'd be willing to shell out a little for some truly worth-while reading). I actually found a copy of a book regarding Exaktas at my local library, but, unfortunately, it was written in 1955, and, thus, doesn't even cover the Exa II (which was made, I believe, as early as 1959). So, yes, I think I shall purchase one or two of the recommendations that have been made. I found that Exa II manual, by the way, (Butkus.org) utterly invaluable; thanks for the link. Thanks, everyone.

Regretably, two wrongs have never added up to one right. I don't see Gene's comment as rude, merely laconic. There are already enough fora on this site where rudeness is the order of the day and it would nice if people coming here brought some politeness with them.

"Please do post any relevant information"

 

A rapid Exa II Google search, on the first page gave me...Butkus, Captain Jack, Pacific Rim Camera, and Wrotniak. Lots to read.

Hi, Rahul Look, mate, we might just have an international misunderstanding of the English language here. I agree with Tito and the others, that Gene M.'s post about doing some "Googling" should help you. I don't consider that he was being curt or rude.

You have to remember that Search Engines like Google are Intelligent Idiots. QED, if you didn't come up with anything first time around for "exa 11", then try some other word search combinations. If all else fails - email me, because I've got an Exa 11 manual. (By the way - I really detest Exa's - so why don't you go the whole hog and get yourself a Big Brother Exakta Varex VX11a c. 1958, one of the True Classic 35mm SLRs? They're amazingly cheap today compared to what they cost originally ........ ~~PN~~

I don't think this was a matter of language. Rahul was clear in how he felt and expressed it even more clearly.

 

Rahul, I look at it this way. It does not matter if you felt Gene was rude or not. I am sure as a result of this thread you will not forget Gene.

 

Please have a look at this: http://westfordcomp.com/holga/index.html

 

Treat yourself to some nice photography. I learn a lot from it.

 

Love or hate it is the passion that counts.

 

Who knows what really drives Gene?!

 

Whatever it is, I like the results :-)

Well, "two wrong" or not, if I feel offended, I'll say so. Similarly, if I feel thankful of others' help, I'd like to think I would express my appreciation (and I think that I have do that, as well). I'm sure that I was offended out of some prior experiences: On many boards (movies, video games, photography, news, etc.), I've witnessed perfectly valid questions be asked, only to be mockingly responded to with something to the effect of, "don't know if you've heard, but there's a marvellous new tool out there: it's called 'google'." I hate these types of responses; I find them rude and snide. Now, I don't know, I suppose, whether Gene was being snide or attmepting to be truly helpful, but I took it as the former. Perhaps that was ill-conceived, on my part, but I took umbrage at the comment, and I expressed that.

 

Anyway, I think nothing else really need be said regarding the matter. Even it was inappropriate (and, it might not have been), it was certainly a mino offense, and I'd rather not spark a heated debate about "forum etiquette" ﾗ lol.

 

Back to the topic: Peter, wow, I'm surprised. I've never witnessed such apparent disdain for the Exas; as a matter of fact, most people seem to like them. Personally, I have had the pleasure of using one, and I must say that I liked it (as the word "pleasure" might indicate). How come you "detest" them? Do you feel it is an inferior product, or is it simply taste? Just curious.

 

Thanks again, all.

Saying "Anyway, I think nothing else really need be said regarding the matter" doesn't really do it. That comes across as not caring about the sensibilities of others. Much better to offer Gene a polite apology and finish it off properly

Your first post here, right, Rahul?

 

Welcome, apologize and leave this crowded, bustling and thriving forum..

 

..quietly.

Ah, Rahul, now you've definately popped the $64,000 Question in asking me why I detest Exas. OK, mate, call it a snobbery thing, call it aesthetics, call it anything you like ...... but as I look right now as I type this at my Exa 11 sitting there like an Ugly Toad alongside maybe the most beautiful 35mm SLR ever made, ie the Exakta Varex 11a of 1958, well .... there's really no comparison. It's like comparing a VDub Beetle against a Ferrari, except in this case the two of 'em came from the same factory. One's a basic El Cheapo clunker, the other has all the bells and whistles plus that certain something that's hard to describe. Maybe the fact that the Exakta cost a small fortune back in the late 50s has something to do with it?

 

Rahul, all I can say is that nice old Exaktas are an absolute steal today (except for the very first Kine model with the round magnifier) compared to what they cost way back when. You really need to get yourself one of these and then you'll be an instant convert. My recommendation would be for one with an auto F2 Biotar and pentaprism, maybe because that's what mine has got. However, if you DO get the Exakta Urge and acquire one, pleeeaaassseee stop there and then. If you find yourself wanting another Exakta, then it'll be another and another and another! There are only some 12 Exakta main models, but umpteen minor variants, so Exaktaphobeans end up moving Heaven and Earth to get the Fifth Variant of the VX11b or whatever. It just never stops. Really, all you need is just one to appreciate the camera that started the 35mm SLR Revolution back in 1936.

 

OK, so that's it with my thoughts on the Exa/Exakta Battle. Let me know how you go with the Exa 11 IB chase, because I can send you a scan of my IB if you don't get anywhere, OK? ~~PN~~

H.P., I certainly don't think that I owe Gene any sort of apology. Perhaps my not-so-heated words masked this a bit. I said "nothing else really needs to be said," because I felt like "letting it go"; I did not do so as some way of "taking the backdoor out."

 

Vivek, same goes to you: I'm sorry if it somehow came across as thouugh I was being indirectly apologetic; I was not. I have no reason to apologize.

 

Peter, wow. I have seen quite a bit of praise for authentic Exaktas, and, I must say, I am intrigued. They more than have their place in history (more or less spurring the current standard of the "SLR," and all), and they really do look to be well-made, intelligently-designed beasts. I agree that getting hold of one is not terribly expensive; I think this ﾗ which may be construed, perhaps, as lack of "recognition"/"respect" ﾗ actually does benefit people genuinly interested in this series. We can buy them, tinker with them, and own them, without having to shell out big "collectors' bucks." I think I might just head over to Ebay and try to get a deal on a original Exakta. I still have a place in my heart for the "Exa II" (of course, for a personal reason), and I think I'll continue to like it, but, who knows: I might just develop a new passion. Thanks very much.

Rahul, Truly, it was a dig at the veteran "H.P." What I said was tongue in cheek.

 

Don't worry about any prima donnas, hierarchy or imploring posts.

 

Be yourself.

Gene's too nice a guy to keep up on this one but if we don't challenge rudeness here we'll end up like other forums where all too often we see nasty personal attacks. To paraphrase a famous saying: all that's necessary for rudeness to triumph is for ordinary posters to say nothing.

Oh, come on. Give it a rest. A guy shows up here with one post and you keep ramming it down his throat.

 

What the hell did anyone lose here?

 

Gene's work and his contributions stand on their own.

I'd say it's pretty obvious what's going on. Sometimes you do have to stand on people's toes until they say sorry. Occassionally you discover just how many people have protruding toes.

Someone like you will invent any toes as they like in order to step on.