wayne_cornell2 Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Back about 1960, while still in high school, I purchased and Exa I, my very first SLR. Couldn't afford an Exacta like my dad's. The Exa was $39.95 (what does that translate to in today's dollars) The Exa had its share of shortcomings--no instant return mirror and shutter speeds that only went to 1/150 sec. and manual aperature. Still, I shot a lot of pictures with it before trading it in on a uses Canon IV SB after graduation. Recently, I bumped into to fellow in Wisconsin who had an Exa and was willing to do some trading. The camera arrived today, in much better condition than expected. My first reaction was I had forgotten how compact and well made the camera was. The chrome on my new Exa still gleams and everything fits perfectly--much nicer than any of my Russian cameras from that period.. The mirror is dirty but that won't affect the picture quality, which should be decent since the camera is equipped with a 50mm f2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar lens. I'm anxious to get some low speed film and give it a test run. The Exa brings back a lot of memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maury_cohen Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 I hear you Wayne. When I first got the bug as a High-School student I used to hound my dad to drive me to Denevi Camera to see the Exacta VX-500, hoping he'd soften up and get me one for the $149.95 or so they sold for. I ended up saving up and getting a Practica Nova 1B then later a Miranda Sensorex. Cameras are such wonderfully cool gadgets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne_cornell2 Posted August 12, 2005 Author Share Posted August 12, 2005 The thing I remember about the Miranda (I never owned one) was they had a series of ads in the photo mags featuring unbelievably sexy female models. I know it's not politically correct to remember stuff like that today, but those ads really made me want a Miranda:) Here's a list of the cameras I would have to acquire if I had an example of every one I owned from 1958 to about 1980 Ansco Super Memar (still have it), Exa I (have one now), Canon IV SB, Petri Flex V, Mamiya 1000 TL, Asahi Pentax (WO meter), Nikkormat FTN, Nikon FTN, Leica M3, Leotax (early model), Graphic 4 x 5 view camera, Leica M3, Mamiya C330, Contax RTS, Mamiya M645, Olympus OM-1, (I have no idea why), Pentax LX. I don't think I can afford to totally recreate that list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank.schifano Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 "The thing I remember about the Miranda (I never owned one) was they had a series of ads in the photo mags featuring unbelievably sexy female models. I know it's not politically correct to remember stuff like that today, but those ads really made me want a Miranda:)" Hey, who cares if it's politically correct or not! The ads made you want one of those Miranda cameras, so I guess it was a pretty good piece of copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickc1 Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 My Dad used his father's N&G Baby Sibyl 127 roll film camera(c.1920)until it started to leak light in about 1960/61 When I started to collect cameras it was examples of all those that I had owned (including an Exa 500), and then those I knew, like Dad's Exa - here is my current example, like yours the quality is evident! Nick PS I now own a Miranda, but I can't remember those adverts - life passing me by again :-)<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickc1 Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Sorry - I mis typed - Dad bought his Exa to replace the dead Sibyl. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 My original Exa was identical to yours with the metal sportsfinder top on the waist level finder. My original one also had a "preset lens, where you set your f-stop, then used a second ring to open up to focus, when you turned the ring the opposite direction, it stopped at the preselected aperture. The Exa I have now doesn't have the preset lens and the finder has a leatherette top and no sportsfinder. I have an Exacta waist level finder with the sportsfinder but it won't quite fit the hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Here's my Exa<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendell_kelly Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 I can recall shopping at Peerless Camera in New York in 1963. They had a stack of new Exas sitting on the sale counter with a price of $19.95 with a lens. At the time, the Exakta/Exa cameras were a well developed photographic system with a wide range of lenses and acessories available. Many of these would fit the Exa as well as the Exakta and some Exakta owners bought the Exa as in inexpensive second body. Barry Goldwarer (Sr.), of all people, was sometimes shown in newspaper photographs (on slow news days) photographing his colleagues in the Capitol with an Exakta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito sobrinho Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 As a small Exa, Exakta "collector", I might offer a little correction on the two presented Exas which have the official designation of... Just plain EXA or EXA O (Original), Version 4 introduced in 1957. The Exa I, of 1963 had a new body design but still preserved the trapezoidal format and yet completely different from the original EXA. Wayne, at the top of your EXA, you have the hooded viewfinder, version 5 introduced in 1960. I love my Exa and I exposed wonderful slides with the 135/3.5 Angenieux lens as well as with the chrome 2/50 Xenon. My rarest EXA, is the Version 3 of 1956 made by Rheinmetall in Sommerda, Germany. Cheers, Tito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandeha Lynch Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Just in case you haven't seen it, there's a nice website on the range here ... http://www.wrotniak.com/photo/exakta/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roy_des_ruisseaux Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Yup. When I was in HS about 1956 or 57. There was a drugstore with a small camera section. One day I went in & they had an Exa 1 with a 50mm lens and a 100mm lens for $65. Having recently seen a slide show for the first time in my life I had to get this camera. As I always had pretty good summer jobs,I got it. To tell you the truth I don't think I ever shot a roll of slide film with it and traded it in for a Pentacon when we moved to Baltimore a year or so later. I recently picked one up off e bay for abot $28 My biggest complaint is trying to shoot verticals with a waist level finder. Oh well I got it more for nostalgia then anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Mine is an Exa 1.4 built between 1956 and 1959 -- the same time frame as my original camera, QUESTION: According to the site listed about the Exacta viewfinder were interchangable with the EXA. Why then won't the waist level finder off a Exacta VXIIB fit my Exa I? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Correction: The Exacta waist level finder is from a VXIIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito sobrinho Posted August 13, 2005 Share Posted August 13, 2005 Wayne, I have the EXAKTA VX family with two VXs and three VXIIas. When I use my EXA O, I just interchange the prism finder from the VXIIa to my Exa O Version 4. The EXA O, 1.4 has a ribbed leatherette with 4 flash contacts. I have one. EXA O, 1.2 with a black flange. I have one. I'm looking for the EXA O, 1.1 a rare one, with a max speed of 1/250. Looking at your camera, you have an EXA O, Version 4; of which I have two. The last one, was a gift from a friend in mint condition with the case, original box and the instruction manual. Ihagee made several types of EXAKTAs as well as EXAs. The sellers at ebay are confused with the several types of both cameras. But trust me, the EXA I is a different animal! Go to this site: http://captjack.exaktaphile.com/ Or buy the book I have: EXAKTA cameras 1933-1978 by Clement Aguilla and Michel Rouah (A&R). Either one, will give you an insight on the different models of both cameras. Cheers, Tito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 OK. It got the VXIIA waist level to fit the Exa. Now it looks like the original Exas of that type with the metal top of sports viewfinder. The Exacta finder was so unused that it took a little wiggling to get it to fit. I'll have to update my photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tri-x1 Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Exa with proper finder<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tito sobrinho Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Excellent Wayne! It's a pretty camera with the proper finder. The EXA is a very capable photographic "machine" especially with the 2.8/Tessar. Look for the pentaprism to be used with a long lens, vertical compositions, and tubes or bellows for close ups. The Exakta RTL1000's hooded finder as well as its pentaprism, won't fit... a copy of the Practika VLC- VEB Pentacon. Cheers, Tito. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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