Ihagee
Ihagee Tropen 6.5x9 and 9x12 folding bed cameras image by eBayer Yalluflex (Image rights) |
Company origins
Ihagee (Industrie- und Handelsgesellschaft)[1] was a German camera maker, now mostly known for its 35 mm SLR cameras. The company was founded in 1912 by Johan Steenbergen, a Dutch merchant. He had received his training at Ernemann in Dresden. The company started by producing conventional folding rollfilm and plate cameras. By 1918, the German economy was in serious trouble and so was Ihagee. It was liquidated and set up again. By 1925, Ihagee produced 1,000 rollfilm cameras a day.
In 1933 the Exakta A was presented. It was a single lens reflex and was greeted with scepticism. This Exakta took 3×6,5cm pictures on 127 film. The Exakta line was to become Ihagee's major success. In 1936 its most famous camera, the Kine Exakta was presented at the Leipziger Messe. This was the first SLR to take pictures on 35mm film[2]. From the beginning the 35 mm Exakta was a system camera, offering interchangable lenses, finders, microscope adapters and plate film backs.
By 1940 camera production ceased because of the war and Steenbergen, a Dutch national, transferred ownership rights in the company to trusted partners and employees because of xenophobia in Germany.
image by Dries van den Elzen (Image rights) |
Cold war
In 1945, the Ihagee production facilities found themselves in the Soviet occupation zone. The Dresden plant started producing cameras again in 1945. For a time Ihagee had a special place in East Germany; while German camera making companies were being nationalised into VEB (company owned by the people) Zeiss Ikon/Pentacon, Ihagee had a certain autonomy because it had been Dutch-owned and East German officials were reluctant to damage international relations. After the war Exakta continued to make Kine Exakta cameras. According to McKeown, postwar models have a ribbed mirror chamber. Models used for export to the USA were engraved with "Soviet occupied Germany".
By 1949 improvements were made to the Exakta. The focus magnifier now had a protective door. This model is known as the Exakta II.
Trade disputes
In 1950 the Exakta Varex or V was introduced. Sources on the internet report the American company Argus quickly reserved the "Varex" name as a trademark and never used it, thus blocking the import of Exakta Varex cameras to the USA. Export models were renamed Exakta VX. It's the same camera with a different nameplate. The Exakta Varex series had interchangable pentaprisms, later ones are even metered. They're beautiful cameras with a reputation of good quality. So good, a professional photographer in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear window (1954) uses an Exakta.
Ihagee West
Meanwhile, the original owners tried to get back their ownership rights. When this effort proved to be unsuccessful, they founded Ihagee Kamerawerk AG ('Ihagee West') in Frankfurt and later in Munich (the company also gave an address in Berlin[3]). Ihagee West started lawsuits against Ihagee East. Most of these failed.
Ihagee West made the reportedly unreliable[4] Exakta Real. This included several improvements on the Exaktas from Dresden of the time (an instant-return mirror, a right-handed shutter release, and an improved lens mount allowing automatic stop-down), but the camera wasn't a commercial success. Later they made their own version of the Exakta 66, a high quality medium format camera that used Pentacon Six mount lenses or dedicated Schneider lenses. A rangefinder camera Exa 35E seems to have been a little success.
35mm SLR cameras
See Exakta and Exa family.
Exakta Varex IIb image by Geoff Harrisson (Image rights) |
1912-1918: Early folding cameras
- Photorex
- Photorekord
- Photoklapp
- Viktor
- Patent-Duplex
- Triplex
- Weltrekord-Kamera
- Microbie
- Venus
- Photoknips
1922-1939: folders, reflex boxes and others
Advertisement by Ihagee in Asahi Camera June 1932. Scan by rebollo_fr. (Image rights) | ||
|
- Neugold
- Roll-Paff
- Roll-Paff-Reflex
- Corona
- Derby
- Plan-Paff-Reflex
- Ultrix
- Patent-Klapp-Reflex
- Ama
- Luxus Duplex
- Ultrix Stereo
- Stereo-Automat
- Serien-Reflex
- Zweiverschluss Duplex
- Auto-Photoklapp
- Nachtreflex
- Sport-Kamera
- Zweiformat-Auto-Ultrix
- Parvola
- Westentaschen-Auto-Ultrix
Notes
- ↑ The name means Industrial and Trading Company. 'Ihagee' (ee-ha-gey) is the letters I H G pronounced as in German.
- ↑ According to McKeown, p. 427. The GOMZ Sport was introduced in the same year.
- ↑ User manual for the Exakta Real at Hugo Ruys' Ihagee.org.
- ↑ Described as such by Hugo Ruys' Short history of Ihagee at Ihagee.org.
Bibliography
- Asahi Camera. Advertisement by Ihagee in June 1932 (p.A23).
- Aguila, Clément and Rouah, Michel. Exakta Cameras. 1933-1978. UK: Hove Books, 1987. 190 pages. ISBN 0906447380.
- Emanuel, W. D. Exakta guide: How and why with the Kine-Exakta I, II, V and VX, EXA, VP Exakta, Exakta junior and the 21/4" x 21/4" Exakta. Focal Press, 15th edition, 1953. 110 pages. ASIN B0000CIO5W.
- Allinson, K. L. Exa Photography Technique And Practice. Morgan Publishing, 1965. ASIN B000S2ZNSY.
Links
Catalogues
- 1914 Catalogue German language version
- 1921 Catalogue German language version
- 1922 Catalogue Dutch language version
- 1924-25 Catalogue Dutch language version
- 1924-25 Catalogue German language version
- 1925 Catalogue German language version
- 1925-26 Catalogue German language version
- 1925-26 Catalogue English language version
- 1926-1927 Catalogue German language version
- 1927 Catalogue German language version
- 1927-28 Catalogue German language version
- 1928 Catalogue English language version
- 1928-29 Catalogue German language version
- 1929-1930 Catalogue German language version
- 1930-31 Catalogue in 4 languages
- 1932 Catalogue German language version
- 1932 Catalogue German language version, for the Export market
- 1933 Catalogue German language version, for the Export market
- 1934 Catalogue German language version
- 1934 Catalogue German language version, for the Export market
- 1935 Catalogue German language version
- 1935 Catalogue French language version
- 1937 Catalogue German language version
- 1939 Catalogue German language version
General
- Ihagee at Pacific Rim
- Company history at dresdner-kameras.de
- Classic Exakta Cameras, by Andrzej Wrotniak, at Wrotniak.net
- EXAKTA.pl, by Pawel Fila and Jerzy Szajta
- The Exakta and Exa Pages in German
- a trilingual Ihagee company history
- a Johan Steenbergen biography and Ihagee company history in Dutch
- Discussions on the Kine Exakta vs Russian Sport and Ihagee company history in Italian
- Ihagee page at Collection G. Even's site
- Cameras and User manuals at www.collection-appareils.fr
- Ihagee Parvola and Auto-Ultrix instruction manuals at Orphancameras.com
- Ihagee Cameras Price Guide at CollectiBlend
Camera industry in Dresden |
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Camera distributors in Dresden |
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