Exa (original)
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| Exa type 4 with a prism finder and a Trioplan (mounted on a teleconverter) image by John Nuttall (Image rights) |
The Exa is a 35mm SLR made in Dresden, Germany by Ihagee. It was introduced in 1951, and began a long-running series of Exa models. It is a simplified version of the Varex cameras (the Exakta V and VX); indeed, the first models, made in very small numbers in 1950, were labelled Exa Varex[1]. The simplification is mainly in the shutter. In place of a focal plane shutter, the mirror doubles as the 'opening' shutter blade, and a curved metal guillotine is the 'closing' blade[2]. This shutter is not capable of either very fast or slow speeds; the range is from 1/25 sec. to 1/150 sec[3]. The low maximum shutter speed limits the usefulness of the camera with long lenses. Like all Exaktas, the shutter release button is on the left and on the front of the body, not on the top plate[4]. It is threaded for a cable release, and the camera has a 1/4 inch tripod socket in the base. Film advance and rewind are by simple knurled knobs. There is a frame-counter. The viewfinders on all models are removable, and a number of different prism and waist-level finders (fully-featured, with built-in loupe, and most folding to offer a direct-vision frame finder), were available. Alternative focusing screens for these were also available in various patterns. The camera is quite compact and very robust, and can use the same wide range of lenses (by many makers) other accessories as the more expensive Exakta cameras.
Between 1951 and 1962, a number of cosmetic and minor technical changes were made in the design of the camera. A type-numbering system for these devised by Clément Aguila[5] is widely used[6]. This recognises six major types, distinguishable by changes in the finish of the lens mount, the number, finish and synchronisation class of the flash synchronisation sockets, and the style of the nameplate, among other features. Sub-types of some of the types are recognised.
Notes
- ↑ McKeown, p 422.
- ↑ The medium-format KW Pilot Super has a very similar shutter mechanism.
- ↑ The very earliest model claimed a top speed of 1/250 second (McKeown).
- ↑ The rewind-release button is on the right, where those unfamiliar with the camera might expect the shutter release to be.
- ↑ Aguila, Clément Exakta Cameras 1933-1978, ISBN 0-906447-38-0. Cited by McKeown.
- ↑ By McKeown, in Olaf Nattenberg's Exakta and Exa Pages and in Jack Dugrew's Captain Jack's Exakta Site among others
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Links
- Several of the Exa types are shown in the Exa Gallery on Olaf Nattenberg's Exakta and Exa Pages (text in German)
