Exakta 6×6 (horizontal)
See also the 1953 vertical Exakta 66 and the 1986 West German Exakta 66.
Exakta 6x6 (1939), with Tessar 6.3/65mm Technische Sammlungen Dresden image by Danipuntocom (Image rights) |
The first Exakta 6×6cm model was released in 1939 by Ihagee in Germany. It makes twelve square-format pictures on a 120 film. It has interchangeable lenses, a waist-level viewfinder and a peculiar, very large film-advance lever built onto the base. There is a red window, used to advance a new film to frame 1. The cloth focal-plane shutter has a very wide range for the period — 12 seconds to 1/1000th plus B, set on two dials, and has Vacublitz flash terminals.
Contents
Background
1937-1945
Management at Ihagee considered a 6x6 project in 1937, and Willy Teubner was made leader for development from the middle of the same year. [1]. A workshop for prototypes was set up in 1938[2]. This is also reflected in the Carl Zeiss Jena archives, with one to three Carl Zeiss Jena lenses of different types for the Exakta 6x6 mount starting production in 1937-1938, including new 1937-designed 6.5cm f6.3 Tessar, 10cm f2 Biotar and 18cm f4 Sonnar lenses, and the 1938-designed 13.5cm f4 Triotar lens. The 8cm f2.8 and f3.5 Tessar lenses used the same design as for the Super Ikonta, Reflex-Korelle and Ikoflex III cameras. Other lenses, such as the Tele-Tessar 18cm and 25cm f6.3 were older designs[3]. The camera was first shown at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1939, alongside the competing Beier-Flex II. A version of the camera with the aforementioned 100mm f2 Biotar or 100mm f1.9 Primoplan was also shown, called the Night-Exakta 6x6.[4]. Production was delayed due to problems with the film transport, and did not begin before august 1939, and stopped already in november 1939 with only 1500 cameras produced[5]. Production of lenses seems to have continued for a few more batches, with a batch of 100 6.5cm f6.5 lenses starting production as late as March 1941[6].
Post 1945
After the war, Willy Teubner, now as Technical Director, reintroduced the pre-war Exakta 66 at the 1951 Leipzig Spring Fair. Certain functions were updated, including an interchangeable finder, but production started based on pre-war parts[7]. The update also included a new Tessar 80mm f2.8 lens design from 1950[8]. Only about 300 cameras were produced post-war[9] The tooling for the pre-war lens mount was used to a much larger degree, however, as the post-war Tessar 80mm f2.8 lens in pre-war 6x6 mount was made in several thousand copies[10]. Later Tessar 80mm f2.8 lenses for the vertical Exakta 6x6 and Exakta 36x24mm actually contain the pre-war mount, adapted to fit. The adapter for 80mm f2.8 Tessar lenses to the Exakta 36x24mm mount can be used to mount any pre-war 6x6 lens to Exakta 36x24mm cameras, and furthermore to other adapters, e.g. to digital cameras.
In the end the pre-war Exakta 6x6 was replaced by a complete redesigned vertical Exakta 66 in 1953 and later, with the Reflex-Korelle and Meister-Korelle, inspired the Praktisix and Pentacon Six models. Through these, the camera's influence can be traced as far as the Pentax 67 discontinued in 2011.
Lenses
Wide angle
- Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 6.5cm f6.3 - 4 elements (150 RM)
Normal
- Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 8cm f2.8 - 4 elements
- Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 8cm f3.5 - 4 elements
- Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar 8cm f3.5 - 4 elements
- Ihagee-Exaktar 8.5cm f3.5 - 4 elements (produced by Schneider-Kreuznach]]
- Meyer Primotar 8.5cm 3.5
- Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 10cm f2 - 6 elements
- Meyer Primoplan 10cm f1.9
- Meyer Makro-Plasmat 10.5 f2.7 - 6 elements
Telephoto
- Carl Zeiss Jena Triotar 13.5cm f4 - 3 elements (165 RM)
- Meyer Primotar 13.5cm f3.5 (advertised)
- Meyer Primotar 18cm f3.5 (advertised)
- Meyer Tele-Megor 18cm f5.5 - 4 elements (144 RM)
- Carl Zeiss Jena Tele-Tessar 18cm f6.3 - 4 elements (225 RM)
- Schneider Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 24cm f4.5 - 5 elements (255 RM)
- Carl Zeiss Jena Tele-Tessar 25cm f6,3 - 4 elements (280 RM)
- Schneider-Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 30cm f5,5 - 4 elements (220 RM)
- Meyer Tele-Megor 30cm f5.5 (advertised)
- Schneider Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 36cm f5,5 - 4 elements (260 RM)
Notes
- ↑ Peter Longden, Ihagee - the Men and the Cameras p. 86, 2011
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Hartmut Thiele, Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik II Carl Zeiss Jena, 2015, p. 313-314
- ↑ Peter Longden, Ihagee - the Men and the Cameras p. 86, 2011
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Hartmut Thiele, Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik II Carl Zeiss Jena, 2015, p. 60
- ↑ Peter Longden, Ihagee - the Men and the Cameras p. 107-108, 2011
- ↑ Hartmut Thiele, Fabrikationsbuch Photooptik II Carl Zeiss Jena, 2015, p. 237
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid.
Further reading
- Wolf. H. Döring, Das Exakta 6x6 Buch (1941)
Links
- Pages of Hugo Ruys' Ihagee history site:
- Exakta 6×6 with military engravings
- German user manual (pdf format)
- The Ihagee page of Peter Lanczak's site features a picture and an advertisement for the horizontal Exakta 6×6
- Exakta 6x6 serial no. 554332, with 80mm f/2.8 CZJ Tessar, offered for sale at the 28th Camera Auction by Westlicht Photographica Auction, on 21 November 2015; several excellent pictures.