Exakta is a 35mm SLR film camera series manufactured by Ihagee Kamerawerk Steenbergen & Co, Dresden, former East Germany and produced between 1936-72. Although Exakta name was used by some other manufacturers after 1972, the true Exaktas are ones made by Ihagee in Dresden as to serious collectors.
The first use of the brand Exakta was on Ihagee cameras made for 127 rollfilm, now known to collectors as the VP Exakta. But historically, the most significant series is the one designed for 35mm film—originally cinema film—hence the German name "Kine Exakta."'
Exakta is one of the very first SLR cameras in the world. Exakta was quite expensive camera and it was used mostly by the professionals.
Beginning from Exakta Varex the lenses and SLR pentaprism and waist level viewfinders are interchangeable within all versions.
Ihagee never made lenses of its own brand. There are many lens types of many manufacturers used on Exakta versions. Instead, they relied on many of the major optical firms of their day to each produce a series of lenses for their cameras, eg. Carl Zeiss Jena, Meyer-Optik Görlitz, Schneider-Kreuznach and E.Ludwig.
The East German Zeiss lenses made for export, were marked from 1954 with different engravings. The brand name Carl Zeiss Jena is replaced by C.Z. Jena or Jena or aus Jena. The lens names Biotar, Biometar, Sonnar, Tessar, Triotar were replaced by the letter B, Bm, S, T, Tr.
Models[]
- Exakta (Kine Exakta)
- Exakta II (Kine Exakta II)
- Exakta Varex
- Exakta Varex VX
- Exakta Varex IIa
- Exakta Varex IIb
- Exakta VX1000
- Exakta VX500
Links[]
- in Andrzej Wrotniak's website
- in Maurizio Frizziero's website
- in Captain Jack's website
- in Exaktapages by Olaf Nattenberg
- in F.W. Tappe's website
- in Dresdner cameras by Michael Sorms
- Exakta Varex IIa at Classic Cameras by RaúlM.
- Exakta VX, Exakta VX IIA and Exakta VX IIB in Sylvain Halgand collection
- Kine Exakta II on r-kobus.eu by Ryszard Kobus