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Post by John Parry on Aug 6, 2006 15:34:12 GMT -5
Not highly regarded by Exakta fans, which is a pity, because it has it's good points - not least a metal shutter! Here's mine in it's Sunday best. Meyer Optik 100/2.8 Trioplan on board, with a Praktica telescope eyepiece on the prism finder... How can you not like that? Regards - John
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Post by doubs43 on Aug 6, 2006 17:47:20 GMT -5
John, I purchased an RTL-1000 new back in the early 1970's and liked it very much. I foolishly sold it but have picked up a few replacements from ebay in the past couple of years. I like the RTL-1000 quite a lot and yours looks to be a fine example.
Walker
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Post by Randy on Aug 8, 2006 6:28:53 GMT -5
Very nice John, a classic! A question though. I've looked at some of my old photography magazines in the camera store areas and it appears that Exakta SLRs could be had at much lower prices when new than say...a Pentax Spotmatic. Several stores had this model of Exakta for around $89.00 with a standard lens compared to $190.00 for a Spotmatic with standard lens. Question is: now you can pick up a Spotmatic used for less than $75.00 but Exaktas are priced through the roof...why this price differential now? Is it because of collectability?
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Post by kiev4a on Aug 8, 2006 8:37:49 GMT -5
My dad paid $69.95 for a brand new VXII A backin the early '60d--with Pancolor lens. I got an Exa 1 at the same time for $39.95.
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Post by herron on Aug 8, 2006 10:30:35 GMT -5
Very nice John, a classic! A question though. I've looked at some of my old photography magazines in the camera store areas and it appears that Exakta SLRs could be had at much lower prices when new than say...a Pentax Spotmatic. Several stores had this model of Exakta for around $89.00 with a standard lens compared to $190.00 for a Spotmatic with standard lens. Question is: now you can pick up a Spotmatic used for less than $75.00 but Exaktas are priced through the roof...why this price differential now? Is it because of collectability? Must be. Markets are strange things (I've spent my working life dealing with the vagaries of them). Perhaps it has something to do with scarcity?
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Post by John Parry on Aug 8, 2006 15:50:12 GMT -5
Randy - The reason is pretty simple....
In those days, Exaktas, Prakticas, Zenits and so on were all heavily subsidised by the Eastern Bloc governments in order to bring in hard currency. Prakticas in particular were a superb bargain because they were still at the cutting edge where innovation was concerned. Exaktas, on the other hand hadn't made a technical innovation for 20 years, but sold on the name and the looks (I have a Varex IIa which is literally a pin-up camera).
Ihagee (although part of the Pentacon group) had been allowed to go their own way, which was pretty much a dead end. If you look on the Exakta sites, you can see that the only differences between the models were the font of the lettering on the front of the cameras, whether it was etched or embossed and stuff like that. With the RTL1000, Pentacon used the new model as a development bed for a host of new stuff, which they subsequently put into the Praktica range. Hence the antagonism from Exakta collectors - they claim it's a Praktica, not an Exakta.
And the reason for them being so expensive now? Despite the heavy subsidy, no good American would buy a commie camera! There just aren't that many around. But if you look around the site, you'll see that all of a sudden there is a fashion for 'FSU' cameras, so now it's OK. The demand has shot up, but the supply isn't there.
Over here there was never the antagonism, so there's a reasonable supply getting unearthed from attics and so on, as with all other cameras. The price is kept inflated, 'cause you people are buying them!!
Regards - John
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Post by Randy on Aug 8, 2006 18:47:37 GMT -5
Thank you for the reply John.
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Post by herron on Aug 9, 2006 10:16:59 GMT -5
John: For some reason (probably associated with my age), the East German connection did not ring a bell when this thread began.
Are the pre-WWII Exakta's, manufactured before the Cold War division of Germany, any rarer (and therefore more expensive) today?
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Post by John Parry on Aug 9, 2006 16:32:23 GMT -5
Hi Ron
Yes - the older the more expensive - but you're getting into 'First SLR' territory there. But I may have sounded a bit harsh about the 'intermediate' Exaktas - any way you look at it they are beautiful cameras. If they have a common fault it's poor shutters. Very prone to pin-holes. but having said that, seventies Canons and Olympus OM's also had rubber coated cloth shutters, and they were prone to melt if left in a car in hot sunshine.
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Post by doubs43 on Aug 9, 2006 17:19:57 GMT -5
Hi Ron Yes - the older the more expensive - but you're getting into 'First SLR' territory there. But I may have sounded a bit harsh about the 'intermediate' Exaktas - any way you look at it they are beautiful cameras. If they have a common fault it's poor shutters. Very prone to pin-holes. but having said that, seventies Canons and Olympus OM's also had rubber coated cloth shutters, and they were prone to melt if left in a car in hot sunshine. John, the rubberized cloth shutters began (IIRC) with the VX-IIa model and they tend to dry out and crack, causing pin-holes and such. I bought a VX-IIa new in the late 1960's for a good price and it was a fine camera. I let my father have it and when he died, I inherited two VX-IIa cameras from him. One was in pieces and the other had a stuck advance lever. I re-built the latter one, replacing the shutter curtains, and it's every bit as smooth as a Leica. You simply can't believe the silky film advance until you've experienced it. The VX-IIa (Varex-IIa) is considered by many to be THE best Exakta ever made. I can't disagree with that sentiment. It's weakest point is the shutter cloth being rubberized. Replace them and it should last forever. Walker
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