Unknown prism finder

[photax]

Hello !

I bought a low priced Harwix TTL- prism finder for Exakta at a garage sale a few months ago. The seller said: wait a minute, there is another one, and he gave me this one for free. Since then i try to figure out which camera would this finder fit to ? It is definitely no Exakta Varex, VX or Exa accessory. Maybe it belongs to the Exakta RTL series, i dont know, i have none of these in my collection. Except a number (46002), the finder is totally unmarked.
Is there anyone who could give me an advice ?

lg MIK

[casualcollector]

As you guessed, an optional finder for the Exakta RTL 1000.

[photax]

Many thanks for the quick reply. So the only other thing i need is a RTL 1000 for free...

MIK

[John Parry]

Isn't it an exposure meter that links to the RTL's exposure knob below? The RTL1000 I have has both types of prism finder that I know of, but they don't look like that...

Regards - John

[photax]

John, you`re absolutely right, i`ve identified the item as "TTL Penta Prism", which will match the knob you mentioned ( there has to be a pin for ). I found a manual on the net, that declares: "Automatic exposure timing with internal measurement".

lg MIK

[photax]

Hi !

I luckily found a inexpensive working RTL1000, that would fit the "Penta Prism". Its not a "real" Exakta indeed, but rather a Praktica-styled one. Anyway, a good-looking collectors item.
MIK

[John Parry]

Well done MIK

As you say, the RTL1000 was Praktica's attempt to get in to the Exakta lens market - and was the 'last Exakta'. They work fine. My only advice would be to be gentle as you wind on the film, as the plastic sprockets have a tendency to become brittle in all that generation of Prakticas.

Regards - John

[SidW]

Sorry, I'm sure it's the other way round. By the late 1960s, Ihagee were still producing what was still essentially the 1936 Kine. The greatest innovation had been the interchangeable finders of the Varex (1949-50), the VX1000 got a returning mirror (mid 1960s), they'd botched the naming of the Varex (in use for a lens by Argus since 1940), otherwise updates were chasing flash design and connector standards. By the late 60s Ihagee had reached the end of the road, no new designs, overtaken by the Japanese, no new tools, their right to the name Exakta challenged. Steenbergen had left Ihagee in administration to the Nazi government for the duration of his absence, and the administration status continuated through the occupation period and the DDR. The RTL1000 was one last attempt to catch up in design. It had to be done with the help of Praktica, they had the tooling and theknowldege for that type of body. But it's not a Praktica, it's an Exakta, with lefthand shutter release and separate slow shutter speeds. The body shell is superficially similar to subsequent Praktica models, but inside it's all the wrong way round to be any use to Praktica. The RTL1000 is definitely a last Exakta and not a Praktica precurser. Praktica didn't need Ihagee, they had the tools, facitilities, and knowhow to keep up with current SLR design. Praktica executives were appointed administrators of Ihagee, which was still independent (whatever rumour claims) and continued making Exas for as long as the market lasted. The last I heard a few yearz ago, Ihagee was still being adminstered by a law firm in Dresden. Perhaps hoping for the return of a Steebergen heir to pick up the bill for rebuildng the works after the air raid.

[photax]

Thank you Sid for this helpful comment and thank you John for your advice !
MIK