Stephen
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Still collecting.......
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Post by Stephen on Aug 29, 2012 14:02:20 GMT -5
It is often not realised that the Exakta and Exa cameras have two lens mounts as standard, the original lens series used both internal and external bayonet versions. Independent Lens makers in West Germany also supplied lens that were considered "original", the Exakta was considered a pro camera, that could do any photographic task. Unfortunately the inflexible East German company never really modernised, losing the plot somewhat on supply of lenses and accessories, leaving a big after market for the main German and the later Japanese makers. It was a last gasp move to change to M42 as the later standard, but their do exist genuine Exakta with M42, made to special order, I have one of them. Stephen.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2012 17:26:57 GMT -5
Stephen:
I remember when I got my Exa I and Dad got his Exacta VXIIB in the early 1960's the East Germans were apparently trying to keep the brand alive by cutting prices. Dad paid $69.95 for his Exacta -- which at one time had sold for around $300. Unfortunately for Exacta, by that time the Japanese were starting to come out with SLRs with instant return mirrors and other advanced features. The East German industry wasn't set up to react quickly to those changes and they never were able to catch up.
I never was a big fan of the Exacta mount with the spring loaded hook that snapped over a pin. It was possible to accidently bump release loose. It was also very difficult to design a coupled meter with that mount. Most Exacta lenses had a shutter release button with stop down function into each lens, which also increased the costs.
W.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Aug 30, 2012 2:30:34 GMT -5
I have never had that problem on the Topcon. Perhaps the Topcon lever was closer to the body and so less likely to be knocked.
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Aug 30, 2012 5:35:21 GMT -5
Stephen,
I am aware of the external bayonet but have never seen a lens that mounts that way. Were any ever made?
Wayne,
I used my VX IIa for years. Nobody ever told me I was supposed to accidentally release the lens that way. Even if the little lever were bumped it is spring loaded and would immediately return to the lock position. The lens would still have to be rotated 90 degrees to come off. Mounting and dismounting the lens was faster and more positive than any of today's cameras. With the location of the shutter release on the lens one could even perform those operations by feel in the dark.
I think the Exakta was the most advanced camera of its era. It could, indeed, do almost anything. Oh and that marvelous Exakta 66!
Mickey
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Post by Rachel on Aug 31, 2012 7:00:07 GMT -5
Stephen, I am aware of the external bayonet but have never seen a lens that mounts that way. Were any ever made? Mickey I have a Meyer-Optik Primotar 3.5/180 to fit the external bayonet. It's a very heavy lens. Here it is mounted on an Exakta Varex VX .... or rather the camera is mounted on it
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Aug 31, 2012 15:33:44 GMT -5
Thank you Rachel. That is one very big, heavy looking lens. Is it a preset? You should take it out for a stroll just to see it knock the socks off point and shooters. Mickey
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Post by Rachel on Sept 1, 2012 4:35:32 GMT -5
Thank you Rachel. That is one very big, heavy looking lens. Is it a preset? You should take it out for a stroll just to see it knock the socks off point and shooters. Mickey Hi Mickey. It is a preset lens. Unfortunately none of my Exaktas work now; the shutters seem to stick up if you don't use them regularly. Because of the external bayonet I don't think that it can be fitted to any other camera with any available Exakta adaptors.
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Sept 1, 2012 8:22:59 GMT -5
Rachel,
I have a stock answer for all things stuck. Sometimes it works and, so far, has not hurt anything.
Okay. It will not budge spaghetti sauce that is stuck to a pot.
Lighter fluid.
Mickey
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Post by vintageslrs on Sept 6, 2012 16:56:46 GMT -5
Finally the Exa II has arrived with the correct Domiplan lens. So now I have finally accomplished what I wanted. The Exakta has the Domiplan lens on it and the Exa II has the Vivitar lens on it. Done! Yes!
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mickeyobe
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Post by mickeyobe on Sept 7, 2012 5:52:06 GMT -5
Finally the Exa II has arrived with the correct Domiplan lens. So now I have finally accomplished what I wanted. The Exakta has the Domiplan lens on it and the Exa II has the Vivitar lens on it. Done! Yes! It has been a long, convoluted battle but the good guys have emerged victorious. Congratulations. Mickey
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Post by vintageslrs on Sept 7, 2012 17:48:19 GMT -5
Thank you Mickey......it was a long struggle and I thought it was going to be simple---lol..
Bob
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hansz
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Hans
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Post by hansz on Sept 8, 2012 8:43:34 GMT -5
Cheers on the happy end - and now some left-handed pictures to take... Hans
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SidW
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Post by SidW on Sept 8, 2012 18:15:21 GMT -5
It is often not realised that the Exakta and Exa cameras have two lens mounts as standard, the original lens series used both internal and external bayonet versions. .... I checked my own and found early Varexes (etc) had no external bayonet mount, a late Varex did. Then I checked Captain Jack's and Wrotniak's websites and found this on Wrotniak's: To accommodate these lenses, in 1953 Ihagee engineers introduced an upward-compatible version of the mount. It had two locking bayonet flanges: one internal (within the mount ring), compatible with "regular" lenses, and one external, protruding outside of the camera body. The latter is just ignored by "regular" lenses, while the "big" ones have a mechanical connection only for the external ring, with no mechanical parts entering the mount throat at all.Rachel, you beat me to it. I had that Meyer 180MM/3.5 lens in the 1950s and used it on an Exakta II, i.e. using the internal bayonet only. This lens contradicted what Wrotniak wrote, having both an internal and external bayonet. I suspect your Varex in your picture only has the internal bayonet. 180mm would be among the smallest of what Wrotniak called "the big ones" Captain Jack: captjack.exaktaphile.com/Wrotniak: www.wrotniak.net/photo/exakta/index.html
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SidW
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Post by SidW on Sept 8, 2012 20:26:27 GMT -5
... Independent Lens makers in West Germany also supplied lens that were considered "original" ... What constitutes a true Exakta lens has been debated endlessly. Ihage never made lenses, so all had to come from external suppliers. The original Kine Exakta I had an Ihagee Exaktar, but nobody, it seems, knows now who made it. Maybe the answer is still somewhere in the Dresden factory archives. The first, inner, circle would be the lenses advertised along with Exaktas. For the Kine I, this was Exaktar, Zeiss and Schneider, and later Meyer. A U.S. pricelist dated 1 Sep 1939 offers cameras with Exaktar, Zeiss, Schneider, Meyer. Two U.S. lists for VX and V, undated but stamped 1956, have Schneider, Angenieux, Steinheil, Meyer, Te-We, Berthiot, Zeiss. An undated U.S. list for an early VxIIa had the same and also Isconar for the Exa. An Australian list for VxIIa 1961 listed Zeiss and Meyer, also Meritar for Exa. The assortment offered at any time could reflect which manufacturers the importer happened to be agent for. It might also reflect the cold war, with West German manufacturers favouring other importers. The second, wider, circle would hold other manufacturers offering their lenses in Exakta mounts: Enna, Kilfitt, Novoflex, Rodenstock, Schacht etc. At any time, there seems to have been a house design that lens manufacturers largely conformed to, whether BDR or DDR. For the Kine I, it was chromed brass with all lenses looking alike externally (hopefully optically different inside). In the 1950s it was polished aluminium. Then, various versions of the zebra design (black with chrome segments on the rings). Finally, all black.
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Post by Rachel on Sept 9, 2012 3:22:01 GMT -5
It is often not realised that the Exakta and Exa cameras have two lens mounts as standard, the original lens series used both internal and external bayonet versions. .... I checked my own and found early Varexes (etc) had no external bayonet mount, a late Varex did. Then I checked Captain Jack's and Wrotniak's websites and found this on Wrotniak's: To accommodate these lenses, in 1953 Ihagee engineers introduced an upward-compatible version of the mount. It had two locking bayonet flanges: one internal (within the mount ring), compatible with "regular" lenses, and one external, protruding outside of the camera body. The latter is just ignored by "regular" lenses, while the "big" ones have a mechanical connection only for the external ring, with no mechanical parts entering the mount throat at all.Rachel, you beat me to it. I had that Meyer 180MM/3.5 lens in the 1950s and used it on an Exakta II, i.e. using the internal bayonet only. This lens contradicted what Wrotniak wrote, having both an internal and external bayonet. I suspect your Varex in your picture only has the internal bayonet. 180mm would be among the smallest of what Wrotniak called "the big ones" Captain Jack: captjack.exaktaphile.com/Wrotniak: www.wrotniak.net/photo/exakta/index.htmlHi Sid, My Varex VX has both internal and external bayonet. The Meyer has only external bayonet; it has a plain tube entering the mount throat. Rachel
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