Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/08/04
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>Back in the 60s my first reflex was an East German SLR called the Exakta. Is
>Exakta still a player in the German camera business? There was also the
>Praktica. Could someone catch me up on these outfits. My Exakta (Ithagee,
>Dresden) was the first model whose shutter dial didn't spin when making an
>exposure. Many lenses were available for the Exakta, as I recall. A junior
>version of the Exakta was available for under $100, known as the Exa. It was
>an interesting era, very affordable for young people breaking into
>photography. I believe that the Exakta design predated WWII. For a number of
>years it was the only SLR on the market, with the scientific market as its
>major source of income. SLRs didn't catch on until Nikon hit its stride, I
>understand. Leica disdained making an SLR for many years, depending on the
>Visaflex accessory way to SLR work.
>
>Bob Rosen
>
The Exacta was developed and build before WWII by a camera factory in
Dresden (Ihagee), owned by a Dutch businessman, Mr. Steenbergen. Before the
war, the factory grew big on the camera's success as the Exacta was one of
the first reflexcameras that was easy to operate and quite reliable.
After the war, Eastern Germany continued to build the camera and the 1950
modernized models were not bad. What finally killed Exacta was that the
bayonet mount was too small and that the final models were build rather
sloppy. People stopped buying Exacta's and the brand disappeared from the
market.
Gerard Captijn,
Geneva, Switzerland.
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