EXA (single lens reflex camera)
EXA is a series of simple SLR cameras from the Ihagee factory in Dresden , which in 1936 produced the world's first 35mm SLR camera with the well-known " Kine Exakta ".
The EXA cameras are fully mechanical and very robust cameras. Production started in 1949 and ended in 1990. Almost 1 million EXAs were made. The higher-quality sister model is the Exakta . While in 1973, in the course of the merger of Ihagee and Pentacon, the EXAKTA was abandoned in favor of the Praktica series, the EXA models were the entry-level models for ambitious amateur photographers in the GDR until 1990 .
There are the models EXA 0, I, Ia, Ib and Ic as well as the Exa II, IIa, IIb and IIc. The Exa 500 is a downgraded version of the Exakta and has a built-in prism viewfinder and a cloth focal plane shutter with shutter speeds of up to 1/500 s. There is no built-in light meter in the Exa versions. However, the exposure meter attachments for the Exakta can also be used on most Exa cameras. The EXA is equipped with a light shaft or prism . Most models have a high standard of equipment with interchangeable viewfinders, interchangeable focusing screens or Fresnel lenses , such as can only be found in professional technology today.
All Exa-I cameras have a simple snap lock . This clasp has a minimum shutter speed of only 1/175 s. It is therefore unsuitable for photographing fast movements. Thanks to the snap lock, long focal length lenses or long pull-out extensions can also be used; however, it must be accepted that certain image areas are shaded. The Exa II and Exa 500, on the other hand, have a vertically running cloth slit fastener that avoids these problems. The EXA-II versions have exposure times of up to 1/250 s.
Most EXA cameras use the " Exakta " bayonet to connect the interchangeable lenses . Only the models Exa Ib and 1c are equipped with the M42 thread connection . The M42 system is otherwise used in cameras and lenses from Pentacon , Dresden, or the Contax from Zeiss Ikon . The Exa models with M42 connection offer the possibility of combining the Exakta interchangeable viewfinder system with the numerous lenses for this universal connection, which is largely used by all manufacturers.
