Exa
In the world of Single lens Reflex (SLR) cameras, there are only a few that stand out as truly different and of those few, none has captured the hearts of its admirers as much as the Exa camera. While the honor of being the first 35mm SLR belongs to the Kine Exakta from 1936, the Exa, from 1951, occupies a place of special affection among many photographers seeking a simple, small, and lovingly designed alternate.
When camera production resumed after World War II, the Ihagee designers created a combined shutter and mirror system in which the mirror was attached to the shutter itself. In a guillotine-like movement, the mirror and shutter swing up and expose the film. The benefit to this system is that when properly lubricated, it is so quiet as to be almost imperceptible.
For all of its benefits, however, the shutter mechanism is limited in the number of possible shutter speeds. Besides Bulb mode, there are only four speeds available: 1/25th, 1/50th, 1/100th, and 1/150th of a second. With the advent of faster film stocks, the lack of faster shutter speeds can often frustrate some impatient modern photographers. Fortunately, there are still many patient photographers who understand that simplicity is not necessarily a limitation.
Given its unique look and handling, the Ihagee designers wanted lenses that would make good use of the camera's compact nature. Ihagee outsourced lens manufacturing to several optics company including: Carl Zeiss Jena, Meyer-Optik Görlitz, Schneider-Kreuznach, and E.Ludwig. The plethora of high-quality lenses that can be used on the Exa make it extremely easy to produce a wide variety of images all from the same camera body.
With its standard waist-level finder, the little Exa looks, feels, and fires like no other camera. To find out for yourself, track one down, throw on any of the lenses, and experience the world through some of the finest (and most basic) mechanical engineering. It'll be harder than you think to go back to the bigger, clunkier, and louder SLRs.
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