In E.T. 19, Maurizio Frizziero mentioned his rare Exakta Junior, but the picture of it was still in circulation, and was promised later. It has now arrived! Body no. 413561, with Ihagee Anastigmat f4,5/75mm lens, no. 611129. The lens has front cell focusing, and the ring usually operating the helical focusing mount, together with the lens-to-body mounting is in black enamel, altough the rim is clearly brassed.
It is interesting to compare this collector's gem with a similar one owned by Sir Kenneth Corfield: Ken's is clearly older (little mistake!) bearing body number 418888 (look at Stein's letter) and the same lens, again with front cell focusing, bears no number. In this instance, however, the whole lens mounting is finished in nickel plate.
So there are variations for students of detail to find, even within the life of the Exakta Junior! Thanks to Maurizio Frizziero and to Sir Kenneth Corfield for the illustrations. Food for thought: why did this model not bear the name Exakta?

We Exakta owners offer a variety of explanations for our devotions to these ageing specimens of clockwork camera technology. Some of us cite the make's historical importance, the many technical advances it originated, and its profound influence on single lens reflex camera design. Others proclaim the camera's imaginative engineering, exalt its photographic abilities, or praise the bounteus variety of the Exakta system.
Each of these arguments provides a plausible pretext for collecting Exaktas. But all exclude a key reason for ownership, if not the most significant one: the camera is a veritable circus.
Exaktas are spiritual kin to a host of admired and coveted fun fair machinery, a combination of carousel, calliope, and penny arcade in a portable, almost pocketable package. They share their carnival appeal with Edwardian motor carriages, steam locomotives, naphta launches, and host of other beloved creations of vintage technology.
Exaktas are flamboyantly, exuberantly mechanical, agleam with chrome and nickel ornamentation, bristling with knobs, dials, levers and buttoms of every sort. No two controls are quite alike, and those with the most similar appearance have entirely different uses. Behold the happy Exakta owner with his wealth of gadgets to twist, press, pull, unfold, detach, squint through and otherwise fiddle with.
Exaktas are delightfully eccentric, as thoroughly wrong-handed as can be imagined. Some of the camera's most endearing features are unique to the brand, doubtless because other manifactures lacked the imagination, courage and sense of whimsy to copy them.
Exaktas make wonderful noises. They click, snap, cluck, whir and mutter to themselves. Each press of the shutter release triggers a clockwork fanfare, and slow delayed exposure plays a captivating mechanical ouverture to the photographic performance.
Serendipitously, Exaktas are also fine optical instruments, historic, reliable, flexible, durable and even affordable. These incidental facts allow us to perpetuate the fiction that we collect the charming contraptions for sensible reasons.

Twist, squint, fiddle, click.



Exakta Times Contents