Exakta collecting is growing all over the world.
Exakta Junior
Two views
Exakta Times, Number 20, September 1995
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?
Prototype?
Klaus Rademaker about the Exakta Junior 35mm
Exakta Times, Number 22, March 1996
A little addition to the interesting history that Maurizio Frizziero has told us in his articles in the last two editions of Exakta Times. In E.T. #21 he mentions that outstanding camera that our friend, Clement Aguila, has in his collection, the gorgeus Exakta Junior 24x36mm. Now everybody regards that camera as a prototype that never went into production. I thought the same. Then I got Mr Hummel's book and I thought that this camera should have mentioned in the book. So I made a duplicate from the photos I had obtained by Clement (Clement, I hope you don't mind me doing that) and sent them to Mr Hummel with the question, " should that camera not be mentioned in the book, as it seems to be a prototype?"
At EXA 95 we were told the truth about that camera. I will try to translate what Hummel said:
"... I got from Mr Brochmann from Sweden a Xerox copy: Exakta Junior! An Exakta Junior! He has got this information from Aguila and Rouah, who describe scientifically that during 1953/54 this prototype existed at Ihagee Dresden. And now I have to say this: Alles Scheibenhonig! (Note: Klaus asks how to translate this? He has no idea. The Editor's dictionary gives "honey in the comb"! Could be a polite version of something ruder!) Everything is untrue!
Willy Teubner had constructed the Exa and because of that and because the camera sometimes made a fairly cheap impression, he was teased: "You with your tiny little thing...!" And during a holiday in the Ihagee works, some of the people in the department sat together and decided: next holiday we will make a present for Willy Teubner, a modern Exa, but this one will be like the former Exakta Junior. The camera was made withot low speeds or delayed action, and a special front plate was made. That was the Exakta Junior! So the jokers had actually anticipated the VX500 without knowing it! Of course, this wasn't suspected by anybody...! And to this, I have to add, during my Ihagee time, I was thinking about that camera, when seeing it in the cabinet where it stood: They made a damned joke with Willy!
And how this camera appeared in France, only God knows. And so it happens that respectable people are now writing: That is a prototype, which unfortunately never entered production..."
That's what Mr Hummel said. It was not easy to translate from the Saxonian to the German, and then to English, but somehow I managed it.
So Clement does not own a prototype. Perhaps he owns something muche better. A joke, and with that, a part of the famous spirit of humour of the Ihagee family.
(MF's note: it is incredible that this camera went in the hands of the author of the Exakta Cameras' book!)
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