A late 1950s VXIIa Exakta SLR with a Zeiss Flektogon lens from the fall 2019 auction
Toronto. Our fall ‘Estates’ auction will be held next month (Nov 24, 2024). Details are in the post dated October 21st.
There will be the usual bunch of novel lots with interesting items for your collection, user gear, or Christmas list! As new lots are photographed, I will be putting them up online.
The photo at left from five years ago at the Fall 2019 auction is a late 1950s Exakta with a wide-angle Zeiss Flektogon lens. In the mid 20th century, Exaktas were made in East Germany (Dresden) while the Zeiss Jena lenses, also East German, were made in the original Zeiss factory at Jena.
This camera could be used with a wide variety of lenses all with the unique Exakta bayonet mount (I used Steinheil and Angenieux lenses). SLR cameras of the day struggled even with ‘normal’ lenses and wide angle lenses were a particular challenge. It was hard to balance design with the need to keep the rear lens elements clear of the mirror as it rotated 45 degrees to expose the film. So called wide angle lenses often had barrel and pin-cushion distortion (obvious if the camera was slightly tilted).
While there may not be this kind of camera and lens in the auction, you will find many interesting goodies to consider.
