Exa
I
The
Exa I was the low cost alternative during the 1950s and '60s to its big
brother, the Exacta. The Exa I was my first 35mm Single-Lens Reflex camera.
I paid $39.95 for one, brand new, about 1960. The camera shown is very
similar to my first Exa.
The Exa mirror was unique in that it was part of the shutter assembly.
A lever protruding from to top of the camera gave the operator a choise
of speeds B, 24, 50, 100 and 150 sec. The 50mm f2.8 Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar
lens was capable of producing sharp photographs. You had to manually open
the aperture to focus, then close it down to the proper f-stop to shoot.
The mirror doesn't return to viewing position until the shutter is wound.
