Originally posted by Jellygeist Man does the Exakta ever have good lenses.
While Exakta was never a lens maker, some amazing glass was made for the mount by multiple makers, perhaps second only to the Praktica/Pentax M42. The lens in question is considered a classic and is highly coveted in all of its mount variants.
Kilfitt: Macro Kilar Originally posted by g026r It's my best argument for keeping it while I'm going through equipment & figuring out what I don't like/use, since the focusing screens and ergonomics certainly aren't points in its favour. Now, maybe if I was a lefty...
I have come to grips (pun intended) with the strange shape of my two Exaktas and have also acquired a small stash of NOS focus screens to replace the time-damaged screens that came with the cameras. I have large hands with long fingers and am also fairly ambidextrous. With practice, the left-sided wind and release come fairly naturally. Since the shutter speed adjust is most appropriately done with the camera at waist level, that problem takes care of itself with the remaining ergonomic issue simply being the shape of the camera. Who in their right mind would design a body to slip easily from the hand?
It was only after using the waist-level finder that the body shape fell naturally to hand. It is a pity that an accessory grip was not offered to a salve the pain.
Originally posted by Jellygeist First roll with my Olympus XA. I am not very good at focussing rangefinders yet but there were quite a few keepers for a first roll so I'm happy.
The focus patch on many XAs has faded with age. Zone focus using the "orange" settings (f/5.6 @ 8') is an option for snapshot/street shooting. The black dot fix is also an option...
Steve