C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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slr-35mm
The Ihagee Exa 1 (1951) is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Ihagee Kamerawerk in Dresden, East Germany. It was designed as a deliberately simplified and cheaper alternative to the Exakta VX, sharing the Exakta bayonet lens mount while substituting a rotary sector shutter for the more expensive focal-plane curtain shutter of the full Exakta line.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The Exa 1 was the affordable sibling of the Exakta — a simplified East German SLR with a rotary sector shutter and Exakta-mount lens compatibility, offering students and amateurs access to the Exakta lens system at a fraction of the flagship's cost.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24×36 mm) |
| Mount | Exakta bayonet (left-hand) |
| Years | 1951–1977 |
| Shutter | Rotary sector: 1/25s – 1/150s + B |
| Flash sync | 1/50s |
| Meter | None |
| Exposure | Manual |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism, waist-level (model-dependent) |
| Focus | Manual, ground glass |
| Battery | None |
Ihagee (Industrie- und Handels-Gesellschaft) had been producing the premium Exakta line since the 1930s. After World War II, under East German nationalisation, the company continued producing both the flagship Exakta and the new budget Exa line to serve different market segments.
The Exa 1 launched in 1951, the same year as the Exakta VX, specifically to provide an entry point into the Exakta ecosystem. Ihagee understood that students, amateurs, and journalists who wanted Exakta lenses might not be able to afford the full Exakta body; the Exa solved this by offering lens compatibility at a significantly lower price point.
Through the 1950s and 1960s, the Exa found its market in schools, vocational institutions, and among amateur photographers throughout the Eastern Bloc and in Western export markets where Ihagee cameras were sold. The long production run through 1977 — outlasting the premium Exakta line itself — demonstrated the success of this strategy.
The Exa 1's importance lies in its role as a democratising platform for the Exakta lens system. By the 1960s, Exakta-mount lenses included some of the finest optics available — Zeiss Jena Flektogon, Meyer-Optik Biotar, Schneider Curtagon — and the Exa put access to these lenses within budget reach. The camera also illustrates the creative economy of East German camera engineering: the rotary sector shutter was a clever simplification that reduced cost while preserving lens compatibility.
Exakta bayonet mount (left-hand). Compatible lenses: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50/2.8, Biotar 58/2, Flektogon 35/2.4 and 25/4, Meyer-Optik Primotar 50/3.5, Oreston 50/1.8, Lydith 30/3.5, Steinheil Quinon 55/1.9, Schneider Curtagon 35/2.8, Angenieux wide angles. Note: the sector shutter limits maximum useful flash sync and excludes some automated diaphragm couplings found on later Exakta accessories.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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