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 VP Exakta (1933) is a 127-format (vest-pocket) single-lens reflex camera made by Ihagee Kamerawerk in Dresden, Germany. It is one of the most historically significant cameras ever manufactured: the VP Exakta is widely recognised as the world's first SLR camera designed for roll film — the direct ancestor of the 35mm SLR cameras that would eventually dominate professional and serious amateur photography for the next seventy years.
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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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About this camera
The camera that invented the SLR as we know it — the 1933 Vest Pocket Exakta was the world's first single-lens reflex camera designed for roll film, and the direct ancestor of every SLR made since.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 127 film (4×6.5cm exposures) |
| Mount | Exakta 127 bayonet (left-hand) |
| Years | 1933–1940 |
| Shutter | Cloth focal-plane: 1/25s – 1/1000s + B |
| Flash sync | None |
| Meter | None |
| Exposure | Manual |
| Viewfinder | Waist-level hood with ground glass |
| Focus | Manual, ground glass |
| Battery | None |
Ihagee was founded in 1912 by Johan Steenbergen, a Dutch entrepreneur who had settled in Dresden. Through the 1920s, Ihagee produced cameras under the Exakta and other names, primarily plate and roll-film models. The VP Exakta concept emerged from a desire to apply reflex viewing — long used in large-format cameras — to the compact, portable "vest pocket" format then popular with serious amateurs.
The camera debuted at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1933. It was an immediate critical success among sophisticated amateur photographers and technically-minded professionals who valued the through-the-lens viewing for accurate focus and composition. The German optics industry quickly recognised the VP Exakta's significance, and Zeiss Jena began producing Exakta-mount lenses to fit the camera.
The Kine Exakta (1936) translated the VP Exakta concept to 35mm film — then the emerging standard for professional photography — and created the 35mm SLR format. The Kine Exakta and its successors through the 1940s and 1950s established Dresden as the centre of SLR development, and the Exakta mount lens ecosystem grew into one of the most extensive interchangeable-lens systems in photographic history.
Production of the original VP Exakta ceased around 1940 as the 127 format was supplanted by 35mm. The camera exists today primarily in collections and museums.
The VP Exakta's historical importance cannot be overstated: it is the founding object of the SLR camera category. Every SLR — Nikon F, Canon AE-1, Pentax K1000, Hasselblad 500C, Leica R, Mamiya RZ67 — descends conceptually from the VP Exakta's principle of through-the-lens reflex viewing. The decision to house the shutter in the body rather than the lens, and to use an interchangeable lens mount, established the architecture of the modern SLR system camera. Dresden 1933 is where the modern camera was born.
127-format Exakta bayonet lenses: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 75/3.5, Xenar variants, and a limited selection of other Exakta 127 lenses. The 127-format mount is incompatible with the later 35mm Exakta bayonet. Accessories were limited: a waist-level hood, close-up lenses, and cable releases. Note: 127 film remains available from specialist suppliers (Rollei, Kodak Ektachrome 127 in limited runs) though primarily for collectors.
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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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