Booklet 223

Transitional Kine-Varex (first item)

New on 02 Nov 07; updated 18 Nov, 30 Nov

Voigtländer Exposure Meter for Exakta

New on 30 Nov 07

From Al Bresee 427
received 2 Nov 07

I COLLECT EXAKTAS because I like their mechanics, history and usefulness. I also collect eighteenth-century British pocket watches and ancient coins (Byzantine, etc). I use Exaktas with extensions to photograph them. I don’t own a digital camera, only a scanner with my computer. I do own a couple of Nikons and Canons, but my main interest is Ihagee-Exakta.

The photo is of an early Varex I found on eBay. The serial number is 670117, which lies in the overlap range between Kine II and Varex. This one is rather different from the camera I described in ET63, Summer 06, page 7, which the Editor tentatively identified as a previously unknown Kine II Version 4. Notice there is no V or E engraved on the front plate; instead, a V and an E are stamped into the leather between the sets of flash sockets. The letters of the name Varex on the nameplate are quite different from those on later Varexes, particularly the loop serif of the V and its rounded bowl.

The cut-out chamber for the viewfinder matches exactly the chamber of my later Varex cameras: no crudeness or tool marks etc. There is a smaller-diameter retainer washer on the stem of the viewfinder release slider inside the nameplate. It has the same silver finish as on the later cameras. You can see this washer on any Varex with the finder off. I examined one of my early VX cameras and it has the large size washer.

There is an Exakta Camera Company certificate mounted on the back, saying that the serial numbers are genuine; which seems to imply that this camera was sold in the USA under the name “Varex,” before the trademark issue became a problem.

I have not so far seen another like it. Could it be a unique prototype, one of a small batch of early Varexes, or even a factory-modified Kine II? The plate without flash markings, and the correct finder release, would seem to indicate that it is not a later modification.

Does anyone know if Kine IIs and Varexes were being made at the same time? The period of transition is of interest to me, and I wonder if close examination of other cameras with serial numbers in the overlap range might provide some clues. From my limited number of observations (mostly on eBay) there are more Kine IIs in this range than Varexes.

Perhaps these details may provide food for thought, and and some pieces of the Exakta puzzle yet to be assembled.

Reply from the Editor, Exakta Times: Al, you will remember Aguila and Rouah’s comments (from Exakta Collection, Chapter 4, page 16) on the transitional cameras, which I reproduced in ET63. They felt that there were still some Kine II bodies on hand when the Varex appeared, and they were modified to accept the new prism viewfinders. Your camera described here tends to bear this out: the form of the letters in Exakta is precisely that of the Kine II; central scrolls to the E and the k were introduced for the Varex.

The lettering Varex, however, looks very crude. It has clearly been squashed in under Exakta, almost overflowing the bottom of the nameplate. The style is not like Varex on real Varexes. Maybe this represents another unknown transition, or is it a one-off made outside the factory? It seems odd, too, that the serial number of this one is earlier than your "Kine II V4."

There is clearly plenty of research still needing to be done in this area. What a splendid talk it would make at Oxford!

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Further notes 18 Nov 07 from Al: Comparing the usual Kine II nameplate with my Kine II, serial number 671119, shown in ET63, page 8. On this camera the name Exakta is too close to the bottom edge to add a Varex. I have a standard late Kine II, serial number 671610, with Exakta engraved too close to the bottom to fit a Varex engraving. This would seem to indicate that 670117 was made with the extra space for the Varex name to be engraved. From what I have been told serial numbers are not strictly chronological.

Reply 18 Nov 07 from Jim Focht: Hi Michael, I agree the front plate on Al's Varex is of the Kine II type. There is a similar camera illustrated in George Berkowitz' book A Complete Guide to the Exakta V (Exakta Camera Co, New York, 1951) as the "nomenclature camera" on pages 10 and 11. It however is an Exakta V, but it has the same lower case script with the odd serif. The serial number of that camera is 670703. The Exakta on that camera also appears to be scrunched up towards the crimp of the plate in order to accommodate the V. Other illustrations of the Berkowitz V are on Exakta V pricelists and on the back cover of the first issue of Exakta Magazine, also put out by the Exakta Camera Co.

The "guarantee notice" on Al's camera cannot be original as the Exakta Camera Corp had not yet made the move to 705 Bronx River Rd, Bronxville. I wonder if Al's camera might also be a "nomenclature camera" and if there are instruction manuals featuring his camera in existence.

Further notes from the Editor, 30 Nov 07: Measurements on the pictures in A&R's Exakta Collection, not on the cameras themselves, show that the space between the bottom of the word "Exakta" amd the lower edge of the plate is about 20-25% of the height of the nameplate on the Kine, and about 40% on the Varex. The same dimension on Al's camera is about 28%. This seems to imply that the engraver of Al's camera raised the word "Exakta" as little as he could to fit the "Varex" in, while sticking to the original design for the lettering; and this in turn implies that the drawings for the new "Varex" nameplate were not available, perhaps not even prepared.

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Voigtländer exposure meter for Exakta

From Bob Locke 347
received 17 Nov 07

ON A NEW TOY for my Exaktas to play with: A recent outing was my first outside use of a new Voigtländer VOM2S exposure meter. This new, modern meter is most compact, not looking out of proportion to an Exakta, sitting atop the prism in an accessory shoe. I've admired the meter for some years, but didn't care for their offset design, intended for vintage Leica RF bodies where the accessory clip is at the edge of the top housing.

After ordering the meter from B&H over the internet, I discovered a pleasant secret: Voigtländer includes the instructions and screws permitting relocating the flash-shoe, centering it! I can recommend this meter: intuitive to use, wonderful low light response, and easy to read, notwithstanding miniature size. So convenient.