Related Links:
Exakta 66 Production Ceases (Oct 2000) [2/2001]
History of the Medium Format SLR

The Exakta 66 Model III medium format SLR camera is available in the U.S.A. from Cambridge Camera Exchange in New York City.

However, I can not recommend Cambridge Camera Exchange based on their negative Better Business Bureau record.

The information posted below may be of use and interest to many buyers!

For more information about the Exakta 66 and related cameras and lenses, see Exakta 66 FAQ. This link is to a local archive copy, since the previously linked file pages are now no longer available and inoperative.

There is also a nice history of the Exakta 66 camera by Hans Roskam available online.

You can also find a related Kiev 60 page and Kiev 88 page at this site. See our medium format camera links pages for related links on Exakta 66 and related lenses resource pages.

Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999
From: Steve [email protected]
To: Robert Monaghan [email protected]
Subject: Re: Reviews

Hi Bob,

I found another source for the Exacta 66 Model III - the following is a letter I received from a distributor in Holland. They will ship to the US for about $30 to $40 (according to how much you want shipped). Their prices are a bit better than Cambridge's, too.

Thought you might like to have this info. Here it is:

Dear Steve:

Indeed we deliver (taxfree) all over the world and we know about Cambridge Camera Co. After your further negative message over this Company I'll ask you whether I'll inform Exakta Germany. They should know. About Kiev-60: We have all camera's in our program and we know them, as the Exaktas by hart. Our reputation is, as far we know, good. Find further info below.

Best regards, Hans C. Roskam.-

ROSKAM OPTICS
cameras - microscopes - binoculars - telescopes
Bachstraat 39 NL-2324 GK Leiden Netherlands
phone +71 576 6231  fax +71 527 4900
e-mail [email protected]
VAT  NL 027607094B01

Your 6x6 specialist. Our taxfree 1999 prices:  

EXAKTA66 Mark III:
Body plus waist level finder and strap US$ 850.- Prism 245.- TTLprism  595.-

KIEV-60 set:
Body, waist level finder, TTL prism, 2.8/80 Arsat lens, 2 filters: 395.-
KIEV-88 classic set:
Body, waist level finder, TTL prism, 2 cassettes, 2.8/80 Arsat lens, 2
filters: 550.-

Lenses:
2.8/80 Exakta-Biometar 295.- ; 2.8/80 Zeiss Biometar (no TTL coupling) 210.-
3.5/30 Arsat format filling fisheye 240.- 3.5/45 Arsat 260.-
4.0/50 Zeiss (only A+ occasion) 350.- 3.5/60 Schneider 550.-
3.5/65 Arsat 210.- 3.5/65 Arsat shift 550.- 2.8/120 Zeiss 250.-
2.8/120 Arsat 215.- 2.8/150 Arsat 250.- 4.0/150 Schneider 825.-
2.8/180 Zeiss 400.- 5.6/250 Arsat 220.- 5.6/250 Schneider 995.-   
4.0/300 Zeiss 500.- 5.6/500 Apo-Arsat 750.-
2x Arsat converter 85.- extension tubes 45.-
Only Kiev-88: 645 cassette 110.- Polaroid cassette 145.-

P&P to US 30.- All new goods three years full warranty. Note that we are not cheap, but offer world wide best service and warranty conditions.

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Monaghan [email protected]
To: Steve [email protected]
Date: Friday, March 12, 1999
Subject: Re: Reviews

>Hi Steve,
>
>I am catching up on some email after a trip - so here is a followup to  
>your query -
>
>shutterbug had a nice review on the Kiev cameras, moderately well liked
>for the low cost; pop photo also did a recent review of kiev 60/88 -
>noted they didn't like extra cost mask kit for 645 version - cheaper to
>get regular kiev 60 and cut down film when needed etc. - so if you have
>access to library/back issues, there is some info here. Only very little
>about the newest Exakta 66 III body, mostly lenses and so on in Pop Photo
>article - I think it was june or july?
>
>as far as I know, the Exakta 66 III is the latest '97/98 version with an
>unusual rubberizing grip/covering - and major price increase to $1,000 us
;-)
>
>there is a European version by Altlander called the Altlander 66 and 66s
>which could be cheaper than the Cambridge import version, I would  presume...   
>
>According to the description in the german "brenner foto versand" the only
>difference of EXAKTA 66 modell II to III is the implementation of a mirror
>lockup. The factory can add also add this mirror lockup in older EXAKTA 66
>Mod II's. The costs are about 300-450 DM (170 US $) (from med fmt digest
>post)

From: [email protected] (FLEXARET2)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66
Date: 26 May 1999

The Exakta 66 is just a Pentacon 6 in sheep's clothing (heavy rubber covering).

It is way overpriced and the slow speed gearing is not up to the quanity of the 1970 cameras.

My advice - buy a Kiev 60 (Ukranian takeoff on Pentacon 6) which uses the Pentacon lenses.

Get one with a guarantee and test that all works. If you get a good one, it is a solid camera and will give you years of fine service.

-Sam Sherman

Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999
From: [email protected] (Richard Fung)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66?

Hi,

Being an avid user of the Exakta 66 for oveer three years, let me set the record straight:

The Exakta 66 is much more robust in my opinion than the Kiev. Yes, some Exakta 66's have film overlapping problems but that's partially due to the fact that some operators don't know how to load or advance the film properly. The Exakta 66 is just another camera box- the main advantage to buying the Exakta 66 or Kiev 60 are the lenses. I have three Schneider and Zeiss Jena lenses that will perform on par with any Hassey and at less price. I also would not buy from Cambridge but you can find a very good used Pentacon six or Exakta 66 for 300-500 depending upon condiiton and prisms. I have never found my Exakta 66 to be a problem if handled properly. Please email me back at [email protected] if you need help.

Thanks,
Richard

Date: 08 Dec 1999
From: [email protected] (���_��)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66?

Hi:

There are some discussion about Exakta 66/Pentacon 6/Kiev 60 recently. I am happy because I am not alone in the world. Currently, I have Exakta 66 I & III, Pentacon 6, and 13 lenses of different focus length from Jena (7), Kiev (4), Kilfitt (2), and Schneider (1).

The Exakta 66 I that I got in 1990 function well till now, although it was sent out for repairing in 1998. If you treat these cameras gently, they should work well. If they are broken, you should be able to find one who knows how to fix mechanical cameras in your country.

The main reason that I bought Exakta III in 1998 is the mirror lock. I does reduce the vibration when shutter speed are from 1 to 1/30 second.

The real advantange using these cameras is the lenses. Most of them are great and cheap when comparing to other systems. Can you image that the 5.6/1000mm lens was put on the camera to shoot wild birds? That is what I did.

If you want any personal experience about these lenses. Let me know.

Fuu-diing Chen

Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2000
From: Chung Wong [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Kiev 60 prism on Exakta 66 body

Ralf is right. However, you can get a modified Kiev 60 prism that will fit Exakta 66 from http://www.baierfoto.de for about USD$195(DM 390). Mr. Baier's English is very good, he will be more than happy to answer your questions. Also, he recently started taking credit card, I have just bought some used equipment from him.

Chung (happy customer of Baierfoto)

Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1998
From: "Michael Liczbanski" [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66mod2 or 3

The Pentacon Six only synchs at 1/25 sec, not 1/30 -The Exakat 66 Models are 1/30.

Not really (But the devil is in the details, right?)

Some PraktiSix - the precursor of PentaconSix - (and possibly - but unlikely - some early specimens of PentaconSix ) had the "old" progression of shutter speeds (1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50...) so on these models the synch speed was 1/25th sec. All PentaconSix TL have the "new" shutter speeds (1/15, 1/30, 1/60...) and synch at 1/30th. Big deal it ain't, of course...

Michael

From COntax Mailing List:
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000
From: "Bob Shell" [email protected]
Subject: Re: [CONTAX] OT: how rare is Exakta VX IIA version 4

Hi Evan,

Well there has been no official announcement from Schneider that the 66 is out of production, but my guess is that they were making them in batches of a couple hundred at a time based on worldwide orders. Since there is no real representation in most countries and the lenses are costly, I can't imagine that they could sell enough to keep workers employed. So my guess is that they shut down and if they ever did get enough orders they would make another batch.

Regarding the 80mm Biometar, again there has been no announcement of a change to this lens by Schneider. I've seen these lenses offered for sale, but can't imagine them being new, or even recent, production. To go back and start up a production for an old lens design like this would make no sense, as Schneider already has the tooling to make their own lens.

Bob

- ----------

>From: Evan J Dong [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Re: [CONTAX] OT: how rare is Exakta VX IIA version 4
>Date: Thu, Jun 29, 2000
>

>Bob,
>
>Thanks for the history lesson on Exakta-Ihagee.  It was very informative
>and I beleive that it will help all the collectors out there. Is it true
>that the Exakta 66 is out of production?  I heard this first hand last
>year in Germany when I had my Exakta 66 repaired. Thats where I was told
>that the Schnieder Xenotar 80mm was no longer being manufactured and the
>replacement was a 80mm Biometar with the same "skin" treatment as the
>Schnieder.  A sad end to a good camera name and its lenses.
>
>
>
>Evan

From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Slightly OT : Pentacon/Exacta 66

from Andrei:

> ...made by Exakta (of Exakta 66 and Pentacon 6 from Bob S:
> .: ...My guess is that it is Japanese because no one in the world could
> afford it..

BTW I just checked the Pentacon website

http://pentacon-dresden.de/english/kameras

and saw an annoucement stating that the Exacta 66 was definitely stopped. I shall not comment about this but people interested in buying new cameras with the so-called K6 mount will still have the choice when the stock of Exacta 66 will be empty (see http://www.foto-walser.de Foto-Walser, Germany) between various Kiev Ukrainian bodies including an interesting version of the Kiev 88 SLR re-fitted with the K6 mount. For example check http://www.brenner-foto.de/ (Brenner Fotoversand, Germany)

As far as the current line of Exacta Point&Shoot cameras is concerned I could re-quote Bob : "My guess is that it is Japanese because..."

--
Emmanuel BIGLER
[email protected]

From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Slightly OT : Pentacon/Exacta 66

Indeed, the demise of the Exakta 66 is a sad moment. I currently have three bodies from this series:

A Model I which sucked royally since day 1. The film had overlapping negatives from the 10th roll on, no matter how much I paid attention to loading.

I also have a Model II which worked flawlessly since the beginning and still does. The speeds are dead-on and I have had no difficutlies whatsoever with this camera.

I also have another Model II that developed the overlapping syndrome, but in a moment of personal madness, I shipped it to Dresden for repair.

The Job was expensive, it took a long time, but I got back way more than my money's worth. The factory overhauled the entire camera, and fitted a Mirror -Lock-Up system to it. All within the original cost they quoted just for film transport repair. This effectively is now a Model IV which was not commercialized as the production died down.

I am sad to see this camera go. I have in my collection about a dozen Pentacon 6 bodies, a few Praktisix bodies, some Kiev 60 (only a couple or so), and one or two Kiev 88 with Pentacon 6 mount and mirror lock-up.

In addition, I have all the Pentacon 6 lenses (except the 1000mm monster). From the Praktisix series I am missing a couple of focal lengths (the Meyer 180mm comes to mind and the 80mm Tessar). Unfortunately, from the Exakta 66 I could only afford the 80mm Xenotar and the 60mm Curtagon so far. Hopefully more will pop-up in the future as I sure would like to have more schneider glass to shoot with my family of K-6 mount cameras.

I contacted this Walser photo place and their selection is not great (a handful of lenses, prism and WLF) and their prices are very German (read - high). To give you an example - they are asking roughly 250 Dollars for a no name 80mm, and over 300 bucks for a Biometar, while not offering the Xenotar at all. Oh well, you cannot have your cake and eat it too.

And to bring this more on topic, the Xenotar that came with the Exakta 66 is superb. I have side by side shots from a Rollei TLR and this formerly commie camera and I cannot distinguish them.

Andrei D. Calciu

From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001
From: Javier Perez [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Slightly OT : Pentacon/Exacta 66

Hi

Talk to Dr. Hans Roskam

GOTO http://www.roskamoptics.nl/

e-mail [email protected]

He has a lot of Exakta/Pentacon stuff for sale. He is knowledgeable and the prices are reasonable

See Ya
Javier

From Rpllei Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Slightly OT : Pentacon/Exacta 66

Hans Roskam is a swell guy. He does a good deal of fancy work on the Kiev 88 family as well as on Pentacon 6. I believe he was the first one to come to the market with a reworked Kiev 88, long before the likes of Kiev USA and Hartblei.

I would definitely recommend him if you need a camera body, new or used, but some of his prices for lenses are way high, some as much as double the prices you could get the brand new stuff off ebay.

Andrei D. Calciu

From Rollei Mailing List:
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001
From: Javier Perez [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Rollei] Slightly OT : Pentacon/Exacta 66

I bought a WLF from him along with a Rollei screen kit and a pair shutter curtains with rollers all new for 70 US including shipping. The screen kit allows you to install the far brighter Rollei screen on the old Praktisix or Pentacon. The results are superb!!!

See Ya

Javier

[email protected] wrote:

> Hans Roskam is a swell guy. He does a good deal of fancy work on the Kiev
> 88 family as well as on Pentacon 6. I believe he was the first one to come
> to the market with a reworked Kiev 88, long before the likes of Kiev USA
> and Hartblei.

rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
From: [email protected] (Evanjoe610)
Date: Thu Feb 01 2001
[1] Re: Exakta 66 production has ended

People,

I was at the Pentacon factory last year in January 2000. I was told then that all manufacturing of the Exakta 66 line was stopped and that no more will be made. The productline was closed and that all existing inventories will be exhausted and an officla announcement will be made at that time. Well, it seems that the time for the end was in Nov. 2000. I am sad to see a fine German MFcamera come to its end. I still have my (2) Exakta 66 MK2 and MK3 and used them with my assortment of CZJ, Schnieder and Kiev lenses. Lets hope that the Kiev Factory and Hartblei picks up the slack and improve their quality control.

Evan Dong

From: [email protected] (Evanjoe610)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Date: 14 Mar 2001
Subject: Re: Kiev or Hartblei ?

Hi Ralf,

I am dealing with [email protected] (also Niklas or Walser Foto) and he told me that he bought up the entire Exakta 66 inventory form Pentacon. I assume that the Exakta 66 is official "dead" and that there will be no more Medium Format cameras form Pentacon.

Once the inventory is exhausted, there iwll be no spare parts and no new items except from Kiev or Hartblei in the form of optics and the Kiev 88CM or Hartblei re-engineered 88s.

I am attempting ot buy form him a Schnieder 60mm Curtagon over the CZJ 65mmF2.8, reasoning due to the newer design and multicoating of the optics.

Evan Dong

From: [email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2001
Subject: Re: Kiev or Hartblei ?

Evanjoe610 [email protected] wrote:

> I am dealing with [email protected]
> (also Niklas or Walser Foto) and he told me that he bought up the entire
> Exakta
> 66 inventory form Pentacon.  I assume that the Exakta 66 is official  "dead"
> and
> that there will be no more Medium Format cameras form Pentacon.

Yes, this is correct. I take it that the remaining stock of Pentacon Six bodies from which the Exaktas were made has eventually been exhausted. There is an official announcement on the Pentacon website to the effect that production of the Exakta has ceased and that they've turned all stocks over to Foto Walser.

> Once the inventory is exhausted, there will be no spare parts

Who said this? Pentacon clearly say on their website that they will continue to provide service and repair for Exakta as well as Pentacon Six cameras. Even if there were no more new spares available, there'd still be enough broken P6 bodies to cannibalize.

> and no new items
> except from Kiev or Hartblei in the form of optics and the Kiev 88CM or
> Hartblei re-engineered 88s.

There's such a vast market of second-hand Pentacon gear which is sold around and around that I rather fear we won't be getting any more film, at some time in the future, rather than no more lenses or other accessories.

> I am attempting ot buy form him a Schnieder 60mm Curtagon over the CZJ
> 65mmF2.8, reasoning due to the newer design and multicoating of the  optics.

You're quite right. What a pity that they never took the 65 mm Flektogon into the third (MC) generation. Then again, I find it a little 'long' for my purposes and the late model 50 mm MC Flektogon which I just bought is really excellent.

Cheers,
Ralf

--
Ralf R. Radermacher  -  DL9KCG  -  K�ln/Cologne, Germany
private homepage at: http://www.free-photons.de
picture galleries - classic and mechanical cameras
Contarex - Kiev - Horizon - P6 mount lens table

From Rangefinder Mailing List;
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001
From: Mike Johnston [email protected]
Subject: Exakta 66 from B&H

you wrote:

> While we are on the topic of Exactas, I see that B&H is selling them,  and
> they aren't cheap. I had avoided them in the past only because they   seemed
> to have the reputation of being less than traditional quality, something
> akin to the Hanimex Practica 35mm cameras. Do any of you out there use  one?
> If so, how do you like it? It reminds me a bit of the Russian cameras.
>
> Jeffery Smith

Actually, that's a different kettle of beans. That Exakta--called an Exakta 66--is an updated Pentacon 6 / Practisix. It's rubber-armored and has some slightly modernized plastic parts in place of the old metal ones, but it's largely the same old camera with the same old quirks--offcenter viewfinder (you get approximately what you see at the bottom of the frame, but some 20% more than you see at the top) and delicate wind mechanism prone to overlapping frames and such...you have to take care never to let it snap back into position after winding, or the problems begin (sometimes they begin anyway).

The camera was rescusitated by Heinrich Mandermann, the then- (and maybe still, I don't know) owner of Schneider, when he owned both Rollei and Schneider. It had something to do with sentimentality; his first job had been in the factory that made those cameras, or something of that sort.

The key to the camera is that Mandermann had Schneider make some modern lenses for it that are very good to spectacular--a sample of the 80/2.8 Xenotar I used to have is still the best medium-format lens I've ever used. The scoop there is that the camera uses the old breech-lock lensmount. I've actually heard (from Bob Shell) that the Kiev version of the camera is more reliable, because the Russians simplified the wind mechanism to save money and unintentionally improved it. I can't verify that, but that's the story. So the ticket to Practisix Nirvana may be to buy a Kiev body for peanuts, and a Schneider lens or two. The lenses are as expensive as new Bronica lenses, though, so the bargain may be in finding one of the cameras used.

Anyone please correct any of this if you have better information. By the way, this is OT, because the Exakta 66 is an overgrown SLR configured like the Pentax 6x7.

--Mike

from kiev88 mailing list:
Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 
From: "Per Backman" [email protected]
Subject: Re: Pentacon vs, Kiev 60

[email protected] wrote:

>from: [email protected] (Sam Sherman)  11-26-01
>to: [email protected]
>
>Eric,
>
>If money is no object get a new Exakta 66 and Schneider lenses.

The "new" Exakta 66 is just a PentaconSix assembled in West-Berlin, the newest
ones are the worst, I think.


I decided to get one mod. III with Schneider lenses and got in to trouble.
I think I had three different bodies, also a model II, they were all
faulty, film transport, flash sync and even the shutter. They went back to
Germany, but they could not fix them and then all of a sudden it occured
that they did not "make" them any moore.  In the end I turned it all back,
Schneider lenses and all, and got myself another Kiev60 and some Zeiss
lenses, and I am happy with that.

The Exakta66 has a very poor pentaprism, it is dark and the image is
small. Kiev60 is much better in that respect. I was not impressed by the
mechanics of the Schneider lenses, optically they are very good, but if
they are worth the extra money is doubtful.

Per B.


From: [email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Newbie: Pentagon Six question
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 

Frank Lasse [email protected] wrote:
> What focusing screen would you recommend for the P6? I admit that the
> original one is a little dark and I could do with a brighter one.

After having one in my K60 for years, I've had Rollei 6008 screens
mounted in my two Exakta 66's by Pentacon of Dresden. Cost about 100
Euro. Very pleased.

Ralf

--
Ralf R. Radermacher  -  DL9KCG  -  K�ln/Cologne, Germany
private homepage: http://www.free-photons.de


[Ed. note: many thanks to RF for these notes and tips!]
Date: Mon, 07 May 2001 
From: "R. F." [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Exakta 66 Contribution

Hello Robert,

I wanted to contribute this information to your site for the Exakta 66
section.

I know there is very little info on this camera in USA, as it seems to have
had more sucess in Europe than here.

I have shot all my fine art work with an Exakta 66 since 1994 and here are
some specs that have been passed on to me by my repair tech:

Model 1:
Essentially a Pentacon Six.  Same limited small viewfinder image.
220 degree advance lever throw.


Model 2:
Advance lever throw is now only 180 degrees
Shape of advance lever changed
Viewfinder image increased to show 85% of viewfinder

Model 3:
Addition of Mirror lock-up/Pre-release function

Pentacon is still providing service for these cameras.  In addtion, Roskam
Optics in the Netherlands is an independent dealer and service center that
handles Exakta 66 repairs and upgrades.  Roskam Optics an upgrade a  Model 2
to have the MLU feature of the Model 3 for around $150 USD.

Another German expert on the camera, Rolf-Deiter Baier, also told me that
the glass in both the regular Exakta 66 prism and TTL prisms, is the same
glass found in the older Pentacon TTL prism, which was not the brightest.
Baier also has invented an upgrade for the Pentacon and Exakta 66 that
prevents the infamous overlapping frames, the week point of the Pentacon
derived design.

There is an adapter sold that will allow photograhers to mount a Kiev 60
prism on the Exakta 66.  The Kiev 60 prism does detract from the beauty of
the Exakta 66's finish and look, but the Kiev prism is brighter and shows
100% of the focussing screen.  It's as pretty, but functions better.  Plus
the Kiev TTL prism works with all Pentacon mount lenes, whereas the Exakta
66 TTL prism only works with the Schneider made lenses.

These days, the only place to find a new Exakta 66 is through Cambridge
Camera in NY.  They have such a notorious reputation, but they have a
monoply on the inventory.



From: [email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: P6 mount users, heads up!
Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2002 


Frank Lasse [email protected] wrote:
> I have got two Biometar2.8/80 with leatherett on the focusing ring (ser
> no. 7234286 and 6696579) which is a Biometer I as far as I read the info
> on the Internet. Both show no sign of vignetting at all. Was I just
> lucky or are those lenses better made than the successors?

This problem occurs only with the "Exakta 2.8/80 mm" lenses made for the
Exakta 66 such as those currently offered on ebay.de by Foto Walser. The
reason is a design fault, i.e. the front section of the barrel is not
wide enough for its length.

There is no significant vignetting with any of the various Biometar
versions including yours.

More info on the subject is available at the Foto Baier website.

http://www.baierfoto.de/Vergleich.html


Ralf

--
Ralf R. Radermacher  -  DL9KCG  -  K�ln/Cologne, Germany
NEW URL!!! private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de
manual cameras and picture galleries - updated 26 Sept. 2001
Contarex - Kiev 60 - Horizon 202 - P6 mount lenses


From: fotocord [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Working around the pentacon 6/exakta 66 film spacing flaw.
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002


It's a well known issue that the pentacon 6 and exakta 66 cameras develope
problems with film spacing. Sometimes attempts at repair are either futile
or don't last. I'm a fan of these cameras and besides this seemingly fatal
flaw, they work quite well. The first one of these I bought worked great
but the second one was well worn and had severe spacing problems. I'm not
posting this to start a "east german cameras are junk" debate but to inform
anyone using these what the design flaw is and how to work around it with
no repair needed.


 I opened this camera up and what I found was interesting. The film spacing
is controlled by the right side film gate roller turning a cam that is
reset when the shutter is fired. It depends on the film keeping slight
tension in the roller so when the shutter is depressed the cam turns
slightly and this lever doesn't go back into the slot in the cam when the
shutter is released. Then as you turn the film advance, the roller rubbing
on the film turns this cam until this lever can fall back into this slot.
As the camera gets some wear, when you depress and release the shutter,
this lever falls right back into this slot in the cam and when you wind the
film, the roller can't turn to "count" the film spacing. After looking at
it, I think the gear train and the roller bushings have a little too much
wear and everytime I tried it, the lever fell right back into the slot in
the cam and there is no chance the spacing will be right.

This page shows the mechanism.

http://www.baierfoto.de/Messengl.html

The problem is lever #8 falls back into slot #10 in gear #9 when the
shutter is released. The tension on the film is expected to rotate gear #11
a touch so the lever #8 ends up on the high point of the cam on gear #9
next to slot #10 instead of just falling back into it. When the camera gets
worn this doesn't work like it was designed to and the measuring mechanism
fails to work.

Then I remebered someone posting the winding procedure that Baire photo
wrote and it made sense.  (BTW they are a great place to get pentacon to
kiev prism adapters and kiev flocking kitts etc.....)

http://www.baierfoto.de/Transport.html

http://babelfish.altavista.com/   to translate to english (sorta )


I think they made it a little too complex in that all I needed to do was
slightly change how I worked the camera. After you fire off a shot, don't
release the shutter button until you start winding and feel the wind lever
move the film just a touch, then release the shutter button and wind it
through. This allows the slot in the "spacer" cam to rotate out from under
the lever and then it can do it's job.

I have a feeling this cam and slot is the film spacing problem that many of
these develope and making this slight change in how you operate your
pentacon or exakta 66 would solve this and keep it from ever becoming a
problem. It's not a great design but a very slight change in how these are
operated can eliminate this one design flaw from ever even being an issue.
Also might make a camera listed as having spacing problems worth looking
into as this might be all it takes to have a very usable camera for next to
nothing!

And yes I tested it with two different rolls winding it this way and it
works perfect now! 13 perfectly spaced frames on a roll.
--

  Stacey


From: Bob Stewart [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again
Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2003 


Try the Exakta list: http://members.aol.com/basmpu/index.html
As I recall, there is a member from Holland who is/was anExakta 66
distributor.


[email protected] wrote:

>A little while ago I asked on this NG if the Exakta 66 was still in
>production.  One person led me to the webpage - which shows it
>discontinued and another led me to eBay (Germany) where they said a
>steady stream of the cameras are being auctioned.  Well lo and behold I
>accidentally found the Exakta 66 on B&H Photo's webpage.  Priced at over
>two grand they have both the camera and that oh so sexy Schneider lens
>as a stand alone on their internet catalog.  Being the diligent Exakta
>66/Kiev 60/Pentacon 6 researcher that I am (don't have the nerve or the
>cash to buy one yet), I strolled over to their store to see if they had
>one on display.  First guy at the counter doesn't work MF but looks it
>up on the computer -and finds it.  Second guy who gets called over from
>the MF side of the counter, doesn't know they carry it.  Of course there
>wasn't one on display.  As I walked away three of them are looking at
>the screen marveling at the camera.  They certainly knew the Schneider
>brand name, but I think a "new" MF camera with a Schneider lens threw
>them for a loop.  Now of course I've got to end this with a question.
>Is the Exakta 66, which I've heard is just a reworking of the Pentacon
>6, really superior to the Kiev 60 and/or the Pentacon 6 cameras?



From: [email protected] (FLEXARET2)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Date: 08 Feb 2003 
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again


The Exakta 66 production has stopped by its makers Pentacon in Dresden.
They still do repairs and can upgrade Pentacon 6 cameras with Exakta 66
features.

The Exakta 66 is basically a Pentacon 6 in heavy rubber covering with some
improvements in screen size, metering and winding. The
Schneider optics have an excellent reputation. Both the cameras and lenses hold
their values well and users have very good comments about them.

For those who cannot afford this model, a very late model Pentacon 6TL,
in as close to Mint condition as possible (approx. $300), can serve very well.

- Sam Sherman


From: Stacey [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again
Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2003

[email protected] wrote:
>Is the Exakta 66, which I've heard is just a reworking of the Pentacon
>6, really superior to the Kiev 60 and/or the Pentacon 6 cameras?


It's "different". In it's latest version it has a larger focusing
screen and stronger wind gears compared to a pentacon 6 but still has
the defectively designed counter mechanism.

http://www.geocities.com/kievgurl/pentaconfix.html

 I have a bunch of kievs and P-6's and think a GOOD kiev is a better
camera but finding a good one is a challenge. Of all of the kievs the
old kiev 6c is probably the best build/design of the lot IMHO. The
best P-6 mount camera I've used is a Hartblei 1006C which is a MLU
modified mid production K-60 that allows the mirror to be returned. I
feel the exakta 66 is really not much better than a P-6 and if wound
using the techique on my site, work fine in any flavor.


Stacey


From: [email protected] (Winfried Buechsenschuetz)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again
Date: 7 Feb 2003 


[email protected] wrote 
.
> Is the Exakta 66, which I've heard is just a reworking of the Pentacon
> 6, really superior to the Kiev 60 and/or the Pentacon 6 cameras?

The Exakta66 is a somewhat re-designed Pentacon6. The re-design mainly
refers to the exterior design. I have heard that they have similar
frame spacing problems as the Pentacon6.

www.baierfoto.de

offers a method how to improve frame spacing on BOTH cameras. They
also sell Schneider lenses for Exakta66/Pentacon6 but no new bodies.

Winfried


From: [email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003

[email protected] wrote:

> Is the Exakta 66, which I've heard is just a reworking of the Pentacon
> 6, really superior to the Kiev 60 and/or the Pentacon 6 cameras?

The Exakta 66 has been produced using a modified main body casting and
many components from the Pentacon Six. There are, however, a number of
improvements, some of them quite substantial:

- totally redesigned pressure plate/film gate
- improved transport mechanism
- larger, brighter viewfinder (Rollei 6000 screen, Models 2 and 3)
- full meter coupling (with optional Exakta TTL prism and Schneider
  lenses only)
- improved camera locking mechanism (Models 2 and 3)
- slightly faster sync speed
- decent carrying strap (option)
- mirror pre-release (Model 3)
- exterior rubber coating (more pleasant positive grip, better
  protection, less noise)

Pentacon of Dresden will retrofit most of these improvements on any
Pentacon Six with the obvious exception of the pressure plate/film gate
modification because the changes of the film gate have meant a major
redesign of the dye used to mould the main body casting.

The Exakta is vastly superior to the original P6, with the main points
being the dramatically improved film flatness and the better film
transport.

Compared to the Kiev 60, it is a lot more refined and sophisticated.
Unlike a K60, it can be used with a variety of films without having to
adapt the transport mechanism. Alternating between, say, Fuji colour neg
and Konica 750IR would be out of the question with a K60 because of the
large difference in film thickness.


Like a P6, the Exakta senses the length of film transported and is thus
virtually immune to these effects. The difference between the two is
that this works with the Exakta and it doesn't always with the P6. ;-)

All three cameras (Exakta/P6/K60) require some treatment to get rid of
reflections inside the mirror box. The usual self-adhesive stuff will do
nicely. This will eliminate the dreaded flare effects, e.g. with the 180
mm Sonnar.

The coupled Exakta TTL prism was ridiculously expensive and there aren't
many of them around. Actually, it cost more than the camera together
with the WLF. There was also a non-metered prism. Both Exakta prism
finders use the optical elements from the original P6 finders and
they're just as gruesomely dark. Foto Baier (www.fotobaier.de) makes an
adaptor for fitting a Kiev 60 TTL prism. This combination (Exakta/Rollei
screen and Kiev prism) gives you one of the brightest MF viewfinders in
the whole industry.

I own and regularly use two Exakta 66, a Model 1 and a Model 2, both
upgraded to Model 3 features. If you have any further questions just
ask.

Cheers,
Ralf

--
Ralf R. Radermacher  -  DL9KCG 


From: Stacey [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again
Date: Sat, 08 Feb 2003

[email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher) wrote:

>Like a P6, the Exakta senses the length of film transported and is thus
>virtually immune to these effects. The difference between the two is
>that this works with the Exakta and it doesn't always with the P6. ;-)

Actually it doesn't always work on the exakta either. I know a couple
of people who use them and they have the same issues with the counter
that the P-6 does. That part of the design wasn't changed.

Stacey


From: [email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again
Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2003

Stacey [email protected] wrote:
> Actually it doesn't always work on the exakta either. I know a couple
> of people who use them and they have the same issues with the counter
> that the P-6 does.

The counter?

> That part of the design wasn't changed.

Probably not in Model 1. Models 2 and 3 included a succession of
modifications on the transport mechanism. But I don't know if this
includes the counter.


On a sidenote: when I bought my two Exaktas second-hand, three years
ago, they had the odd transport hick-up and even occasional shutter
probs. The latter got really bad when outside temps went below freezing
for the first time that year. That's when I decided it was time for a
CLA.

No-one in his right mind would expect a car to last without any
maintenance. Yet, people will complain about reliability issues with
cameras that haven't seen some fresh oil for decades.

Shutter's working perfectly now and no more transport trouble that can't
be traced to sloppy loading. Some stock, like Konica IR750, requires a
little extra attention to make sure the tiny teeth on the sensing wheels
do pierce through the film surface right from the start.

Ralf

--
Ralf R. Radermacher  -  DL9KCG



From: Stacey [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Exakta 66 - again
Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003

[email protected] (Ralf R.
Radermacher) wrote:

>Stacey  wrote:
>
>> Actually it doesn't always work on the exakta either. I know a couple
>> of people who use them and they have the same issues with the counter
>> that the P-6 does.
>
>The counter?

Yea the piece that measures the frame spacing.

>
>> That part of the design wasn't changed.
>
>Probably not in Model 1. Models 2 and 3 included a succession of
>modifications on the transport mechanism. But I don't know if this
>includes the counter.


It didn't. They improved the strength of the gearing but the
counter/frame spcing measuring mechanism hasn't changed. See my
webpage about this and learn how to wind these to avoid this issue.

http://www.geocities.com/kievgurl/pentaconfix.html

>
>On a sidenote: when I bought my two Exaktas second-hand, three years
>ago, they had the odd transport hick-up and even occasional shutter
>probs. The latter got really bad when outside temps went below freezing
>for the first time that year. That's when I decided it was time for a
>CLA.
>

Like I said at my site, baire foto also knows about this problem and
explains it at their site as well. As long as you understand what is
going on (I opened one up to see how this mickey mouse thing works!)
and use the "special" winding technique, it can't suprise you with a
hick-up as it WILL happen at some point if you don't wind them this
way.

Stacey



From: [email protected] (Evanjoe610)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Date: 14 Oct 2002
Subject: Re: Pentacon 6 Info


Ralf,

I see another Exakta 66 user. I use the Exakta 66 (2 of them in MK3
designation) and have found them them to be reliable. I have the Schnieder 80mm
Xenotat and can tell you that you will be surprise at how good it is. Try the
other Schnieder lenses such as the 60mm Curtagon and the 150mm Xenotar. You
will be very happy with their quality built and great optics. The CZJ optics
are also fanastic. By the way, love your website.

From: [email protected] (Hartmut Krafft)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: CZJ 80mm vs Schneider 80mm
Date: 24 Mar 2003 

[email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher) wrote:

> Does anyone know of another place in Europe where they carry out service
> and repair work on P6 type cameras according to _Western_ standards?

Do you know about Mr. Olbrich in G�rlitz (must be a residuum of
Meyer/Pentacon)?

His leaflet says he will repair Pentacon Six (but doesn't mention
Exakta66). I have had *very* good experiences with his lens
service (for my Praktica lenses) and can recommend him without
any doubts.

Foto-Service G�rlitz (7-Bit: Goerlitz)
Dipl.-Ing. Peter Olbrich
Emmerichstr. 17
D-02826 G�rlitz
03581-401241
Mo-Fr 8...12 and 12:30...17(Di 18)

(not affiliated!)

Just try and give them a call.

Hartmut


From: [email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: The sad story of the EXAKTA 66 - last episode: They'll never learn...
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 

Tonight, I drove out of town to take a few photographs of a large oil
refinery across the river Rhine with the sunset behind it, lots of
little lights, reflections off the many shiny metal pipes and
installations, clouds of steam above the big cooling towers, all this
reflected in the river. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous with fluffy
red clouds in a deep purple sky. You get the picture....

I had only one of my two Exakta 66, the Model 1, with me because I had
to return the other one, a Model 2, to Pentacon of Dresden after I had
them retrofit it with the mirror pre-release and it developed a shutter
problem. No wait... that was the second-last time, about 4 weeks ago,
when they told me the shutter had failed because the grease had gone
sticky (a little over a year after I had paid them for a CLA on this
very same camera). No, this time I had to return it because the bushing
for the additional cable release they had installed for the MLU had
fallen off.

Now, the Model 1 that I had with me tonight is the one which I had to
return right after it came back with the freshly mounted MLU because
that wouldn't work, at all. Then, it went back to Pentacon, a few weeks
later, because the additionally installed bushing for the MLU had fallen
off. When they returned it, the frame counter wouldn't work and blocked
the whole camera. So, I had to send it to Dresden once more and on the
occasion had a serious talk on the phone with their quality manager
(heaven knows where they got their ISO certificate).

So, tonight was the first time out with this freshly repaired camera
which they had promised me had not only been repaired but also carefully
checked by another technician in order to make sure everything worked as
it should.

Guess what: the frame counter sticks and blocks the whole camera.

I give up.

Ralf
--
Ralf R. Radermacher - DL9KCG - K�ln/Cologne, Germany
private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de


From: [email protected] (Ralf R. Radermacher)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: The sad story of the EXAKTA 66 - last episode: They'll never learn...
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 

Stacey [email protected] wrote:
> If you are
> not going to wind these this way, they aren't going to work reliably.

The problem with this one is a little different. The counter won't reset
when I open the back and once it hits frame 24 I can't unlock the film
transport in the usual way by pushing the little tab below the wind
lever.

Besides, in the two years I've had these two cameras there hasn't been
one single instance when Pentacon had worked on them and they wouldn't
be sent back either unrepaired or with a new problem. I've lost count on
the number of times I had to send them back.

From all accounts I've had by various other people, the Pentacon factory
service in Dresden plays a major part in their cameras' bad reputation.

I think Schneider would be well advised to either sell or close this
operation before it will harm their own good name.

> It's something
> I've learned to live with as I do LOVE the optics and the 6x6 format. If I
> needed total reliability AND couldn't tinker with them myself, I'd never
> use these.

Exactly my words, so far, but after seeing them fail (sometimes both
within minutes) on each and every occasion I took them out for months on
end, I think I've had it for good.

And I'm afraid I need MLU because of infrared where with the usual 6 to
9 ASA one inevitably ends up in the range around 1/4 to 1/8 sec.

A Kiev 60 is ruled out because it can't handle Fuji NPS and the
extremely thin Konica IR750 alternately without the need to re-adjust
the transport mechanism.

So, where do I go from here?

Ralf
--
Ralf R. Radermacher - DL9KCG - K�ln/Cologne, Germany
private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de


From: Stacey [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: The sad story of the EXAKTA 66 - last episode: They'll never learn...
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003

Ralf R. Radermacher wrote:
> Guess what: the frame counter sticks and blocks the whole camera.
> I give up.

Sorry to hear your problems :-(


I've heard MLU is a BAD idea on these. Several people at the kiev forum
have had theirs modified this way and had problems. I have a dresden
"rebuild" P-6 but specifically wanted =no MLU!=

I've only had this lockup happen when trying to use these types of camera's
"normally" and the ONLY way to use a pentacon without the winder freaking
out without warning is to start the wind process with the shutter button
depressed and releasing it part way through. If you had ever seen the
mechanism you'd understand why. Yes it's a STUPID design but it can be
worked around and is the main problem I've had using them. They said they
"improved" the wind mechanism but it's no different than a P-6. If you are
not going to wind these this way, they aren't going to work reliably.

http://www.geocities.com/kievgurl/pentaconfix.html

BTW you can unfreeze a pentacon (not sure about the exakta?) by taking
something like a car key and pushing the winder latch (under the left side
of the wind lever), turn it (round looking thing) counterclockwise till the
lever will wind and wasting a frame. I assume you are talking about the
mirror is up but the lever won't move?

Trust me I understand your frustration and I always carry =something= else
(or multiple spare bodies) as these are not very reliable. It's something
I've learned to live with as I do LOVE the optics and the 6x6 format. If I
needed total reliability AND couldn't tinker with them myself, I'd never
use these.

I've heard Roskam Optics does a good job on repairing these?
--
Stacey



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