Why the embossed name plate of the Exakta IIa?
Actually guys, and I hope no one gets offended, I’ve always thought the embossed “anniversary” name plate was kind of cheap looking. I guess it has to do with trends in metalworking art more than anything else. At some point everyone in the industry began wanting to hide the fact that something was stamped, preferring instead, to convey the appearance of an item having been machined from a solid chunk. Clearly the Exakta decorators didn’t care for this approach. Perhaps this explains that generation of very sharp angular cameras with pointy prisms and sharp edges everywhere. (the birth of the ding). Back to Exaktas, I have always wondered why they didn’t just cutoff the top of the front plate and introduce an overhanging prism with aperture coupling possibilities, the way Nikon did. Of course I’m not sure how they would have coupled the shutter! No matter, The Exaktas , particularly the aniversary model are the only world class cameras never to have been ashamed of stampings! [It seems
