Ihagee Exakta 66 medium format SLR 6x6cm 120 film camera. Made in Germany. Serial #602259. Circa 1953. Post-war vintage slr Exakta 120 film camera with a CZJ Tessar 80mm f/2.8 T lens. Chrome finish. Vertical style 6x6cm slr 120 roll film camera. Waist level viewfinder with swing up magnifier. Shutter speed are 1/1000 to 1/25 sec, B. T. No slow shutter speeds on this model. This Exakta 66 slr camera is in Ex++ or 9 of 10 cosmetic condition. No dings or dents. Nice chrome finish with some small slightt wear around. Good vintage condition leather covering. Good working order. Camera was CLA'D best as possible for a vintage camera in 2022. Lens is the popular CZJ ZEISS Tessar 80mm f/2.8 standard lens. Serial #3756146. Lens apertures are f/2.8 to f/22. Lens close focusing down to3.3'or 1m. 48mm filter size. Post-war single coated lens. Lens is in Ex++ or 8.5/9 of 10 cosmetic condition. Very clean overall condition. Clean vintage glass. Smooth lens focusing. Smooth working lens aperture with no oil on the blades. Includes case in nice condition, instructions, and lens cap. 

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The vertical Exakta 6×6 was launched at the September 1952 Leipzig Autumn Fair by Ihagee of Dresden, East Germany[1]. It represented a change in direction, after Ihagee first presented an updated version of the 1939 horizontal Exakta 6×6 in 1951. The update of the 1939-design was dropped due to continuing production problems[2], or fundamental design flaws in the film transport (according to Hummel[3]). Development of the vertical model was already underway by April 1952[4]. The prototype vertical model presented at the September 1952 Leipzig Autumn Fair (see photo to the right) still shared a few features with the horizontal Exakta 6x6, including the waist level finder loupe design and notably the lens mount. A prototype series of about 10 cameras was produced and used for survey purposes. The response was good, and the responses only lead to a limited detail changes.[3] At the August-September 1953 Leipzig Autumn Fair, a camera with further design refinements was presented.[5] This included changing the lens mount to a larger mount which, together with a longer split mirror, gave a better ground-glass image when using longer focal lengths. The waist level finder loupe was also changed to a design which let less light in. Production began in 1953, but only 118 cameras were delivered that year, which was a bad omen for 1954, when 10 000 deliveries had been planned. Uncertainties with the film transport mechanism and other functions influenced the production process. At the end of 1954 production was temporarily halted, with only 2250 cameras produced that year. Tensions arose between the business and technical staff, leading to an order of a third party evaluation of whether to halt production or invest in further fixes. The evaluation from the Institute for Electrical and Mechanical Precision Mechanics at the Technical College of Dresden made clear that only through a fundamental change of the general construction would it be possible to achieve the desired functional guarantees.[3] The camera was made for a few years from 1953. 

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 Very unique and scarce Exakta 66 120 film slr camera with Tessar 80mm f/2.8 lens in clean condition that has been CLA'D.  A must have to complete your Exakta collection. Sells with NO RESERVE at a price of $1695. I have more interesting vintage Exakta, Zeiss Ikon cameras, Contax Rangefinder and Contax Reflex cameras, Contax lenses and Contax accessories on my other Auctions, eBay Store and web page.