Ihagee also manufactured less expensive cameras under the 'Exa' camera label, such as the Exa, the Exa Ia, the Exa II, the Exa IIa, the Exa IIb (which was generally not considered part of the "official" Exa line), and the Exa 500. Various other models were produced, such as the Kine-Exakta, the Exakta II, the Exakta Varex (featuring an interchangeable pentaprism eye-level viewfinder and identified in the United States as the 'Exakta V'), the Exakta Varex VX (identified in the United States as the 'Exakta VX'), the Exakta VX IIa, the Exakta VX IIb, the Exakta VX500 and the Exakta VX1000. The first 35mm format SLR in large scale production was the Ihagee Kine Exakta, produced in 1936 in Germany, which was fundamentally a scaled-down Vest-Pocket Exakta. As electronics advanced, new functionality, discussed below, became available.Īsahiflex - the first single-lens reflex camera made in Japan Through-the-lens light metering was another important advance. The half-silvered fixed pellicle mirror, without even the brief blackout of the instant-return mirror, was also innovative but did not become standard. Innovations that transformed the SLR were the pentaprism eye-level viewfinder and the instant-return mirror-the mirror flipped briefly up during exposure, immediately returning to the viewfinding position. Therefore, it is claimed not to be the first mass produced 35mm SLR.Įarly 35 mm SLR cameras had functionality that was similar to larger models, with a waist-level ground-glass viewfinder and a mirror that remained in the taking position and blacked out the viewfinder after an exposure, and then returned when the film was wound on. "Sport" was a very smart design with a 24mm × 36mm frame size, but, according to some sources, it did not enter the market until 1937, although there is now some evidence emerging that "Sport" may have been in limited production before 1936. Gelgar developed the "GelVeta" also in the USSR, later re-named Спорт ("Sport"). The first 35mm prototype SLR was the "Filmanka" developed in 1931 by A. Medium format SLRs soon became common, at first larger box cameras and later "pocketable" models such as the Ihagee Vest-Pocket Exakta of 1933. In most cases, the mirror had to be raised manually as a separate operation before the shutter could be operated.Īs with camera technology in general, SLR cameras became available in smaller and smaller sizes. These cameras were used at waist level the ground glass screen was viewed directly, using a large hood to keep out extraneous light. While SLR cameras were not very popular at the time, they proved useful for some work. These first SLRs were large format cameras. Other early SLR cameras were constructed, for example, by Louis van Neck ( Belgium, 1889), Thomas Rudolphus Dallmeyer (England, 1894) and Max Steckelmann (Germany, 1896), and Graflex of the United States and Konishi in Japan produced SLR cameras as early as 18 respectively. The first production SLR with a brand name was Calvin Rae Smith's Monocular Duplex (USA, 1884).
The photographic single-lens reflex camera (SLR) was invented in 1861 by Thomas Sutton, a photography author and camera inventor who ran a photography related company together with Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard on Jersey. 10 Consolidation to autofocus and the transition to digital photographyĮarly large and medium format SLRs.8.2 'Off-the-film' electronic flash metering.s – improvements in design, light metering and automation.7.5 Miranda and other camera manufacturers.7.4 Minolta – the SRT-101 with contrast light compensation.7.1 Nikon F and F2 with interchangeable photomic prisms.