I've had an Ektra for more than a year & use it fairly regularly (or @ least as regularly as some of my other "exotics").
Sample photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/furcafe/tags/eastmankodakektrac194041/
I'm not a mechanic or engineer & my sample (a whopping 1) is small, so I can't say whether the delicate shutter reputation is deserved or not. Nevertheless, the fact that the reputation exists probably indicates something ("where's there's smoke, there's fire," etc.). The shutter (& everything else) is clearly more complicated than the Leica "Barnacks" of the same time period, more like the Zeiss Ikon Contax, which also has a reputation for being unreliable nowadays. My take is that both the Ektra & Contax designs, though very complex (you can see the patent drawings for the Ektra shutter on Brian Wallen's excellent Ektra pages:
http://www.bnphoto.org/bnphoto/KodakEktra1.htm), just need more regular use & maintenance than a Barnack, but aren't necessarily inherently unreliable or unusable.
In the U.S., Ken Ruth of Photography on Bald Mountain (
http://www.baldmtn.com/) services them & I'm pretty sure Hayata Camera in Japan, too. That doesn't mean there isn't anyone else, just those are 2 highly-regarded shops that I know of. Since you're in the U.S., I would suggest giving Ken a call & getting his opinion re: the Ektra's mechanics.
My Ektra, purchased off eBay, was working out of the box, despite the fact that the seller had included very little padding, only some crushed newspaper. The shutter is as accurate as my other functional cameras of the same general time period (e.g., Leica IIIc, Contax II, & Nettax), the RF is very accurate, film back is fully light-tight, etc. FWIW, I've found the film backs to be easier to use than those for the Zeiss Ikon Contarex SLRs.
IMHO, the main drawback of the Ektra, aside from rarity & price (& the price isn't really that high considering the features you get & the workmanship), is not its reliability, but that it is sinister, i.e., designed to be operated mostly by the left hand. Thus, everything for which you use the right hand on a "normal" camera, advancing the film, releasing the shutter, etc., you use the left hand on an Ektra. It's not the end of the world--I'm very right-handed & can use the Ektra pretty quickly now that I've had some practice--but it's definitely slower & less intuitive to use than an old Leica or Contax (though still easier to use than a Voigtlander Prominent).
If you're right-handed & want a more intuitive top-of-the-line American 35mm camera, though @ the cost of no interchangeable backs, a squintier RF, a much smaller choice of lenses, & a lot more shutter/advance noise, I would recommend the Bell & Howell Foton. Then again, if you're a lefty, haven't been brainwashed by using right-handed cameras for too many years, need more than 2 lens choices &/or film backs, the Ektra could be your dream machine.
Have read about the Kodak Ektra here and there over the years... some pros and cons as to features vs practicality.
One issue that seems to be consistent it a supposed reputation for a "delicate" shutter and/or winding mechanism.
Are these cameras as "unusable" as most legend seems to have it ?
Is there anyone out there that services them ?
Am starting to think about hunting down an Ektra / outfit, but only if I can plan on actually shooting pictures with it... they're too dear for me to buy one just as an objet d'art...
They sound like a nifty camera, if they really work.
Thanks,
Luddite Frank
