Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
The amazing Ektra was Kodak's cost-is-no-object worldbeater design back in 1941, designed to show that whatever Leitz and Zeiss could do, the American camera industry could do better. It was a truly amazing camera, with a long list of "firsts", some of them never again attained in later camera designs.
In fact it had so many features that every surface of the camera had some kind of knob, lever, or button control on it. This makes for a beautiful mechanical rhapsody, but making a case for a device like that is really tricky.
Top by John Desmond, on Flickr
Front by John Desmond, on Flickr
Bottom by John Desmond, on Flickr
Back by John Desmond, on Flickr
The most commonly found Ektra case is a large, roughly cubical leather box that houses the camera with a 35 or 50mm lens plus one interchangeable back, and a film or two.
Box by John Desmond, on Flickr
The top has compartments for filters and other series 5/6 gadgets needed for the Ektra lenses. It's useful, but cumbersome, and is really more of a gadget bag than a camera case.
Another case, which is pretty scarce but shows up occasionally, is a beautifully-made triangular leather affair, with strap lugs carefully positioned to facilitate dropping the unsecured camera on the ground.
Triangle Case by John Desmond, on Flickr
This is a real camera case, but tricky to use safely.
It turns out that these two lovely pieces of leatherwork weren't enough for the Kodak folks, though, and they came up with the most intricate everready case I have ever seen. I have owned Ektras on and off for over 30 years, and I was completely unaware of the existence of this case, until I saw a beat-up piece of junk on ebay a month ago that could only be designed to fit an Ektra. A bit of glue and patience got it sorted out, resulting in what has to be an exceedingly rare piece of photo equipment.
The case has so many openings allowing access to controls that it couldn't just be leather. The main part of the case is made of sheet steel, with leather coverings. The bottom has a longitudinal hinge allowing the case to open like a clamshell, necessary to put the camera in the front portion of the case and secure it with a 1/4" tripod screw.
Case Open by John Desmond, on Flickr
Case Side by John Desmond, on Flickr
The camera strap clips onto the lugs, holding the clamshell together. A leather front cover snaps onto the back of the case. All controls are accessible, and it is just barely possible to interchange film backs without removing the camera from the case.
Front Cased by John Desmond, on Flickr
Back Cased by John Desmond, on Flickr
Complete Case by John Desmond, on Flickr
If anyone has some information on this very unusual accessory, I would love to hear about it.
For information on the truly amazing Kodak Ektra camera, I refer you to the Head Bartender's very informative article.
https://cameraquest.com/ektra.htm
Cheers,
Dez
In fact it had so many features that every surface of the camera had some kind of knob, lever, or button control on it. This makes for a beautiful mechanical rhapsody, but making a case for a device like that is really tricky.
Top by John Desmond, on FlickrFront by John Desmond, on FlickrBottom by John Desmond, on FlickrBack by John Desmond, on FlickrThe most commonly found Ektra case is a large, roughly cubical leather box that houses the camera with a 35 or 50mm lens plus one interchangeable back, and a film or two.
Box by John Desmond, on FlickrThe top has compartments for filters and other series 5/6 gadgets needed for the Ektra lenses. It's useful, but cumbersome, and is really more of a gadget bag than a camera case.
Another case, which is pretty scarce but shows up occasionally, is a beautifully-made triangular leather affair, with strap lugs carefully positioned to facilitate dropping the unsecured camera on the ground.
Triangle Case by John Desmond, on FlickrThis is a real camera case, but tricky to use safely.
It turns out that these two lovely pieces of leatherwork weren't enough for the Kodak folks, though, and they came up with the most intricate everready case I have ever seen. I have owned Ektras on and off for over 30 years, and I was completely unaware of the existence of this case, until I saw a beat-up piece of junk on ebay a month ago that could only be designed to fit an Ektra. A bit of glue and patience got it sorted out, resulting in what has to be an exceedingly rare piece of photo equipment.
The case has so many openings allowing access to controls that it couldn't just be leather. The main part of the case is made of sheet steel, with leather coverings. The bottom has a longitudinal hinge allowing the case to open like a clamshell, necessary to put the camera in the front portion of the case and secure it with a 1/4" tripod screw.
Case Open by John Desmond, on FlickrCase Side by John Desmond, on FlickrThe camera strap clips onto the lugs, holding the clamshell together. A leather front cover snaps onto the back of the case. All controls are accessible, and it is just barely possible to interchange film backs without removing the camera from the case.
Front Cased by John Desmond, on FlickrBack Cased by John Desmond, on FlickrComplete Case by John Desmond, on FlickrIf anyone has some information on this very unusual accessory, I would love to hear about it.
For information on the truly amazing Kodak Ektra camera, I refer you to the Head Bartender's very informative article.
https://cameraquest.com/ektra.htm
Cheers,
Dez
seany65
Well-known
Well, you certainly can't say "There ain't enough buttons on it for the money!"
squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
Wow—that's extraordinary. Thanks for posting all this!
farlymac
PF McFarland
Now that I'd like to come across at a yard sale (the whole outfit, actually). Since they are reported to have bad shutters, as per the Camera Quest site, it shows that Kodak started shooting themselves in the foot a lot sooner than I had imagined.
PF
PF
Rob-F
Likes Leicas
Some of those dials are mysterious in themselves. The one with the red numbers I guess could be a slow speed dial. And the one with a 1-2-3-3-2-1? I have no idea what that does. And It seems to have two film exposure counters, apparently one is there in case you need to read the exposure number from the bottom. And the one that goes from 50 to 254? What can that be?
Curiouser and curiouser!
Curiouser and curiouser!
Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
Mysterious indeed! The dial with the red numbers is the slow speed dial, set to the black 0 to use fast speeds; the 1 2 3 dial is diopter correction for the RF; the frame counter on the bottom is for the detachable magazine, and is manually set. Last but certainly not least, the 50-254 dial is to set the focal length of the zoom viewfinder, which is focused by turning the bezel around the VF eyepiece. To use the 35 mm lens, set the zoom to 50, and clip a little accessory onto the VF bezel on the front.
See? Nothing to it!
All Ektra stuff, including many odd accessories, is hard to find, but the case appears to be a real rarity.
Cheers,
Dez
See? Nothing to it!
All Ektra stuff, including many odd accessories, is hard to find, but the case appears to be a real rarity.
Cheers,
Dez
Rob-F
Likes Leicas
Wow! That clears it all up!
Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
Oh yes, one more cool feature. It doesn’t have a rewind button or lever. There is a folding rewind crank on the bottom. When you fold it out it engages the cassette and disengages the sprocket drive. Slick!
Cheers,
Dez
Cheers,
Dez
Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
They are often found in yard sales, right beside the pristine Model T’s and the 1938 Harley Knuckleheads.
It took me 20 years to find the very scarce 153mm lens with a three-digit price tag.
Cheers,
Dez
B-9
Devin Bro
Knuckleheads are dime a dozen compared to the Henderson Excelsior I plan(hope) to find at someone's rummage sale!
mothertrucker
Well-known
Very interesting camera, I see a lot of similarities with my Medalist II. Film indicator wheel looks identical for instance. Too bad about the shutters. How's yours working Dez?
Dez
Bodger Extraordinaire
I believe the Medalist was designed by the same person.
So far so good with the shutter. I did have to clean the slow speed mechanism a couple years ago: access is surprisingly easy.
Cheers,
Dez
So far so good with the shutter. I did have to clean the slow speed mechanism a couple years ago: access is surprisingly easy.
Cheers,
Dez
