C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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slr-35mm
The Exakta RTL 1000 (1969) is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera representing the final chapter of the Exakta SLR story. Developed jointly by the Ihagee brand and VEB Pentacon (the East German state camera combine), the RTL 1000 broke with the 36-year-old Exakta bayonet tradition and adopted the M42 screw mount — a pragmatic concession to market realities as M42 had become the dominant standard for affordable interchangeable-lens cameras worldwide.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The last true Exakta — the RTL 1000 abandoned the legendary Exakta bayonet for M42, added TTL metering and an instant-return mirror, and arrived just as the market had moved on.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24×36 mm) |
| Mount | M42 screw (42×1mm) |
| Years | 1969–1975 |
| Shutter | Vertical metal focal-plane: 1s – 1/1000s + B |
| Flash sync | 1/125s (X-sync) |
| Meter | CdS TTL, stopped-down |
| Exposure | Manual (meter-guided) |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism, 92% coverage, 0.88× |
| Focus | Manual, split-prism + microprism |
| Battery | PX625 / SR44 |
The Exakta brand had been synonymous with serious amateur and scientific SLR photography since the 1930s, but by the mid-1960s its distinctive left-hand design, proprietary mount, and mechanical complexity were liabilities rather than assets. The Japanese SLR industry — Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Minolta — had established M42 and proprietary bayonets as the global standards, offering instant-return mirrors, TTL metering, and modern ergonomics at competitive prices.
VEB Pentacon attempted to modernise the Exakta line with the RTL 1000, combining Exakta prestige branding with the practical features demanded by the modern market. The switch to M42 was especially significant — it effectively ended the Exakta mount's unique lens ecosystem, but opened the camera to the vast and growing M42 lens universe.
Introduced in 1969, the RTL 1000 sold in modest numbers through 1975. It was never the commercial success that Pentacon hoped, competing as it did against the well-established Praktica L series from the same state combine. After 1975 the Exakta name effectively disappeared from new camera production; later bodies carrying the name were rebranded imports.
The Exakta RTL 1000 matters as the final link in a chain stretching back to the world's first 35mm SLR. It represents the East German camera industry's attempt to update a historic brand for modern requirements — an attempt that acknowledged the Exakta mount's obsolescence while grafting contemporary features onto the Exakta body. For collectors, it's the closing chapter of the Ihagee story; for M42 users, it's a technically capable body from a storied brand.
Accepts all M42 screw-mount lenses: Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar 50/1.8, Flektogon 35/2.4, Sonnar 135/3.5; Meyer-Optik Oreston 50/1.8, Trioplan 100/2.8; Pentax Super-Takumar 50/1.4; virtually any M42 lens. Note: Exakta bayonet lenses are not directly compatible — adaptors to M42 exist but vignetting may occur. Accessories: cable release, PC flash socket.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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