Exakta Varex In Latvia December 2016

A slightly different post today, with some images taken on an Exakta Varex in Riga, Latvia a few years ago that I have just found again.

I recently had the Varex, which had been totally unusable before, repaired by Newton and Ellis in Liverpool, so I thought I would take that over to Latvia with us to see how it performed.

The main square in Riga was hosting a Christmas market, with lots of stalls selling virtually everything. This was a real Christmas market, good food, hot drinks, locally produced gifts and Christmas things and very little tat! But boy was it cold. I was wondering just how the old Exakta would perform, being out all day in conditions well below freezing.

I had no need to worry, the shutter performed perfectly, though I did have some light getting in somewhere on a few of the shots. One of the stallholders could not believe I was using such a camera in such conditions and expecting to get results from it.

I cant remember what film I used or what photograph was taken with which lens, but the bulk of them would be taken on a Unitor Auto Wide 35mm 2.8 lens. Maybe not an Exakta lens you will have heard of, as it is a little known Japanese lens of I guess the 1970's? However it was an auto lens as I knew my fingers would be very cold, not the best conditions for faffing about with a manual Lydith lens that was my only other option.

The classic Citroën van proved very popular with the customers.

Riga Old Town turned out to be a fascinating place, this is one of the parks running through the middle of the city.

The cold was intense, it was take a couple of pictures then back on with the gloves before your fingers went numb, then get the Varex back under your coat.

We heard that there was a Railway Museum in Riga, so one morning Dawn and I set off on foot across the city to track down the Railway Museum, as I like looking at old trains.

We eventually found it and I took a few photographs, the light was poor, it was a real grey day, so the Unitor would have been fairly wide open with these shots.

The weak sun would occasionally appear to help things along.

This steam locomotive was a real beast of a thing. I love the big headlight perched on top of the boiler.

This similar locomotive caught my eye, very impressive.

The museum was a interesting place, well worth a visit if you are ever in Riga, but in December it's pretty tough out there.

Some sun at last! Things sharpen up when you can stop down a little. The Unitor does not look a bad lens once the conditions pick up a bit, I really need to use it more often.

This is, if I remember correctly, the new Riga Library. You can just see a little light getting in on this shot.

The streets of Riga Old Town are pretty narrow, wandering around on the ice and frozen snow with Exakta Varex was a little challenging at times, but well worth it.

If you are ever in Riga, there is the Latvia Photography Museum in the Old Town, it is really well worth visiting. Link below.

Latvijas Fotogrāfijas muzejs

As is the Train Museum if you are at all interested in trains.

DZELZCEĻA MUZEJS |

All in all, I was reasonably happy with the results of the Exakta Varex with its Unitor Lens.

Lets have a quick look at the lens, it is a large lump of a lens really, but looks quite well made.

It's not a pretty lens, in fact it looks a little numb, compared to some of the German wide angles.

It sort of dwarfs the Varex, but it works well, no stiff focussing and sticking iris like many of the Zeiss and Meyer Exakta fit lenses available today. The Unitor Auto Wide is smooth, and the aperture springs back sharply.

What do I know about Unitor lenses, well very little really! Apart from they work well, the images are okay and they are much more affordable than a Zeiss Flecktogon!

So if you find one of these Unitor lenses for the Exakta, don't dismiss it because it is little known, buy it and try it out! You won't be disappointed. They also did a version in the Praktica M42 mount, just the job for your Praktica Nova.

Well that's it, my little ramble with the Exakta Varex with a Unitor Auto Wide, in Riga, Latvia in a very cold snowy and frosty December, 2016.

I hope you enjoyed the post,

take care,

Phil