Exakta Serien-Reflex 2110

The Exakta Serien-Reflex 2110 of 1928 stands as a monumental achievement in photographic history, representing the world's first practical and commercially successful 35mm single-lens reflex camera. Developed by Ihagee Kamerawerk in Dresden, Germany, this groundbreaking innovation solved the persistent problem of parallax error that had plagued earlier reflex designs. By allowing photographers to view the scene directly through the taking lens via a reflex mirror and pentaprism-like viewing system—though the viewing image was laterally reversed—the Serien-Reflex 2110 established the fundamental SLR architecture that would dominate professional and advanced amateur photography for the next seven decades. Its adoption of the emerging 35mm film cassette (Type 135) provided a compact, high-quality alternative to cumbersome plate and sheet film cameras, effectively paving the way for the modern miniature camera format.

The camera's precision-machined metal construction reflected the engineering excellence characteristic of pre-WWII German camera manufacturing. While more complex and costly than contemporary viewfinder cameras like the Leica I, the Serien-Reflex 2110 offered unprecedented accuracy for composing and focusing, setting new standards for control in miniature photography. Its significance extends beyond mere technical novelty to include successful commercialization and demonstration of the SLR concept's viability. This early Exakta directly influenced iconic successors such as the Contax S (the first pentaprism SLR) and countless subsequent models. Though limited in initial market penetration by its complexity, the Serien-Reflex 2110 proved that the SLR represented a viable and superior system for demanding photographers, laying the foundation for the camera type that would become the bedrock of professional photojournalism, sports, and studio photography from the 1950s onward.