Testing the Camera from Rear Window (1954)

Video in which I recreate and test the camera and lens set-up used by James Stewart's character in the 1954 film Rear Window.

The setup is an Exakta VX 35mm SLR with a Kilfitt Fern-Kilar 1:5.6/400 lens. The Exakta adapter I used with this lens has the code name 'Kizex'.

[matthewsmith]

The film cutter was good for photojournalists. After shooting a few frames, they could cut and develop instead of having to use up the full roll.

[davidalexander-watts]

Particularly impressed with your pyjamas for the full homage

[paulyap]

This video is a masterpiece of nerdy perfectionism. Well done, sir!

[Seapatico]

Honestly, I would have expected 34 minutes to be way too long, but by about 25 minutes in, I wished there was an hour left. Beautiful video.

[wmwanderer]

I don't need another camera... I don't need another camera...

[hitthestreetsphoto]

You might try watching the Apollo 11 (2019) Documentary at minutes 17:43 and 17:55. There are several Exakta’s with the super telephoto lenses. It’s possible one may have been the 400mm f5.6 as well as Heinz Kilfitt Munchen 600mm f/5.6 Fern-Kilar C Lens. Nice work young man. It’s nice to see your passion for the history of photographic equipment and the many cameras and lenses used in films. I have collected my share of cameras I’ve seen in film. Best of luck.

[nerdmeister]

btw, you can have the front lenses polished and re-coated at at small optics workshop in Görlitz/Germany (Optik Labor Dr. Prenzel).

[sputumtube]

Excellent, painstakingly researched, beautifully narrated and very interesting review (subscribed). Look forward to more of the same. Thanks for posting.

[disraelidemon]

After five cameras, four lenses and two adaptors, I was really wondering if this was going to end up with, "...unfortunately I had to fracture my leg a second time because the first fracture was in slightly the wrong place, but my luck turned when I found a really good Raymond Burr impersonator on the first try."

[segercliffhanger]

A lovely project. I was born in 1964, when the Exacta brand had had its best years. My father owned a Praktica, I think it was the L, that he let me use on occasion. I switched to Olympus in my 20's, owned a couple of OM-1's and an OM-4 (it could spot meter), then to Leica R cameras, and eventually to Nikon when digital photography took off. I'm still a professional photographer today. Last week I documented a funeral. I took 11.000 shots shared between my Nikon Z9 and a Z6ii. 305 and a half rolls of film, in old numbers.

What a fantastic search. Decades came back because of your project. My left thumb on the sprocket wheel while feeding film into so many cameras. The scent of Kodak and years spent in darkrooms. The sounds. A lot comes back. Yesterday, I noticed that I still haven't gotten rid of some of the old muscle memory in my right thumb. It still searches for the film transport lever once in a while.

I think I saw Rear Window 3 times altogether, Hitchcock obviously being one of the most influential directors of all time. He paved a way to an almost palpable wall between good and bad, to a deeper psyche of man, knowing that he could capture almost infinite audiences if he used cinema to the beat.

You can see even James Steward himself is impressed by his beautiful, hefty, impressive Exacta with the 400/5.6. Just don't rest the focus ring on your knee James, or you'll be rotating the whole combo away from your eye. It's hard to do stuff really close to perfect. But you did it. Loved it.

[TheGangsterousG]

What a beautiful piece of kit. Amazing job.

[PikulBoy]

Words cannot fully capture how much I enjoyed and appreciated your video! I devoured every last detail you shared; it honestly felt like a short documentary. Thanks so much!

[raskolnikov]

I didn't even know i was interested in cameras, but i can always appreciate knowledge and enthusiasm.

[EdMorbius]

Thanks for this interesting trip down memory lane. I am 78, retired, and bought my first camera in 1958. It was rubbish, as was my next. But in secondary school I read about SLRs, and discovered Exakta. It was a revelation, and I sought one 2nd hand. I found an Exakta Varex (1950) with only the very elegant waist level finder, and it was a year or two before I could afford a pentaprism finder. But my photo composition improved enormously. I even made my own small extension tube for some modest macrophotography, but for some time could not afford accessory lenses. A feature of early models, as in Rear Window, was the 2-pin flash sockets on either side, not superseded by coaxial till the IIa model. You did not comment on these. One side was for slower shutter speeds with both shutter blinds open; the other was for focal plane bulbs using higher shutter speeds as the shutter's slit traversed the 35mm frame. You are right, these were beautiful precision machines. I loved mine so much I bought a second camera new (a Varex IIb) when at university, winning a couple of prizes. It is sad Exakta did not survive. Mine were so reliable. My later cameras have mostly been Canon, beginning with the legendary OM-10. Keep up your meticulous approach!

[letsgooo]

"How did you know I have autism?"

[thepenultimateninja]

Thanks for this video. Not only was it fascinating, it also persuaded me to finally get around to watching Rear Window. Such a great movie.

[teodelfuego]

He is so considerate to lower his voice so his nan can sleep in the back bedroom

[dangoldbach]

Appreciate the extensive fact finding and explanations of the differences between years, especially impressed with the kilfit glass plate proofs. Never saw anything like that before

[pauldicarlo]

I am in total awe. I love doing deep dives into practically anything. Well done! It's a great movie with an iconic prop (camera/lens). You've made my day. This is awesome. Thank you for doing this and sharing it.

[tonygarrett]

You have produced a very important piece of photography history. Excellent content and eloquently narrated. Your diction and pace of presentation puts others undertaking similar projects to shame. I will subscribe and recommend your work to fellow photographers. Thank you for making this video.