Exakta's modernised dual-release SLR — the RTL1000, mechanical, Exakta mount, 1970.
The Exakta RTL1000 was a 35mm film SLR made from 1970 by Pentacon in Dresden as a modernised body carrying the Exakta name and mount. It combined the historic Exakta bayonet with a more contemporary body design and offered both a conventional right-hand release and the traditional left-hand release, bridging the old and new Dresden approaches.
It is a single-lens-reflex camera for 35mm film on the Exakta mount. The RTL1000 has a mechanically controlled cloth focal-plane shutter and could be used with a stop-down TTL metering prism, its base body working without a battery. It offered dual shutter releases, keeping the left-hand Exakta release alongside a right-hand one.
It suits users who want a later, more modern Exakta-mount body that still accepts the historic lenses while providing optional TTL metering via the finder. Its dual-release layout and updated handling make it more approachable than the classic Varex bodies.
On the used market the RTL1000 is uncommon and Exakta lenses are limited. The base body is mechanical and works without a battery, though any metering prism will need a cell, so check the cloth shutter for accuracy and capping, the mirror, and light-seal foam. Inspect the prism for desilvering, verify both shutter releases and the film transport, and note that Dresden-era repair support is specialist and parts are scarce.