Exakta Camera Collection

[@throtol]

Thank you for providing a brief, yet effective history of the Ihagee Exakta cameras. I got started collecting these cameras through the lenses. A few years ago I got back into film photography with the Topcon RE cameras which also use an exacta mount. I had purchased a couple of lenses and then began to notice that I can actually purchase a camera with the lens at the same price, or at time even lower cost. The art deco style design is beautiful. The cameras are also sturdy. My first time out with one the original strap snapped. The camera fell to the ground but was not damaged. Remarkable. Just recently, I purchased a Varex iib since I already have a couple iia cameras. The camera that I received had a mixture of parts which did not seem to be done outside the factory. I kept the camera and today received a complete iib that works great. I am not too fond of the Pentacon/Exakta camera.

[@randallstewart1224]

I acquired dozens of cameras over the years, amounting to several collections, but never got into Exakta. However, I did talk a friend into doing so. One of my biggest collecting scores occurred in a small shop in the wilds of Utah while shopping for a self-timer accessory to replace the one which had just blown up on me. A very dusty display item buried in among many others: Exakta VXIIa, mounting a late model Zeiss Biotar 75mm 1.5. ($150). It became a souvenir for my friend to enhance his collection.

[@liveinaweorg]

Fascinating. I recently bought a Kine Exacta 1936 Version 1 (round window) at auction. It is currently in Gorlitz being serviced. To fill the space I picked up an Exa 500 and an RTL1000 because it had a MOG Oreston on it 😄

[@LEgoiste]

Excellent, thanks for doing this. Just came across these, trying to look for a decent condition one. This info really helps.

[@johnmoore901]

Very interesting trip through the range, fascinating video, I adore the VX Varex 11a simply a work of art. Kind regards John Moore.

[@hayderassam]

Thank you John, I agree the IIa is like a Jewel :)

[@sclogse1]

I got a real pretty shiny VX IIa with some shutter issues for very little about a week ago. Case looks new. Then I bought another in rough shape with a biotar lens that looks dirty dull, spotty and yellow in the aluminum. Owner is clueless..father had a pawn shop. Looking forward to experimenting to polish it. Dremel, diamond powder, metal polish, 000 steel wool, etc. And a mask. Then some kind of oil to keep it from oxidizing.

[@Robthevampire666]

Very interesting my vx1000 sill works fine after 50 years all the Exakta's from the IIa suffer from the winder problem but the VX had the additional problem of the mirror not dropping in some camera's I have read it was more a change lubrication used from the IIa onwards you have to remember Exakta's on the whole still work whereas many other's packed in decades ago

[@GSchmitable]

You have a great collection and I enjoyed seeing and listening to your knowledge of the Exakta line. I also collected a few starting with the Varex VX and think the Exakta are the most beautiful of my camera collection. I agree with you that the quality of the camera was going downhill starting with the 11B, my model winds roughly and the VX1000 even winds worse like you said, feeling the shutter could break. By the early 60s Pentacon was pressing in on Ihagee and the state no longer wanted to support this foreign owned company since it was wrapped up in so many legal battles, R&D department barely functioned and the company was allowed to die a slow death.

[@ghw7192]

Great collection! I got hooked on Prakticas years ago. Not hard to find and affordable.

[@BarbraWantsBBC]

Great content!

[@CARANDTRAIN]

Thank you for your video. How do you select the long pause / slow speed on the right button? Do you need first to put the left speed on a given position? Other than that question, my base Exacta works well.

[@Watchyt-hdyh37s]

I am loving this video, as a professional giggity I feel that it is simply my pride and passion and this video truly helped me in disecting the oranges I found in the skibidi. Although I am old around 79 my samsung smart toaster is still collapsing the economy as much as the germans. This video has inspired me to reach beyond lengths reachable by even the massive trumpet. The quantam nasa computer cannot cope with such tedious amounts of X squared and as such the Exakta Camera Collection brings me to tears of joy once again.

[@MetalDEmpire]

Have you seen any Exacta Jr.'s? They shoot in 127 format and wider than 3x2

[@usuallyroamingrob3427]

I saw an Exakta VX 1000 with a Carl Zeiss lens at the old market in Skopje for only 20 euros. Was trying to figure out what it was.

[@aerocookie2655]

The later cameras are still nice to use, maybe VX1000 and 500 are less of a collector item, but yeah, if you actually do photography, they could be really good. They might fail sooner, but that's just how mechanics work, it may, it may not, it is a failure chance, not failure certainty. And specifically Varex iia and iib were still really good, both in mechanical department and if you never touched the previous models, these do feel extremely well built and luxurious. Because they are.

[@jaymichaels5187]

I bought a VX 1000 15 yrs ago in mint shape, only ran two rolls of film thru it and the nice Zeiss Pancolar lens jammed its focus and the film frame counter stopped working. All in all a cheap beat up Praktica LTL is a better and more reliable camera and not odd to use.

[@CARANDTRAIN]

Thank you, I learned a lot.

[@smkunder1]

How do I tell what I have, I don’t see speeds of 1000, but I do have removable view finder?

[@hayderassam]

The only Exakta that did not have speed of 1000 was the vx500

[@justonemoreep]

Hi! An exakta varex iib noob here! does anyone know how I can remove and attach new lenses to it?

[@jplum7708]

Anyone know of someone in North America who repairs Exaktas?

[@faithinverity8523]

Huh. I had a Vx500. It ran fine for years. And the lens was overly sharp: too much detail.