Exacta info

[subman60]

Looking for info about exacta vx IIB. Can find info on IIa but not
IIb. What is a nice body worth and are lenses and finders hard to
find?
Thanks

 

[ZeissFan]

You might want to search for "Exakta" wth a "k" and not a "c" and you should get better results.

Try www.exakta.org.

 

[subman60]

Yes I should know better, will do.

 

[Texsport]

Lens relatively easy to find,just determine if you have Exakta mount or M42 mount, though a local expert may reveal that your camera only came in Exakta mount.

I think the cameras are fun to use!

I have a V X and a 500.
Texsport

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Some of the Exas were also made in M42 mount, but the VX IIb is Exakta bayonet. They're a handsome looking camera, I have a chrome Varex IIa I've been using a bit lately. There are plenty of lens options in Exakta mount ranging from dirt cheap to thousands, the choice is almost endless.

Although there were in fact some earlier model Ihagee cameras that were badged "Exacta", these are very much in the minority. As has been said, "Exakta" is what you want to search for.

The other point is that due to a trademark issue, the name "Varex" could not be used in the USA. So "VX" is the equivalent of a "Varex" and whereas there were a number of different models labelled Varex, with minor or major changes during production, most or all of them will have a "VX" equivalent that is otherwise identical in specification when sold in the US market. Referencing the search term "Varex IIb" will provide much pertinent information about the VX IIb. I'm not aware if there is any difference in value between examples marked VX or Varex, respectively. For commonly available models such as the Varex/VX IIa & IIb, I wouldn't expect any substantial price difference, but certain unusual variants may attract more collector interest, depending on specification and markings.

The main thing to beware of with Exaktas of this vintage is definitely curtain condition. The rubberised fabric of the original material has usually become perished and prone to disintegrating. Both curtains should be carefully inspected for light fastness, paying particular attention to checking the second curtain for pinholes. As these cameras do not have an instant return mirror they're vulnerable to pinholes being burnt into the second curtain by the sun, like certain rangefinders--it's a good policy to wind your Exakta on after exposing a frame, for this reason, as the mirror does a reasonable job of shielding the first curtain from sun damage.

You should also check the accuracy of the shutter speeds. If the curtains are basically sound the faster speeds may well run off at or close to their nominal times. If they are wrinkled, the faster speeds in particular may be erratic.

The slow speeds and the self timer function are manually set by the large dial on the right hand side and may be problematic, particularly if the camera has been tampered with. The dial must only be armed after the shutter has been cocked and the speed on the main shutter dial selected, and must first be fully wound and the speed then set. When the main speed dial is set to "T" or "B" arming the escapement dial will provide slow speeds to twelve seconds, or six seconds duration with the self timer. With the main dial set to any other speed (Eg. 1/1000) arming the dial, and selecting one of the marked self timer speeds should result in the camera firing at the selected speed (1/1000) after a delay of ten seconds or so.

This escapement is an unusual design, in that one gear train provides both self timer and slow speeds and also offers slow speeds to 12 seconds, most unusual for its time. I don't consider it an inherently weak design, but it's prone to needing cleaning and lubrication occasionally like most clockwork mechanisms. It's a fine geared mechanism, and quieter than most escapement gear trains--I find it rather charming to use, actually. It's quite possible the slower times will be generous (Eg. the twelve second speed may be more like fourteen or fifteen seconds) but repeatability is the main thing, so once checked it's easy enough to adjust exposures to the actual times, if needed.

My first Varex IIa had been "professionally" repaired some years prior (it came with the receipt), however the repairer had been unable to get the escapement fully functional in all respects, and it was returned to its previous owner with a note to that effect. After much head scratching and analysis, eventually I got my head around the way it worked, (the register gear had been incorrectly meshed with the escapement gear by the aforementioned "professional" numpty who fiddled with it) and I got it to run off well in all respects. But if an example has been tampered with (and because of their age, this is far from unheard of) it's not at all unknown for it to malfunction. On the other hand, good, unmolested examples with new curtains, or serviceable original curtains, can surprise by running off with excellent accuracy at all speeds following a CLA.

They're not the easiest camera to use without some familiarisation, but are capable of good results, and their distinctive appearance (especially the chrome finished models) attracts more interest and positive comment on the street than anything else I own except my Rolleis.
Cheers,
Brett

 

[tunalegs]

VXIIb was a "cheapened" version of the VXIIa. They restyled it a bit, and deleted the viewfinder release knob (the viewfinders are just held in by spring tension). The overall build quality is lower than on the VXIIa.

On the upside they also switched to a new shutter curtain material which is less prone to turning into dust than that used on the VXIIa, so it's easier to find useable VXIIbs.

I have a VXIIb which is still in good working order. The accuracy of the slowest speeds (i.e. everything slower than 2 seconds) is not generally worth worrying about because the difference between a 12 second exposure and a 14 second exposure is negligible. The difference between 1/25 and 1/50 is much larger in terms of exposure.

The value of the lenses is highly variable. Exakta lenses are often highly over-valued on the internet markets, especially if they were produced by a West German factory (e.g. Steinheil, Schneider, etc.). On the other hand the kit lenses often supplied with these cameras - Domiplans, Tessars, and Pancolars made in East Germany are worth very little.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

VXIIb was a "cheapened" version of the VXIIa. They restyled it a bit, and deleted the viewfinder release knob (the viewfinders are just held in by spring tension). The overall build quality is lower than on the VXIIa.

On the upside they also switched to a new shutter curtain material which is less prone to turning into dust than that used on the VXIIa, so it's easier to find useable VXIIbs.

I have a VXIIb which is still in good working order. The accuracy of the slowest speeds (i.e. everything slower than 2 seconds) is not generally worth worrying about because the difference between a 12 second exposure and a 14 second exposure is negligible. The difference between 1/25 and 1/50 is much larger in terms of exposure.

The value of the lenses is highly variable. Exakta lenses are often highly over-valued on the internet markets, especially if they were produced by a West German factory (e.g. Steinheil, Schneider, etc.). On the other hand the kit lenses often supplied with these cameras - Domiplans, Tessars, and Pancolars made in East Germany are worth very little.

Good of you to also reply but, three days later the thread starter has disappeared without trace--poor form.

I've also heard the curtains of the IIbs were better which is encouraging. I'll have to try one out. I've been enjoying the Varex IIas I've run some film through. I have a 50mm Tessar, a 58mm Biotar, a 35mm Primagon and a couple of Japanese telephotos. It's a reasonable start, and I agree prices and quality can be all over the place for Exakta mount lenses, so it's important to try and cherry pick the good stuff.
Cheers
Brett

 

[subman60]

Sorry I have not replayed because I've been rather busy. Also the person I
was going to buy it from sold it to someone else. I did not mean to show bad
Form, just other things in life that were more important popped up that needed
my attention.

 

[subman60]

Sorry replyed not replayed. Darn IPhone and spell check.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Sorry I have not replayed because I've been rather busy. Also the person I
was going to buy it from sold it to someone else. I did not mean to show bad
Form, just other things in life that were more important popped up that needed
my attention.

No that's OK, as far as I'm concerned you've redeemed yourself by replying, it is only a camera forum, and there absolutely are times life throws things at you which simply can't wait. 😉 My last post was somewhat reactionary, due to numerous previous experiences spending 20 minutes, an hour, or whatever, researching the answer to someone's problem or question and typing it out in a way that makes sense, only to find the original poster fails to follow up their own thread, or even acknowledge they've seen your post (which naturally does make you wonder why you bothered to try and help).

Sorry to hear you missed out on the VX IIb. Exaktas are very different to just about any other camera, and they're a historically important design, because of their pre-eminence in the development of the 35 millimetre single lens reflex. For years, I always wrote them off as too strange to bother with, but curiosity eventually got the better of me and with a little luck I won a couple of Varex (Ie. VX) IIa (both the chrome "embossed" model) via ebay quite cheaply over the last six or so months. I've been using one of them a couple of times a week for the last few weeks and have really been enjoying the Exakta experience. And as I commented they do attract a lot of positive comment on the street--not that makes any difference to the image quality, but it offers opportunities to put in a good word for traditional imaging from time to time, something I'm always happy to do.

They are an unusual design and not without their issues, which can make it difficult to find people willing to work on them, but I think most of these are age related, rather than actual design weaknesses. The biggest issues as I mentioned, is definitely the integrity of the shutter curtains. Also a possible need for cleaning and lubrication, or problems resulting from tampering.

If you are still keen to try one, given previous comments about the IIb models having superior curtain material, I'd probably recommend one of those, to start with, because if you can find a clean example that hasn't been badly fiddled with, you have a reasonable chance of actually being able to load a film into it without much further attention. Both of mine IIas had issues with their shutter curtains, but they also surprised me by having shutters that were running off accurately at their medium and fast speed ranges. As has also been said, the slow speeds running 20% slow isn't really a big issue, and there are so many of them you can work around it if you really need maximum accuracy (Eg. by selecting ten seconds, instead of 12 seconds, if you want 12, or similar).

They definitely aren't the best camera to choose if you need to make rapid fire images. The very long action of the wind lever (unlike most cameras it has no reduction gear under the cover), and their unique control layout means that, unless you've had a lot of practice using them, you would miss many shots. But for a slower, more considered style of imaging, they're a lot of fun to use, and can produce good quality, so if this suits your style of shooting, I'd definitely recommend one. If you need any more input about them, please ask.
Cheers,
Brett

 

[subman60]

I've always liked their looks but never have got one because of cost and reliability issues. The one I was looking at was at a price that seemed more than reasonable for a body even if it had some issues. But like I said the seller sold it to someone else.
Thanks for the info everyone, I'd still like to get one someday.

 

[sevo]

I've also heard the curtains of the IIbs were better which is encouraging.

Not all of them - I own a IIb with cracked curtains. But quite a few of them don't have the curtain issues of the IIa. Somewhere in the sixties Ihagee changed their curtain material for something less prone to stiffening. It must have happened by the time they switched to the feature stripped VX500/VX1000 at the very latest, as these don't have the old brittle curtains, but given the rather gradual switches between model versions (and a variety of OEM and export versions, plus "upgrade" models) it is hard to tell when. It may have been a mid-series change in the IIb range, or a significant number of them were repaired/upgraded while there still was factory service for them.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Not all of them - I own a IIb with cracked curtains. But quite a few of them don't have the curtain issues of the IIa. Somewhere in the sixties Ihagee changed their curtain material for something less prone to stiffening. It must have happened by the time they switched to the feature stripped VX500/VX1000 at the very latest, as these don't have the old brittle curtains, but given the rather gradual switches between model versions (and a variety of OEM and export versions, plus "upgrade" models) it is hard to tell when. It may have been a mid-series change in the IIb range, or a significant number of them were repaired/upgraded while there still was factory service for them.

Well with cameras of this vintage there are no guarantees, it is a case of trying to narrow the odds, especially when buying on line, isn't it? Good to be aware of, though. On the other hand, the IIa models never (or only exceedingly rarely) seem to have serviceable original curtains.

One of my IIas requires a new set. I have the fabric, and the unique design of the Exakta SLR makes access to the mechanism easier than it is with many other designs. It's always a matter of finding the time. Zorkikat wrote a good article some time back regarding curtain replacement. There are a couple of major dos and don'ts to be aware of, such as for instance firing the shutter with the speed knob removed (I learnt that the hard way a while ago when I had to re time the mechanism). Generally, though, it doesn't look too bad if the original straps are serviceable. Otherwise there could be some shimming required, to get all the speeds running off well.
Cheers
Brett