Exa Ia
1965 (A&R)
Exa Ia
331 Lever wind, 'Ihagee' on the top plate, and 332, 'Aus Dresden' on top plate, ECC 1965
A&R's body numbers go from 200.000 to 440.000 while mine go from 213.753 to 492.389. Every one of them has the external bayonet, the same which was added to the Exa II (with fixed prim) on 1959. The speeds are the same as on the Exa I and there is yet the sector shutter. The more evident modification is the replacement of the wind-on knob with a lever (one only movement of 135 degrees). There are also other small modifications: the shutter release locking lever is now different (on the preceding model it went to cover a small chasm that now is missing); the speed knob becomes thinner and denser the grain; the memorization of the ASA goes on the right, under the counter, at the center of the film spindle: the rewind buttom is rearer (toward the back); the inscription Ihagee Dresden, on the right top plate near the loading lever, there is only on the half of the produced cameras (331 ECC) while on the other (332 ECC) appears the inscription 'Aus Dresden'. Inside the camera, probably only on the 331 ECC Version, the toothed spindle that drags the film has been fixed, like on the last Exas, by an horizontal metal plate with two screws. Later, on the second half of Exas Ia, the plate on which the spindle is fixed becomes plain, at 45 degrees respect to the film pressure. The spindle has fixed with an upwright metal plate. I found there were two versions before reading the brief classification of Exa and Exakta, where the differences have been valued worthy of the introduction of a new version. A&R speak, as a variation, of the VX 100 (only change: the nameplate!) I never yet saw. On the A&R's book one can read that the VEB Pentacon used this name when they stopped the use of the names Exa and Exakta.

Exa Ib
A&R 1977
Exa Ib
M42 screw mount lenses, 341, 1977 ECC
The bayonet leaves the place to 42 mm screw mount. If not for this the camera is substantially equal to the precedent one, except small details: the speed knob, now black, is like that on the Exa I, the lever design becomes simpler, the rewind knob has a crank that can disappear and, very important fact, disappears every incription that can identify the producer. It is not possible to decide if Pentacon has produced this camera or only assembled existing parts. The first hypothesis is the most believable because the body numberis imprinted with different matrixes. The camera in my possession is the 809.557th. Furthermore, even in this model, the spindle has been fixed with an upright metal plate (you can read above).

Exa Ic
Black finish only, 351, 1986 ECC
A very bad graphics, on the Praktica style! There is mounted a near macro Tessar, focusing up to 35 cm. The Waist level finder is a very bad imitation of the preceding models. The top is in plastics! The body number is C 041.453. Practically it is an useless remake of the preceding Exa. It was made, I suppose, for the less prosperous people of their nation. I would like to know which could be its price to understand which motivation could push people to buy this obsolete item, considering that during those years the rest of the wordl had already embraced the philosophy of the compact and autofocus cameras.

Exa II
A&R 1959
Exa II
Fixed pentaprism, 361, 1959 ECC
It was produced just after the Exa Version 5, the one with the embossed nameplate, and it is immediately recognizable from many details: its fixed prism has a small trapeze of leatherette on the tilted front side; the logo Exa, even if engraved, has the same style of the white logo on the nameplate of the Exa Version 6; the loading lever (with a 180 degrees movement) is the same that will be used on the Exa Ia, the time scale has 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 plus B. These details make the camera easily recognizable. Furthermore there are many other characterizing facors: the synchronization is at 1/15 for bulbs and 1/30 for electronic flashes; the film pressure is removable, the film emulsion is turned toward the interior; for the first time appears the vertical motion shutter curtain. The focusing happens on a plain ground glass, but A&R say that this model has a central optical-wedge split-image rangefinder. In USA this camera was advertised with the name of Exa II RF (RangeFinder) and this supports the A&R's opinion. The front plate has been designed with vertical lines as the border of the camera (otherwise it was unpossible to have a removable spindle in the hinge). The coaxial flash socket is, looking at the camera, on the left, while on the right there is the release button. We can find, some years later, many elements of this camera on the Exa Ia.
The bottom is the same of the first Exas. The body number, first and only time on the Exas, has been engraved on the bottom, where the chrome becomes larger to contain the number. The earlier of my bodies has number 202.094, at the beginning of A&R's range, 200.000-290.000, the last one of five has body number 231.692. There is the possibility that this could be the first Exa II version (200.000-232.000), while the second version, with a split-image screen, has been classified by A&R as the only one.

Exa IIa
Version 1 and Version 2, A&R 1963-1964
Exa IIa
Revised body shape. No strap lugs, 371 ECC, 1963. Strap lugs added, 372 ECC, 1964
The restyling of the body, that has added curved lines to the preceding model, created the necessity of eliminating the hinge. The back (it is a consequence) can be removed by sliding it toward the bottom, like today on the Minox 35 mm cameras. While we proceed toward the Exa 500, we feel stronger the need of other two classifications of all the models, the first one based on the chronology, the second one on the use of the same components. We hope that someone will speak about this way.
The loading lever now has 135 degrees angle (while the Exa II had 180 degrees) and the rewind knob has been replaced by a crank. No strap lugs on A&R's Version 1 and on ECC's 371, strap lugs on A&R's Version 2 and ECC's 372. I have only the Version 2 (ECC 372), body number 159.793. The A&R's range is 140.000-160.000 for the Version 1, 160.000-190.000 for the Version 2.

Exa IIb
A&R 1965
Exa IIb
1965 Instant return mirror introduced ECC 381
Almost equal to the preceding model, the Exa IIb has an important modification: the mirror has an instant return. This probably was an understimate characteristic in the Ihagee firm: two years passed before the elder sister adopted this innovation! While you were using the preceding models you were knowing if the camera was reloaded and ready for the release: if the mirror was not at its place you could not see anything.
With the instant return a red mark was inserted on the top left to beep the situation. This red mark disappears as the rewind lever is operated. On the Exa IIb some details change: the loading lever is shorter, the rewind crank goes to insert itself on a not more chrome but now black knob, the speed value is now seen from a small window, located on a circular crown, coaxial with the loading spindle. On the top plate, on the left of the pentaprism, on my camera with body number 217.112, there is the inscription FI while on the other one I have, body number 200.404, this inscription is lacking. Both cameras are inside the A&R's range, 200.000-270.000.

Exa 500
A&R 1966
Exa 500
Exa 500, 1966 Higher top shutter, ECC 391
Other names:
VX 200, Exakta 500

My cameras have body numbers from 335.671 to 371.465, inside the A&R's range (280.000-380.000), while the Exakta 500 I owns (the only difference is the inscription on the front plate) has body number 306.349 and VX 200 has body number 358.727. Even in this case the aesthetic modificatins are inconsiderable ones: the loading lever becomes again longer and the speed knob becomes black. But the most important variation is that the 1/500 is added and the electonic flash syncronization is at 1/60. At the interior it happens what I have said for the Exa I: the loading spindle has been fixed with a vertical metal plate, at 45 degrees respect to the film pressure. These details allow us to better characterize the production sequence. The Exa IIb, now descripted, has been made in the same time of the Exa Ia: both use the same inside body. Then it has been produced the Exa 500 and Ihagee continues the production of the Exa Ia (very probably beacuse its cost was 25% cheaper) with the new internal body. Pentacon continued the production of both the cameras with the names of VX 100 and VX 200. This is what has been reported. But I think that are the details to show us the things and when the things have happened. It is enough to think at the reason why the Exa Ia (later than one can think, around 1969) lost the Ihagee logo and on its place there is only the origin (aus Dresden): the response is announced, Pentacon is arriving. The details, in this last phase, make us understand that the Ihagee's end is near and the quality has been forgotten. The introduction of the Exa Ic on the market will be the last outrage to the glourious Ihagee tradition.

Maurizio Frizziero