Exacta Varex ll B Camera and accessories: I have this old Exacta film camera with Carl Zeiss 2/50 lens and a Schneider Kreuznach 3.5/ 90 lens. Also have two tiny flash cubes ( 2x2x1...

IBIJC

I have this old Exacta film camera with Carl Zeiss 2/50
lens and a Schneider Kreuznach 3.5/ 90 lens. Also have two tiny flash cubes ( 2x2x1 inches). Does anyone know this camera with its many knobs and dials, film size, and its workings ?
Looks really old but in excellent condition. It would make a
conversation piece if nothing else. Any suggestions ?
Thanks.

IBIJC

Leicaflex Loc: Cymru

http://www.exaktacircle.org/Books/Exakta%2035mm%20guide%201988%20reprint.pdf

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

IBIJC wrote:

I have this old Exacta film camera with Carl Zeiss 2/50
lens and a Schneider Kreuznach 3.5/ 90 lens. Also have two tiny flash cubes ( 2x2x1 inches). Does anyone know this camera with its many knobs and dials, film size, and its workings ?
Looks really old but in excellent condition. It would make a
conversation piece if nothing else. Any suggestions ?
Thanks.

IBIJC

I run 3 or 4 rolls of film a year through the VX I bought new. It's basically the same as the II B. Be sure to carefully follow the guide Leicaflex provided when setting shutter speeds. Mine has never been in the shop and after many thousands of exposures the shutter drags a bit at speeds above 1/250, and occasionally the frames overlap a tad, but repairs are no longer practical. They were great cameras in their day.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Leicaflex wrote:

http://www.exaktacircle.org/Books/Exakta%2035mm%20guide%201988%20reprint.pdf

Thanks for that link. I did some checking, and A Photographer's Place, the bookstore, has closed down. It was basically a one-man operation, without a web site, but it is no more. The owner was last seen selling photo books on Mercer St in NYC in 2008.

http://ninacorvallo.blogspot.com/2008/08/photographers-place.html

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

This camera is loaded with ingenuity. You can use an empty 35mm cannister for film take-up spool; there is a built-in knife with which you can cut off a partially exposed roll for separate processing. Everyone called it a left-handed camera because of film advance and shutter release, but really it is a right-handed camera, because focusing is what needs the most dexterity.

Probably your shutter curtains have stiffened with age, and not likely usable now, but give it a try.

Your two lenses are lovely and I wish I had them.

GC-FineArt Loc: WDC

IBIJC wrote:

I have this old Exacta film camera with Carl Zeiss 2/50
lens and a Schneider Kreuznach 3.5/ 90 lens. Also have two tiny flash cubes ( 2x2x1 inches). Does anyone know this camera with its many knobs and dials, film size, and its workings ?
Looks really old but in excellent condition. It would make a
conversation piece if nothing else. Any suggestions ?
Thanks.

IBIJC

Heres a link to the Exakta camera manuals available as PDFs on the Butkus site. There is a listing for Exakta VXIIb, which according to Camerapedia, is what the Varex IIb was sold as in the U.S. Theres also a listing right above it for the Varex IIa for what that may be worth. (Not sure if there are any significant differences between the IIa and IIb models.)

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

I had the Exakta VXIIA that came with the Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2.0 lens for many years. Nice camera, I liked it. It was the only new SLR that I ever owned. Nice camera. One of the things I liked about it was the ability to take multiple exposures on one frame by cocking the shutter by turning the shutter speed dial instead of using the film advance lever. I had to replace the cloth shutter curtain after about 20 years - had developed pin holes in it. Cost me $35 to have the local camera shop do the job at the time. Probably cost at least 10 times that today if you can find someone who's able to do it.

From what I have heard, Exacta came out with the first 35mm single lens reflex back in the 1930s.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

GC-FineArt wrote:

Heres a link to the Exakta camera manuals available as PDFs on the Butkus site. There is a listing for Exakta VXIIb, which according to Camerapedia, is what the Varex IIb was sold as in the U.S. Theres also a listing right above it for the Varex IIa for what that may be worth. (Not sure if there are any significant differences between the IIa and IIb models.)

The IIb had an instant-return mirror - there may also be minor cosmetic differences, but they're both nearly identical otherwise.

IBIJC

Thanks to all for the numerous replies and information offered regarding this old Exacta. I really boggles my mind to see so many informed photographers out there and willing to enlighten me on this relic.
Thanks again and God bless.

IBIJC

melismus Loc: Chesapeake Bay Country

Exakta.

IBIJC

Thank you. That's how much I know about this camera.
Thank you all again.

IBIJC

oldgeezer3 Loc: SoCal

IBIJC wrote:

I have this old Exacta film camera with Carl Zeiss 2/50
lens and a Schneider Kreuznach 3.5/ 90 lens. Also have two tiny flash cubes ( 2x2x1 inches). Does anyone know this camera with its many knobs and dials, film size, and its workings ?
Looks really old but in excellent condition. It would make a
conversation piece if nothing else. Any suggestions ?
Thanks.

IBIJC

I owned an Exacta VXIIb back in the 60s and 70s with some success. I had a 50mm lens and a 135mm lens. Don't remember the speed of either lens, but they went with me on a trip to Scandanavia. I thought it was a great camera. I think the 135 lens was f1/3.5.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

I had an Exakta VX back in the mid '50's. I had a lot of fun with it and used it into the mid '70's when my wife bought a Nikkormat (which lasted until the '90's when I went digital). Used to argue with my friend who was a Leica guy about which camera was better. The leica lenses screwed in, while the Exakta used a bayonet mount. The Leica had a coupled rangefinder while the Exakta was a SLR.

If I recall, it had a black fabric shutter with metal edges to define the slit. The shutter moved in the direction of the film so it was a bit different from current DSLR's in which the shutter moves vertically instead of along the long edge of the image. I suspect that if I still had that camera the shutter would be the item that would wear out first. Everything was mechanical. No battery required.

fabfab Loc: Marietta GA

The Exacta VX was used by Jimmy Stewart in the movie
"Rear Window" along with a 400mm Tele-Kilar lens.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

IBIJC wrote:

I have this old Exacta film camera with Carl Zeiss 2/50
lens and a Schneider Kreuznach 3.5/ 90 lens. Also have two tiny flash cubes ( 2x2x1 inches). Does anyone know this camera with its many knobs and dials, film size, and its workings ?
Looks really old but in excellent condition. It would make a
conversation piece if nothing else. Any suggestions ?
Thanks.

IBIJC

Some of the other Hoggers have already given you links to resources, so I'll refrain from also doing so.

In the 80's I collected cameras for about a decade. I always appreciated their fine engineering, machining, and complex mechanical mechanisms. Today's cameras are superior, but those oldies continue to have great charm and beauty. I keep a Voigtländer Avus in my office because it belonged to my dad.

It would definitely make a good conversation piece - especially if you're an inveterate photographer.