Ihagee Exa IIb Camera makers carry a high-end line, always kept at technology cutting edge and a secondary, cheaper line aimed at the mass market and for grooming first-time users towards the costlier models, Just as Toyota grooms young Corolla drivers for the Lexus brand. For some reason, the camera universe uses the suffix ‘ette’ for the cub models. There...

Ihagee Exakta VX 1000 The modern Exakta 35mm SLR had a good run against the other DDR and the Soviet camera makers, with the up-and-coming Japanese running circles around the old guard.  The models first designed in the early 1950s were long in the tooth and lackluster to the ever-growing amateur market. All that, and the shaky independent status of...

Ihagee Varex VX IIa After the success of the Exakta Varex VX and its variants, Ihagee introduced the Varex VX IIa. No model was branded as ‘II’, perhaps not to confuse it with the Kine Exakta II. This model is almost identical to the Varex VX, except for minor changes. Redesigned the pesky slow speed / self-time dial. Instead of...

Ihagee Exakta VX Ihagee A young Dutchman, Johan Steenbergen, was reluctant to follow his future in the family haberdashery trade, so he ventured to Dresden, the world’s camera capital of the time. After a short apprenticeship, he was confident enough to set up his own workshop, named “Industrie und Handelsgesellschaft” – which translates to “Industrial and Trading Company”. Guess he...