The camera
This review is about the Ihagee Exa Ib single lens reflex camera. The story of its development is pretty much the same as the Exa Ic which I reviewed here. The main difference of the Exa Ib and Exa Ic is that they have an M42 mount as opposed to all other Exakta and Exa camera which have the Exakta mount. This means that using lenses such as those wonderful Takumar and Carl Zeiss (both Oberkochen and Jena) lenses is possible on these cameras.
As I said in my Exa Ic review I obtained the Exa Ib and Ic together and they are pretty much the same camera. Sure there are differences, but mostly cosmetic. Most Exa Ib models were built by Ihagee apart from the very last series. These were built by VEB Certo-Kamerawerk Dresden under license from Ihagee. You can tell if it's a Ihahee or Certo built camera by checking the serial number. If the serial number is preceded by a C, you've got a copy built bij Certo. It is said the model name was changed from Ib to Ic to denote a Certo built camera but as I said the last Exa Ib models were also produced by Certo. Make of that what you will. ;-)
Specifications
Camera: Ihagee Exa Ib
Built: 1977-1985
Mount: M42
Shutter speeds: 1/30th - 1/175th of a second, B
Self timer: no
Size: 130 mm wide, 97 mm high* and 46 mm deep
Light metering: no
Hot shoe: no
Battery: none
* with the pentaprism viewfinder fitted
Shooting
I find the Exa Ib very intuitive to use, but there are a few things you need to know about this camera. To load the film in any of the I series Exa cameras you release the back of the camera. Once detached you load the film just like any other camera apart from the fact that there is no fixed take up spool in the camera body. The take up spool is a separate part. Now all Exa cameras had a take up spool supplied with the body but if you are buying one today, do check if it's still there. Once your film is loaded, you slide the camera back back onto the body again and you're ready to shoot. My copy of the Exa Ib was built from 1977 until 1983 and has a frame counter that needs to be reset manually. It counts down, so set it to 36 (or 24 if you're using 24 exposures film). I actually got 38 exposures out of a 36 exposures film with this camera. And then there is the shutter button on the left side of the camera that I already covered in my other reviews.
I've loaded the Exa Ib with some Fomapan Profi Line Classic 100 and drove up to the fine people over at the Cool Classic Club. They just happened to have part of their classic automobile collection displayed outside. I've used a Takumar 28mm f/2.8 lens and a Takumar 135mm f/3.5 lens for this review.
All in all I am very happy with the images I got from the Exa Ib. A keeper ;-)
Again, a nice review! What do you do for light metering btw? Love the extensive photographs of the camera, and, as you would have guessed, the cars :-) Good contrasts as well, looks like a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joeri! I know, those cars are stunning. There is something about that E-Type... Light metering is either 'sunny sixteen' or a hand held light meter. I used the latter on this outing.
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