Camera review: The Exa Ib

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. 

Jaguar. Shot with my Exa Ib fitted with a Takumar 135mm f/3.5 lens.

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. ;-)

Exa Ib front view.

Exa Ib top view.

Exa Ib film counter.

Exa Ib with the back removed.

Exa Ib bottom view. Align the red dots to release the back.

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.

Exa Ib fitted with a Takumar 28mm f/2.8 lens.

Exa Ib fitted with a Takumar 135mm f/3.5 lens.

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 ;-)

Camera review: The Exa Ic

The camera

This review is about the Ihagee Exa Ic single lens reflex camera. Ihagee from Dresden in Germany is perhaps most well known for their Exakta line of cameras but they also manufactured the Exa line of cameras alongside the Exaktas. Three models were produced, the Exa (1951-1962), the Exa I series (1962-1987) and the Exa II (1960-1969). The Exa and Exa I are basically different versions of the same camera with interchangeable view finders. The Exa II was a simplified camera that was produced alongside the Exa and Exa I.

Ihagee Exa Ic fitted with an Exaktar 55mm f/1.4

All Exa cameras, with the exception of the Exa Ib and Ic, use the Exakta mount that Ihagee introduced with their Exakta cameras. The Exa Ib and Ic use the M42 mount, enabling the use of loads of M42 lenses from all kinds of manufacturers. As with the preceding Exa Ia, the position of the shutter button is located on the left side of the camera body. This is a leftover from the early Exakta designs, kept in place to be able to use the same automatic aperture lenses that the Exakta uses. As the Exa Ib and Ic use M42 lenses this was not a necessity any longer but in order to simplify production the shutter button stayed where it was.

These Exa cameras have a guillotine type shutter rather than the more usual focal-plane shutter. This results in slower shutter speeds than we are used to these days with a modest top speed of 1/175th of a second.

Specifications

Camera:                Ihagee Exa Ic

Built:                    1985-1987

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

My copy is an Exa Ic built in the mid-1980s by VEB Certo-Kamerawerk Dresden under license from Ihagee. At that time both Ihagee and Certo were part of the VEB Pentacon conglomerate. Certo built the last series of the Exa Ib and all of the Exa Ic models. Certo built Exas can be identified by the letter C before the serial number.

I managed to obtain my Exa Ic together with an Exa Ib I have yet to shoot. All Exa Ic models have a beautiful black finish. This Exa is pristine and works like a charm. I just love the simple smooth lines of these cameras.  

Using this camera feels very intuitive apart from the shutter button which as mentioned is located on the left side of the camera body. I've fitted the Exa Ic with an Exaktar 55mm f/1.4 lens (no relation with Ihagee for as far as I am aware as I believe this particular lens was built by Sankor), loaded up some Fomapan 200 and went off to the Lake Naarden nature preserve.

All in all I am pretty pleased with the performance of the Exa Ic. When I reviewed the Exa Ia I stated that I was thinking of adding an Exa Ib (or Ic) to my collection to use in combination with my M42 lenses. I aquired both. :-) 

Images

Fellow photographer Pedro and his Exakta