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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> 1950's ihagee vx dresden
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03/24/2009 01:25:52 PM · #1
hey, ive got a quick question, my grandfather passed a while back and i got a bunch of his old Polaroids and various older canons. but one which has fascinated me beyond all the rest is the old ihagee that i discovered was given to me. i just recently fooled around with the thing and the accessories and found that it has a 85 1.5 (i believe) and a 50 1.8 lens. it has both the regular view finder and at hip viewfinder. also the red and yellow filters for the 50mm. its in really good condition but one thing still boggles me, it comes with a powercord which has a crude set of connectors which can be plugged into the front of the camera. i was just wondering if anyone was knowledgeable about the older collectibles and also about how much the thing would run for at auction. not that id sell the thing, just wondering wat im really handling.
thanxs
03/24/2009 02:08:44 PM · #2
Unless I'm all wet, what I think you have is an early Exakta Varex. I have a couple VX bodies myself (a IIa and a IIb). My IIa has been in the family since the '60s and I shot with it from the mid '70s through the late '90s. Still works fine.
The electrical connectors on the front of the body are for a flash sync cord. There are different ports for different synch modes.
The lenses may be of small to moderate value ($$ to high $$$), depending on what specific lenses they are, and even depending on what versions. The body, if in good condition, probably is worth no more than $100, perhaps less. I may be unaware of some rare versions, so research would be required to figure out a more accurate value. Post back and let us know the specifics on the lenses, perhaps post some photos of the lenses and body.
03/24/2009 02:13:09 PM · #3
Yes, the Ihagee was a "branded" version of the Exacta, for the Soviet Union I believe. I think they are a little rarer than the Exactas themselves.

Here's one on e-bay: Ihagee camera.

Is that like the one you have, Jamie? Their "buy it now" is $109.00 with the 50mm lens and some other stuff added, so it would not seem to be extremely valuable. We had an Exacta back in the late 50's/early 60's (dad's camera) and I loved it at the time...

R.
03/24/2009 02:46:10 PM · #4
hey i live(d) near the factory where they were produced for quite some time.
still have a few exa's and exacta's at home from my parents and grandparents and gonna try to put some rolls of film through them when i have time.
you shouldn't sell this gem, instead keep and USE it, it's a great cam and pretty much undestructible...;)

could you post some photos of that baby?
03/24/2009 03:23:36 PM · #5
A bit of history... Ihagee built the first 35mm SLR, the Kine Exakta, in 1936.
03/25/2009 10:55:12 AM · #6
yeah ill for sure post some shots when i get back from work later today. but the one ebay camera link is similar but not quite the same. there are minor differences but its obviously the same bodytype. im doing a test roll right now and im extremely stoked to see how the depth of the 1.5 comes out!!!
03/26/2009 01:09:46 PM · #7
sorry about the quality, i was in a rush so i just busted out my pos point n shoot.


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Message edited by author 2009-03-26 13:16:19.
03/26/2009 01:50:43 PM · #8
I'll be danged, I thought "Ihagee" was an Exacta with a different name for the Russian market... Doesn't look like that's the case based on your pic...

R.

Message edited by author 2009-03-26 13:50:54.
03/26/2009 05:01:39 PM · #9
beautiful cam! seems to be the older version of the varex IIa, goes on ebay for around 100 bucks.
what seems to be the real gem here is that carl zeiss lens!
it's listed on ebay for a whopping 3500US$!!! check it out! (i know the one listed is the contax version but still...)

anyways i hope you'll have some fun playing with this baby before getting a rich a$$ from selling it...;)
i mean honestly put some rolls of film in and you'll probably end up keeping it, especially the light shaft is so much fun!
03/26/2009 06:55:46 PM · #10
Not sure if the lens he has is the Biotar or not... he said 85/1.5, not 75/1.5... if it is the Biotar, in very good condition and for the Exakta/Topcon mount, it's worth a few hundred bucks perhaps. I have a pristine M42-mount version of that lens, and I paid about $350 on fleabay a couple years ago. It's a fabulous portrait lens; slight under-correction of spherical aberration gives it that "glow" that is so sought after, and the bokeh is very nice. And works great adapted to Canon mount.
I highly doubt that the Contax version of that lens is really worth what they are asking in the linked e-bay auction. They didn't even bother to clean the dust off the front element before taking photos for the auction, LOL! Overall, cosmetically, it's just OK. I think they're smoking something ;-)
03/26/2009 08:41:56 PM · #11
Ah, now that I can see the images, I see it *is* the 75/1.5 Biotar. Here's my copy mounted to a Canon 10D body:


And here's a portrait done with that combination...



ETA: Oh, and that is a really nice Varex body... a keeper to be sure.

Message edited by author 2009-03-26 20:43:56.
03/26/2009 11:55:07 PM · #12
from some of the landscape pics that ive seen online, it should be quite a shocker when the first roll comes though. im appsolutly pumped to see the results.
03/27/2009 12:08:27 AM · #13
i don't know nothing bout old cameras but that is *beautiful*
04/02/2009 01:28:50 PM · #14
heres n update on the test strip. it was a complete failure. sadly the film wasnt advancing at a constant rate, so most of the shots are double exposed or they didnt much come out at all. i was kinda bummed but it wasnt my only test roll that i developed from an old camera and luckily the other cameras came out exceptional.
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