C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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slr-35mm
The Ihagee Exa II (1959) is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera made in Dresden, East Germany, occupying a distinct position in the Exa product line: unlike the simpler Exa 1 with its rotary sector shutter, the Exa II uses a cloth focal-plane shutter providing a broader speed range. More significantly, it inherits the interchangeable viewfinder system of the Exakta Varex — a feature absent from the Exa 1 series — allowing both a standard waist-level hood and an eye-level pentaprism to be swapped in.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
An Exa with a proper focal-plane shutter and interchangeable finders — the Exa II bridged the gap between the simplified Exa 1 and the full Exakta Varex, offering genuine versatility in a compact body.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24×36 mm) |
| Mount | Exakta bayonet |
| Years | 1959–1962 |
| Shutter | Horizontal cloth focal-plane: 1/25s – 1/500s + B |
| Flash sync | X-sync; 1/25s |
| Meter | None |
| Exposure | Manual |
| Viewfinder | Interchangeable (waist-level or pentaprism) |
| Focus | Manual, ground glass |
| Battery | None |
Ihagee launched the Exa II in 1959, the same year the full Exakta Varex IIb was updated, as an attempt to offer an intermediate product. The Exa 1 (introduced 1959 with fixed pentaprism) addressed the lowest price tier; the Exa II was positioned above it with a real focal-plane shutter and interchangeable finders, but below the Varex's full slow-speed escapement and 12s–1/1000s range.
The brief production run of only three years suggests that buyers either opted up to the full Varex or down to the simpler Exa 1 rather than choosing the intermediate model. By 1962 the Exa II had been withdrawn. Ihagee itself faced the broader challenge of East German camera-industry reorganisation under VEB Pentacon, and the Exakta brand's position in the market weakened through the 1960s as M42-mount cameras gained dominance.
The Exa II is now a relatively uncommon collector's piece — rarer than either the Exa 1 series or the full Varex, due to its short production run.
The Exa II is historically interesting as an attempt to create a modular, finder-interchangeable SLR at a mid-range price point. Its brief existence illustrates the commercial difficulty of the middle tier in camera product ranges — a challenge faced by many manufacturers. For collectors today it represents an unusual variant in the Exa family, combining the finder flexibility of the Varex with a simpler, lighter body and standard right-hand shutter release.
Accepts all Exakta-mount lenses: Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50/3.5, Biotar 58/2, Flektogon 35/2.8, Pancolar 50/2; Meyer-Optik Primotar 50/3.5, Oreston 50/1.8; Schneider Curtagon 35/2.8. Viewfinder accessories: waist-level hood (standard), optional pentaprism finder compatible with Exakta Varex prisms of the era.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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