Ihagee Exakta VX IIb (Varex IIb)
The Ihagee Exakta VX IIb, also sold as the Varex IIb, is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera produced in Dresden, East Germany. It continued the Exakta SLR line that dated back to the 1930s and was positioned as a system camera with interchangeable viewfinders and a wide range of accessories.
At recent UK auction, hammer prices for the Exakta VX IIb have sat in a narrow £44–£75 band, with a median around £62, so what the camera is worth today reflects its status as an affordable entry into collectable East German SLRs rather than a high-value piece. Condition drives value at saleroom level: clean, working bodies with a matching waist-level finder sell for more, while examples with sluggish slow speeds or tatty leatherette tend to price at the lower end.
Sales History
Prices shown are UK auction hammer results — the wholesale level achieved in the saleroom. Neither buyer’s nor seller’s commission is included. Dealer and retail asking prices are typically higher.
| Date | Price | Source | |
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| Apr 2026 | £38 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras & Scientific Instruments (Lot 67) Title: An Ihagee Exakta Varex IIb 35mm SLR Camera
Description:
silver, body G, shutter fires but second curtain not closing, with an unusual Exakta mount viewfinder, with a Jena Pancolor f/2 50mm lens, optics G, |
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| Mar 2026 | £44 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras & Scientific Instruments (Lot 159) Title: An Ihagee Exakta Varex IIb 35mm SLR Camera
Description:
silver, body VG, shutter working, advance slow to return, with leather case, with a f/2 50mm Pancolar lens, barrel G, optics G. |
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| Sep 2025 | £75 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras & Scientific Instruments (Lot 136) Title: An Exakta VX IIb SLR Camera and Carl Zeiss Jena Microscope
Description:
comprising the VX IIb, body G-VG, shutter working, with a chimney eyepiece and attached by a set of Exakta extension tubes to a Carl Zeiss Jena |
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| Sep 2025 | £62 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras & Scientific Instruments (Lot 126) Title: An Exakta Varex IIb SLR Camera
Description:
silver, body G-VG, shutter needs attention, viewfinder clear, with a Pancolar f/2 50mm lens, barrel G, optics G, in maker's box. |
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| Aug 2025 | £75 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras & Scientific Instruments (Lot 47) Title: An Exakta Varex IIb 35mm SLR Camera
Description:
silver, serial number 1024739, body VG, shutter works, serviced in 2023, with a CArl Zeiss Jena Tessar f/2.8 50mm lens, barrel VG, optics G with very |
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| Jan 2025 | £50 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras & Scientific Instruments (Lot 109) Title: An Exakta Varex IIb 35mm SLR Camera
Description:
silver, body VG, advance lever gets stuck at "fully advanced" intermiitently, shutter fires, with a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar f/2.8 50mm lens, barrel G, |
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| Aug 2024 | £260 | Special Auction Services | |
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Auction: TWO DAY: Photographica & Cameras Auction (Lot 217) Title: An Ihagge Exakta Varex IIb SLR Camera
Description:
An Ihagge Exakta Varex IIb SLR Camera, shutter working, body G-VG, with C Z Jena 50mm f/2, Beroflex 28mm f/2.8, Meyer 50mm f/2 Domiron, Schneider |
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| Dec 2023 | £40 | David Duggleby | |
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Auction: Decorative Antiques & Collectors (Lot 195) Title: No2 folding autographic brownie, Exakta Varex IIb camera, brass three draw telescope, H.H....
Description:
No2 folding autographic brownie, Exakta Varex IIb camera, brass three draw telescope, H.H.... |
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| Aug 2023 | £94 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras & Scientific Instruments (Lot 111) Title: An Exakta Varex IIb 35mm SLR Camera
Description:
chrome, green letherette, body G-VG shutter working, together with a Zeiss Tessar f/2.8 50mm lens, optics G-VG, some light haze present, (Qty: 1) |
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| Jan 2021 | £62 | Flints Auctions | |
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Auction: Cameras, Scientific & Collectables (Lot 373) Title: An Ihagee Exakta Varex IIb SLR Camera
Description:
serial no. 1030120, with Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar f/2 50mm lens, body, G, shutter working, lens, F-G, slight fungus towards rear elements, (Qty: 1) |
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