I've written about Exaktas Before. They are cool cameras. I call them Commie Cameras here for effect and because that's about all the West knew about them while the Soviet so-called Iron Curtain was in Place.
I haven't had a chance to post any pictures yet, but I have some on my eBay listing at this link, until I do.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Near-Mint-Exakta-35-Film-Camera-w-Telephoto-Zoom-Lens-Ihagee-Desden-E-German-/251793522517?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT
You may have to cut and paste this link into your browser.
I was happy to find this pristine Exakta VX500 Camera and lens.I have never owned one, but I did use them during the late 1960's, as one of my friends, who also later became a well-known photographer started suing them. At the time, these were considered commie or Russian cameras. They were actually produced in Soviet controlled E. Germany, after WWII, by a famous Dresden Camera Company. Before the war, Germany was known hands-down as the best when it came to optics and cameras. Many of these companies were located in Dresden. After the wall went up, those companies were converted to the Communist ways of manufacturing. Westerners, especially those living in the USA, were led to believe that anything made within the Soviet Block was junk. The truth is that few even knew much about the products being produced there, so tight was the Iron Curtain regarding such things. When The USSR began exporting these cameras during the sixties and they stated showing up in the photography magazine ads, those who bought them were surprised at their quality.
These cameras were decidedly different in both function and appearance. But, they made excellent photographs and were easy enough to use. They had good optics produced by what became of the Carl Zeiss plants in Dresden and Jena that was the war-prize of the Russians. Around this same time, an arrangement was made for this design to be used by Topcon in Japan. Many of these cameras were virtually the same, and the lenses and many accessories interchanged. But the Exakta model that was being exported was the VX500, still the basic design of Ihaggee in Dresden. Although the design had undergone very few changes since the prewar models, the design had previously been refined for the first half of the century, and was very tried and proven. The Exakta VX500 had an appearance of by then vintage cameras such as Leica and Contax and other fine cameras. It was almost like a time-machine. But here were these brand spanking new cameras--that looked like fine vintage cameras. And that's pretty much what they were.
Exakta never produce their own lenses, up until that time relying on the Zeiss Jena plant lenses. Those Japanese companies that were supplying Topcon with lenses, found new markets for these new East German arrivals. Sun, was one of these suppliers. They made a lot of original lenses and aftermarket lenses for many different cameras. The zoom lens pictured here is one of those. I bought this kit just like this. The lens shows use, though not a lot. But the camera appears virtually unused and is in remarkable shape.
I like this camera. Oddly, it now has a relative worth that is far greater than more expensive cameras of the day. This is likely due to several things. First, it has weathered the test of time and proven to be an excellent camera. Second, it has a design that is visibly different than other cameras, including that vintage pre-WWII appearance. Third, they are far rarer than most of the cameras of the time. Fourth, these cameras capture a unique part of history, dramatically demonstrating how the same roots yielded such different results as the USSR and the USA and its Western (and Eastern) allies, including post-war Japan, diverged and shared little communications with one another.
A few noteworthy features to note regarding the Exakta VX500 versus other cameras include the interchangeable waist-level viewfinder, the camera lens mount, the shutter release lock, the all-metal design including the contours of the frame and knobs, the camera back and the way it opens. These are just a few. There are many others.