Analog Lounge · Serial numbers
Select your Exakta or Exa model and enter its body serial number. The lookup shows matching historical variants and their documented periods. Overlapping ranges are displayed together.
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Match a body number and model
JavaScript is required for the automatic lookup. The underlying data are also available in the tables below.
Selected Dresden 35 mm Exakta and Exa models are covered; the Pentacon RTL 1000 is labelled separately. Dates describe variants and do not confirm an individual body's manufacturing year.
What can the number tell you?
The database contains 38 number ranges from J. Andrzej Wrotniak's research. Variant identifiers follow his star notation. Different models and variants share number ranges, so a model selection is required.
Every matching entry is returned. No year is interpolated between numbers. Unknown or tentative boundaries have been omitted. Kine Exakta assignments to pre-war, wartime and post-war production are disputed, so this lookup does not date them from the number alone.
View the reference data
| Model marked on the camera | Serial number range | Variant period |
|---|---|---|
| Exakta II · *2.1 | 647,000–655,000 | 1949 |
| Exakta II · *2.2 | 655,000–673,000 | 1949 – 1950 |
| Exakta Varex / V · *3.1.1 | 670,000–684,000 | 1950 |
| Exakta Varex / V · *3.1.2 | 682,000–690,000 | 1950 – 1951 |
| Exakta Varex / V · *3.2 | 690,000–693,000 | 1951 |
| Exakta Varex VX / VX · *4.1 | 691,000–734,000 | 1951 – 1953 |
| Exakta Varex VX / VX · *4.2 | 732,000–772,000 | 1953 – 1955 |
| Exakta Varex VX / VX · *4.3 | 772,000–820,000 | 1955 – 1956 |
| Exakta Varex IIa / VX IIa · *5.1.1 | 820,000–852,000 | 1956 – 1957 |
| Exakta Varex IIa / VX IIa · *5.1.2 | 850,000–890,000 | 1957 – 1958 |
| Exakta Varex IIa / VX IIa · *5.1.3 | 860,000–937,000 | 1958 – 1960 |
| Exakta Varex IIa / VX IIa · *5.2 | 935,000–1,010,000 | 1960 – 1963 |
| Exakta Varex IIb / VX IIb · *6.0 | 1,000,000–1,126,000 | 1963 – 1967 |
| Exakta VX 1000 / TL VX 1000 / Elbaflex VX 1000 · *7.0 | 1,126,000–1,230,000 | 1967 – 1970 |
| Exakta VX 500 / Elbaflex VX 500 · *8.1 | 1,500,000–1,530,000 | 1969 |
| Exakta VX 500 / Elbaflex VX 500 · *8.2 | 1,530,000–1,590,000 | 1969 – 1972 |
| Exakta RTL 1000 (Pentacon) · *9 | 207,000–290,000 | 1969 – 1970 |
| Exa · *1.1.1 | 200,000–201,000 | 1951 |
| Exa · *1.1.2 | 200,000–235,000 | 1951 – 1952 |
| Exa · *1.2 | 235,000–245,000 | 1953 – 1956 |
| System Exa Rheinmetall · *1.3 | 245,000–275,000 | 1954 |
| Exa · *1.4 / 1.5.1 | 400,000–530,000 | 1956 – 1959 |
| Exa · *1.5.2 | 530,000–560,000 | 1959 – 1960 |
| Exa · *1.6 | 560,000–620,000 | 1960 – 1962 |
| Exa I · *2.1.1 | 120,000–150,000 | 1962 – 1963 |
| Exa I · *2.1.2 | 150,000–174,000 | 1963 – 1964 |
| Exa Ia · *3.1 | 200,000–210,000 | 1964 – 1965 |
| Exa Ia / Elbaflex 175 / Exakta 100 / VX 100 · *3.2 | 210,000–560,000 | 1965 – 1977 |
| Exa Ib · *4.1 | 600,000–810,000 | 1977 – 1983 |
| Exa Ib · *4.2 | 810,000–860,000 | 1983 – 1984 |
| Exa Ib · *4.3 | 820,000–890,000 | 1984 – 1985 |
| Exa Ib · *4.4 | 880,000–890,000 | 1985 |
| Exa Ic · *4.5 | 1,000–105,000 | 1985 – 1987 |
| Exa II · *5.1 / 5.2 | 200,000–290,000 | 1960 – 1963 |
| Exa IIa · *6.1 | 140,000–152,000 | 1963 |
| Exa IIa · *6.2 | 160,000–190,000 | 1963 – 1964 |
| Exa IIb · *6.3 | 200,000–270,000 | 1964 – 1966 |
| Exa 500 / Exakta 500 / VX 200 · *6.4 | 280,000–370,000 | 1966 – 1969 |
Frequently asked questions
Why are there several matches?
Some published ranges overlap. Body shape, markings and other features must then be checked. A lower number does not automatically identify an earlier individual camera.
What does a C before an Exa number mean?
The source author associates the C prefix with Certo production of late Exa Ib cameras and the Exa Ic. The lookup retains this letter and accepts it only for those model groups.
Does this cover every camera named Exakta?
No. VP Exakta for 127 film, Exakta 6×6, Exakta Real and Japanese cameras using the Exakta name are excluded. A missing match does not show that a number or camera is inauthentic.
Sources and accuracy
Based on preserved copies of Wrotniak's original Exakta and Exa documentation. He attributes most number ranges to Aguila and Rouah (2003). The caution about early Kine numbers follows the Dresdner Kameras research. No individual factory record is queried.
- J. Andrzej Wrotniak – The Dresden Exaktas
- J. Andrzej Wrotniak – Exa: the Exakta’s Small Sister
- Dresdner Kameras – 35-mm-Exakta-Kameras aus Dresden
Sources reviewed: 21.10.2026
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