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Olympus FTL, carry a hand held meter and skip the on-board one (same meter used in OM-1).
 
Advice: stay away from the Germans. They are known to fail with use. The East Germans, especially.

All I can say is that this advice is congruent with my dire experiences. The German lenses are as good as anyone's, but the bodies of the Praktica genre leave a LOT to be desired and can die unexpectiedly. The Russian Zenit, when, and ONLY when, the quality control was done AFTER the coffee break (and not in anticipation thereof), are actually passable if one discounts the absence of features, but I have rarely found a Praktica that I would invest in.

That said, I offer the following, but be certain to carefully observe the 'mileage' by looking closely at the curtain's fabric wear and the film advance's smoothness. Non hierarchically, they are: Spotmatilc, K1000 (with easily acquired adapter for M42 lenses), Asahi H1a or SV, Mamiya DTL (or its clones), Ricoh TLS or SINGLEX, Fuji ST series (all models).

These are ALL excellent cameras but check the functions carefully. In the case of the Ricohs, the curtain is metal, but the others are cloth. Either is fine, but all 'good' cameras can be bad if bought after they have been overworked. The K1000 with adapter will NOT allow auto stop down. - David Lyga
 
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As said above the Nova isn't very good. If you want an all mechanical Praktica the L2 is the best, but it's not split screen.
 
klop said:
I have a Zenit B that I use with my m42 lenses but I would like a quality SLR with the rangefinder split image for focusing.... I don't want anything battery dependent. I was thinking about a Praktica Nova...... Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

I have a Pentax S3 which works very well but it doesn't have the slit image.
 
Sorry, I did not isolate the split image genre because I did not consider that to be so important. Apparently, the OP did. Sorry. - David Lyga
 
When I had a Zenit ET with really excellent Helios 58 , I was looking for slit focusing. Now after 30 years later , zenit seems to me more usable and logical. Slit focusing is disturbing everything and harder to use than your dreams.
 
I find diagonal split focusing very useful.
 
Spotmatic probably feels a bit smoother than the K1000 in general use. No split screen unless someone hacked on in somehow.

I like the earlier Spots, and pre-spotmatic series for general feel but the viewfinder did improve as time went on.
 
Why not pick up an M42 to K adapter for the K1000's?
 
klop said:
Thank you everyone for the replies..... so many choices to consider.... The Spotmatic I have not handled before.... Is it similar to the K1000? I have three of those..... if it is similar that would give me an idea about it.....
Click to expand...

Yes the spotmatic is similar to the K1000 only better built.
 
Does a K1000 have a split prism focus screen? None of mine did. I think you have to go to a later model K1000 SE for that. The Spotmatics are nicely designed cameras, but every one I ever owned had deteriorating foam that gummed up the insides, and they all had shutter capping issues. These are very old "modern" cameras. I'd go for one of the Fuji m42 mount cameras that are newer, more reliable, and you won't need an adapter to shoot your lens.
 
I just got a spotmatic and it feels nice enough. I have a couple of nice m42 lenses but will keep an eye out for a fuji. The two zenits i had worked for 1 roll of film each before the curtains or knobs popped off. The lenses that came with them were worth the risk.



Typos made on a tiny phone...
 
I really like the mamiya m42 cameras. I have the hard to find DTL 2000 and a msx 500. They both are great cameras.
As of now I do prefer the mamiyas to the spotmatics. But then again my spotmatic is in repair.
 
momus said:
The Spotmatics are nicely designed cameras, but every one I ever owned had deteriorating foam that gummed up the insides, and they all had shutter capping issues.
Click to expand...

These issues apply to all older cameras and they will all need at least a typical CLA (clean, lube, adjustment) depending on use and other environmental factors.
 
There were a number of different Praktica designs over a long period. You really can't lump them all together in the same category either for features or reliability. I agree that certain models such as the Novas leave a great deal to be desired. However the fact that even today it is still possible to find plenty of them in working condition says something about their reliability and longevity. The metal shutter curtain types are often found running and with working meters. I like Pentaxes a lot, their lenses are wonderful, however I have not had a lot of luck with their older M42 SLRs. Rusty shutter spindle springs are a problem in some making it impossible to time the curtains for correct exposure across the gate. Meters often do not work. I fully agree the Pentaxes were a superior product to the Prakticas when new. But in terms of durability on the whole I would say Prakticas win.

Last week I cleaned and lubed the shutter spindles of one of several examples of the Praktica FX I have on hand. The fabric curtains are still in excellent condition. After a clean and lube the shutter speeds were bang on without any adjustment to curtain tensions. How many Pentax SVs or S3s can you say that about?

Not all German M42 cameras are unreliable, either. I have an early Contax D on hand which is running well. Granted, it needs new curtains. No split focus, so not ideal for the OP though. And my Zeiss Ikon Icarex TM also works very well, has a superb diagonal split rangefinder, and must rate as one of the best made and finished M42 SLRs of all time.

I must also endorse the various Fujica M42 bodies. Bright finders, accurate silicon meters in the later ones and very pleasant to use. The ST801 is probably the pick of the bunch, but the ST705 & ST605(N) are also worth a punt. If you can live without a split focus you cannot do better than a Yashica TL Electro X. Easy to see meter readout, continuously variable shutter speeds from 1/1000 to four or five seconds, and one of just three available M42 bodies with true mirror lock up.
Cheers
Brett
 
David Lyga said:
That said, I offer the following, but be certain to carefully observe the 'mileage' by looking closely at the curtain's fabric wear and the film advance's smoothness. Non hierarchically, they are: Spotmatilc, K1000 (with easily acquired adapter for M42 lenses), Asahi H1a or SV, Mamiya DTL (or its clones), Ricoh TLS or SINGLEX, Fuji ST series (all models).

These are ALL excellent cameras but check the functions carefully. In the case of the Ricohs, the curtain is metal, but the others are cloth. Either is fine, but all 'good' cameras can be bad if bought after they have been overworked. The K1000 with adapter will NOT allow auto stop down. - David Lyga
Click to expand...

My first adjustable "real" camera was a Ricoh Singlex TLS. I long since sold it off but in a moment of nostalgia went looking for one on eBay so have acquired another. It is a nearly indestructible (in normal use and in my experience) brick of a camera, but the viewfinder is pretty dim, even by M42 standards. I'm also not aware of one with a split image which the OP wanted. Both mine have had central microsprism spots. I actually like that with a decently bright viewfinder but especially now with 51 year old eyes it doesn't work too well for me anymore on the Singlex.

It does work though, and keeps on working. And, in a pinch, you could beat a mugger, or possibly a charging rhino, to death with it and probably still use it to take more photos of the aftermath.
 
APUGuser19 said:
This "M42" is comedic. It's Pentax mount, "Pentax/Praktica" to be exact. That's the way I always saw it.
Click to expand...

Well if one is going to refer to it on the basis of the maker who introduced it, rather than Praktica or Pentax it should really be referred to as the Zeiss Ikon thread or screw mount, as it first appeared in their Contax S 35mm SLR of 1948, of which my aforementioned Contax D is a very close derivative. Although, being made in the same location as the Contax SLRs in Dresden, Praktica arguably has a stronger claim to the mount than Pentax, who arbitrarily adopted it for convenience subsequently.
 
I'm with Brett on this.

I've a few Prakticas and they all function well, I like the metal shutter and the postion of the shutter release on the L series.

I also have the later BC1 and B200 models and believe these are very underated.
 
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