Please help me fix my Praktica B100!!

I recently got a Praktica B100. It already had a 4LR44 battery in it however the light meter was not going off so I thought the battery might have been dead. Now that I have replaced the battery, the light meter still does not work and on top of that the shutter gets stuck for a good while (very low shutter speed even in bright lighting)

The camera has a "battery check" option, which seems to work since as soon as I turn the dial to battery check the light meter shoots all the way up however the light meter itself does not work when trying to take a picture.
At this point I have tried 3 new batteries and I'm clueless as to what might be wrong, anyone have any advice? Thank you!

Welcome !


My questions seem stupid, but I better ask...

-) Have you set the mode knob at Automatic and not at B ?
-) Have you set the film ISO right?
-) Are you using the original Praktikar lens? (I ask as you might use a lens that already is stopped down.)

-) How does the cameras behave at Flash ?



Other than the above it makes me think there is some fault at autoexposure.
Hopefully someone else comes up with a better idea...

AgX said:

Welcome !


My questions seem stupid, but I better ask...

-) Have you set the mode knob at Automatic and not at B ?
-) Have you set the film ISO right?
-) Are you using the original Praktikar lens? (I ask as you might use a lens that already is stopped down.)

-) How does the cameras behave at Flash ?



Other than the above it makes me think there is some fault at autoexposure.
Hopefully someone else comes up with a better idea...

Click to expand...

Thank you for replying!

I the knob is set at Automatic and not at B and the ISO is correct as well. The lens is a prakticar lens as well!!

I do not know if this is wise, but I have also taken the lens off to check if the shutter behaves the same way without the lens and seems like that is the case. On one of the few youtube videos I found on this camera the individual reviewing it says this issue can occur due to low battery but I have brand new batteries so I have no idea what could be the case...

Thank you so much for all the help!!

EDIT: The camera behaves normally with the flash on (fast shutter speed, but still no light meter)

Concerning the electronics, on the "outer" there is not that much, though including 3 electrolytic capacitators, the "inside" is formed by an IC.

arham said:

Thank you for replying!

I the knob is set at Automatic and not at B and the ISO is correct as well. The lens is a prakticar lens as well!!

I do not know if this is wise, but I have also taken the lens off to check if the shutter behaves the same way without the lens and seems like that is the case. On one of the few youtube videos I found on this camera the individual reviewing it says this issue can occur due to low battery but I have brand new batteries so I have no idea what could be the case...

Thank you so much for all the help!!

EDIT: The camera behaves normally with the flash on (fast shutter speed, but still no light meter)

Click to expand...

As I mentioned on Reddit, it is most likely a lens defect. Good luck troubleshooting the lens electronics.