Praktica Appreciation Thread

[onre]

I would either get it repaired or give it away. I find it sort of depressing to have broken cameras around.

Cost-wise, most film cameras are so cheap that basically any repair work on them would cost more than another working specimen.

 

[baachitraka]

Yes, I will put together an Helios 44-2 and sell the camera for free.

 

[AgX]

As you did not use it much before I would wait for another sample to come across.

 

[baachitraka]

I was curious about the Helios 44-2 lens. I must accept the usage of that lens is rather very awkward so I think it's the time to sell my L2, MTL 5B and together with Helios 44-2. But MTL 5B works rather well though.

 

[AgX]

We are no longer used to non automati-diaphragm lenses with a preset-feature.

 

[baachitraka]

May be I will look some cameras in B-Reihe.

 

[Tom Cross]

I've used Prakticas for many years and still have an LTL3, MTL50 and LLC - all still fully working and brilliant little cameras. I keep one of them in the car at all times! Most of the lenses I use with them are Zeiss. There is a repair shop near me in the UK and he has shelves and shelves of old Prakticas which are apparently popular with local colleges running photography courses.

 

[Sewin]

I've used Prakticas for many years and still have an LTL3, MTL50 and LLC - all still fully working and brilliant little cameras. I keep one of them in the car at all times! Most of the lenses I use with them are Zeiss. There is a repair shop near me in the UK and he has shelves and shelves of old Prakticas which are apparently popular with local colleges running photography courses.

Welcome Tom,

You'll find a few of us on here like our Prakticas

 

[Tom Cross]

They are very reliable and easy to use. I think my grandfather bought the LLC in the mid 70's for £75 (a special offer at the chemists!). I would think £75 was quite a lot of money at the time. I use the MTL50 the most, I prefer the split focussing. The LTL3 can be difficult to focus when the lighting is dim.

 

[baachitraka]

Even MTL 5B is difficult to focus in low-light.

 

[Sewin]

I used an LLC in the mid seventies and used it heavily for school portraits, parties, award ceremonies,motocross events etc. Put many films through it,I gave it a hard life, but the meter eventually died.
I now use the B series and repeating myself I have to say they are underrated.
Having owned and used most Prakticas, my favourite of the mechanical cameras is the L2 , nice and simple.

 

[pentaxpete]

I just did VIDEO on my FOUR Prakticas ----- you can see it HERE :

 

[AgX]

As we just had a similar discussion on pronunciation in another thread:
the german pronunciation of Praktica would stress the first syllable.

I say "would", as I never heard it your way, but find it charming.

 

[blockend]

I think my grandfather bought the LLC in the mid 70's for £75 (a special offer at the chemists!). I would think £75 was quite a lot of money at the time.

SLR cameras were expensive in the 1970s! The only ones that retailed under £100 in the mid-70s were the Zenit and Praktica. The cheapest Chinon sold at Dixons around the ton IIRC. A Nikkormat was about £200. Taking inflation into account an SLR was a serious purchase for many people, and the majority used 126 and 110 point and shoot cameras, with a few 135 compacts like the Olympus Trip.

As today there was much misplaced snobbery about the camera people were carrying. Zenit was considered bottom of the SLR pile and Praktica a notch higher. Above them came Chinon, Fujica, Yashica, then Pentax, Minolta, Canon and Nikon. It was nonsense of course. Zenit and Praktica had a reputation as college cameras, meaning they were systematically abused by people who had no idea what they were doing, leading to a high failure rate. It's certainly true that Zenits could tear film if mishandled (though the lenses were usually very good), and Praktica shutters sounded like a gunshot, but both have recorded many invaluable records of the increasingly exotic place known as the 1970s. Judging by the number of period photographs on Flickr, I suspect Zenit and Praktica owners spent the money saved on the camera on film, there's no shortage of tagged shots.

By the mid-80s all camera manufacturers were turning out poorly made junk, except for professional models. It was the era of fading LEDs and LCDs, dodgy electronics and plastic construction, but they were cheaper.

 

[Sewin]

Nicely said.

 

[onre]

Visited Spain. In el Rastro in Madrid there was a really nice MTL3 which I couldn't just pass. I quickly tested it for basic functionality and got it for 30 €. There was a blue Konica film inside, but I noticed that a bit too late, so no "found film" pics this time. Next to Rastro was a nice old gentleman who had all sorts of photographic equipment from last 100+ years in his somewhat unorganized shop. He sold me an UV filter for it for 5 € after carefully cleaning it and inspecting for scratches.

So, now we had a camera but no battery or film. However, turned out that right next to our hostal (Spanish passengers' home) there was a photographic equipment shop Casa Pibe, specializing in older equipment, in business since 1924. The very friendly gentleman sold me a 625-type battery and some Fuji 200 Superia film from their refrigerator. As a side note, they had a lot of different film available in various formats.

My wife told me that she wanted the camera. Well, why not? Brief tutorial on Praktica TTL metering and the relation between exposure time, aperture and film sensitivity was all that was needed.

And so, later on our trip, we visited Cabo de Gata.

After which we went to Almeria and climbed up to the old Moorish fortress.

Here's a crop.

Too bad the lab scratched the negative a bit.

 

[BMbikerider]

I have come into this discussion quite late but on the subject of quality control in the days of the D.D.R. I read an article in a magazine a long while back, at least prior to 1990, where there was a 'tour' around the factory and virtually nothing was 'off' limits'.

In one picture it showed a lady (of ample proportions) checking the freshly cast bodies of one of the models of the 'L' series and in one group were bodies waiting to be checked. In anaother were bodies that had passed the examination.....all neatly stacked. In a large bin to the other side were bodies that had failed. These had then been rendered totally useless by this 'lady' giving them a very heavy clout with a large hammer......I Think it was something like a 4 pound brick layers hammer. No messing about that was assured.

 

[darthj]

As we just had a similar discussion on pronunciation in another thread:
the german pronunciation of Praktica would stress the first syllable.

I say "would", as I never heard it your way, but find it charming.

After watching this publicity you'll know how to pronounce "PRAKtica" :

 

[onre]

I need to take off the shutter winding lever of a MTL5. How does it come off? The camera is almost mint so I didn't feel like experimenting much.

 

[darthj]

I need to take off the shutter winding lever of a MTL5. How does it come off? The camera is almost mint so I didn't feel like experimenting much.

Disassembly of such a camera is rather complicated and requires you to know exactly what you are doing, otherwise you may end up with spare parts. So if you don't feel like experimenting I would refrain from doing so.
If the camera is broken and you really want it repaired for some reason, try to find a decent repair shop instead.
Though as often mentioned buying another MTL5 may be cheaper. Then I would search for the MTL5B, an updated version.

 

[onre]

As some kind of "at least I think I know what I'm doing" disclaimer, I've successfully taken apart and reassembled SLRs from various other makes to sort out all kinds of problems, this is just the first vertical-shutter Praktica I've ever had to open and because of the cosmetical condition I would like to take the lever off using right method from the beginning, eliminating guesswork. The problem is that I don't have a service manual to instruct me here, that's why I'm asking. My guesses include using rubber friction for turning the black center piece, or alternatively pulling said center piece out, if it's glued in place, revealing a screw.

 

[Alan Johnson]

MTL 3 procedure:
http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/prakticanotes.html

 

[onre]

Thank you very much! I couldn't find this page when looking for possible instructions.

 

[AgX]

A driver of a wholesaler reports her van stolen. Freight: Praktica MTL 3s


One of the best german crime movies. GDR TV 1981 (in German):




alternative link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yIgrqQQxYw

 

[AgX]

Unique metering system

Meanwhile I added a VLC 3 to my collection.

Pentacon had many worldwide "firsts".
The VLCs have a unique metering system:
The metering cell is located inside the mirror-box. As with many other cameras of competing manufacturers.
BUT the cell is located lateral and there is no collapsable accessory-mirror. Instead there is some reflection/refraction system located inside the flat mirror-assembly and similar perpendicular at the side of the mirror, guiding the metering light to the cell.

I know of no other camera using this approach.

Has anyone details on the used light-guide?
Can someone hint at a respective patent?