Praktica Appreciation Thread

onre · Jun 11, 2016

Loose focusing is usually fixed by re-lubricating the helicoid.

Jerevan · Jun 11, 2016

Onre,

the lens is working, it's just up to "silky smooth" standards.

I was out today, went to town and bought a new battery and put it in. Then I botched the first roll (you know, misloading a new-to-me camera) but the second roll went through fine.

The camera is well thought-out and works very well in operation. The bad news is that the camera seems to fire at the same speed however I point it around, automatic or not. Toasted electronics?

Normally 1 second is at leasr distinguishable from a 1/1000th second speed. Not so much here.

cuthbert · Jun 11, 2016

Do you see the leds in the viewfinder?

if you don't the battery isn't working and the camera always fire at 1/90s.

Jerevan · Jun 11, 2016

I see the leds and they seem to work fine (moving around etc).

cuthbert · Jun 11, 2016

Jerevan said:
I see the leds and they seem to work fine (moving around etc).

Open the back, select 1 and see if the shutter remains open for 1 second then.

Jerevan · Jun 11, 2016

I tried this and it still opens too quickly. Tried it on auto, covering the lens and it's also too quick.

Ap507b · Jun 11, 2016

The Praktica B series are not famous for their reliability with shutter problems being high on the list from what I have read. Had a BC1 bought new back in 1985. Meter failed after very few films. Decided earlier in the year to give the BC1 another go as on paper it's a nice camera. Bought 2 supposedly working ones off ebay & one had a shutter like yours that only fired at one speed. On the other the meter was umpteen stops out. At least my MTL5 works beautifully so I can say positive things about the brand.

cuthbert · Jun 11, 2016

Jerevan said:
I tried this and it still opens too quickly. Tried it on auto, covering the lens and it's also too quick.

Do you see any variation in speed at all?

In the case the electronics is busted, my recommendation is to look on ebay.co.uk and get another one, this week I bought from a charity shop a BX20 because the one which came with the bag had the lightmeter off and I cannot regulate here (I don't have the tool nor the tech), it works just fine and I paid £7 for it excluding shipping and including a rather worthless Sigma zoom.

Ap507b said:
The Praktica B series are not famous for their reliability with shutter problems being high on the list from what I have read. Had a BC1 bought new back in 1985. Meter failed after very few films. Decided earlier in the year to give the BC1 another go as on paper it's a nice camera. Bought 2 supposedly working ones off ebay & one had a shutter like yours that only fired at one speed. On the other the meter was umpteen stops out. At least my MTL5 works beautifully so I can say positive things about the brand.

Yes mechanical cameras are always better also because let's be honest, electronic cameras of the 70s and 80s (Praktica, Pentax, Ricoh, Canon etc...) weren't even designed to be serviced, my trusty tech spent an entire day trying to save a T80 (he also disassembled a T70 to get close, but they are fantastically different inside) but no luck, when they are gone they are gone.

Personally I like Bs and I think if they are in working conditions they are nice and capable cameras, of course they should have done the BMS with mechanical shutter but they didn't.

Ap507b · Jun 11, 2016

On paper the BC1 isn't far off of a Nikon FE or an Olympus OM2. Read a post on a forum once that mentioned a bin full of BC1's all of which had the same broken shutter problem. Think with the electronics it's more down to poor Eastern block quality sadly. I have lots of cameras in my collection from the 70's & 80's & all have been so much more reliable with only 1 needing to go off for repair. Shame the B's are so fragile given how robust the MTL5 is.

cuthbert · Jun 11, 2016

Ap507b said:
On paper the BC1 isn't far off of a Nikon FE or an Olympus OM2. Read a post on a forum once that mentioned a bin full of BC1's all of which had the same broken shutter problem. Think with the electronics it's more down to poor Eastern block quality sadly. I have lots of cameras in my collection from the 70's & 80's & all have been so much more reliable with only 1 needing to go off for repair. Shame the B's are so fragile given how robust the MTL5 is.

I have troubles believing somebody has a bin full of BC1s with shutter problems....all my Bs have been bought for cheap and are all operative.

And yes, I consider a BC3 a better camera than to say a ME Super, the OM2 is more alike the BX20 (they have the same TTL flash system) butof course the buiding quality is not the same, I prefer the old B200 up to the Jenaflex, the advance lever of the BX camera is...unpleasant to operate, I assume because they adopted a more powerful winder...it feels like the Canon F1N whose gears were also dimensioned to deal with a high torque from a powerful motordrive.

Jerevan · Jun 11, 2016

Given that I already have a few (too many) Nikon F2 and an OM2n, it was just a diversion to see what the fuss is about, since a friend really likes them.

Perhaps I pick up another if I can find one for a song.

Ap507b · Jun 11, 2016

Can't find the thread now. Someone said they knew of a repair place that had a bit full of broken ones. They didn't say what size bin it was admittedly, but given I have had 3 broken ones I can believe a very high failure rate. Shame really as for the few films I shot with a working one it was a nice shooter. For all the OM2's flash sophistication to me it only syncing at 1/60 makes it of limited use. Not slagging Olympus off though. Have 3 of them & like them a lot. Only Praktica I can see me buying now is an MTL50.

AgX · Jun 11, 2016

Jerevan said:
The Prakticar is a bit schlapp.

What is a schlapp lens? I thought about it but got no idea.

Jerevan · Jun 11, 2016

Just that it is a bit tired - needs a relubrication.

Even set to B, it just runs on one speed - I guess this is because it is electronic. In that case, perhaps this is a quick way to see if a camera is toast, since if it worked, it would keep the shutter open as long as the shutter release is kept down.

Sewin · Jun 12, 2016

I really like B's but my favourite has always been the mechanical L2.

Jerevan · Jun 12, 2016

While rummaging around on the internets, I found this disassemnly of a B series camera: http://www.rileyelf.free-online.co.uk/Praktica/ - which might be of use to someone.

cuthbert · Jun 14, 2016

My good luck with Praktica Bs continues, some highlights from the test roll with my "new" BX20, I used the standard Pentacon, a Flektogon and a strange (Japanese?) 135mm that I found in the bag:

BD24 TTL flash operative too, I think the main advantage of the BX series over the B is the TTL flash indeed:

These "craptikas" as somebody calls them on this board aren't too bad, are they?

AgX · Jun 14, 2016

"I love the smell of ink and paper in the morning"

We once had a similar motto here at Apug...

cuthbert · Jun 15, 2016

AgX said:
"I love the smell of ink and paper in the morning"

We once had a similar motto here at Apug...

Is that a compliment for the pics?

BTW, you have a lot of Praktica gear but I see few shots of yours in this thread.

I also received the scans from Ilford, I used Lomo Ladygrey for these, and were taken with the pristine BC3.

As you can see for many pics I've used a strange 135 mm f2.8 that appears to be oriental made, I've never seen it before, does anybody know anything about it?

AgX · Jun 15, 2016

Well, my remark was merely a rememberance of old Apug days...

But I like your photographs.
You seem to have a penchant for that girl.

cuthbert · Jun 15, 2016

AgX said:
Well, my remark was merely a rememberance of old Apug days...

But I like your photographs.
You seem to have a penchant for that girl.

It's rare to see a girl with a leather suit who can actually ride a motorbike so I shot her several times in colour and B&W.

Here there are other portraits I have taken during the gig:

View attachment 158977

Agulliver · Jun 15, 2016

SO, after singing the praises of my BX20S which has never failed me......it's leaking!

This has never happened before, and I haven't dropped the camera recently. Any ideas? I cannot see anywhere that light could get in, everything on the back fits perfectly and the sponge around the little window that allows you to see the film type is all fine. Some shots taken inside a dark church were fine, though the first shot inside was affected which makes me think the fogging is happening before the shutter.

I love this camera but genuinely cannot find anything wrong with it.

Still have a working B100, B200 and BCA...and a semi functioning MTL5....

AgX · Jun 15, 2016

Door hinge?

cuthbert · Jun 15, 2016

Agulliver said:
SO, after singing the praises of my BX20S which has never failed me......it's leaking!

This has never happened before, and I haven't dropped the camera recently. Any ideas? I cannot see anywhere that light could get in, everything on the back fits perfectly and the sponge around the little window that allows you to see the film type is all fine. Some shots taken inside a dark church were fine, though the first shot inside was affected which makes me think the fogging is happening before the shutter.

I love this camera but genuinely cannot find anything wrong with it.

Still have a working B100, B200 and BCA...and a semi functioning MTL5....

1) Is this the first roll of film that showed this leak?

2) Are you sure you loaded and unloaded the camera in a dark place?

3) Check the light seals around the window, that would be the first place I'd look.

The BX20S has a vertically travelling shutter so I don't think the problem is there.

Agulliver · Jun 20, 2016

cuthbert said:
1) Is this the first roll of film that showed this leak?

2) Are you sure you loaded and unloaded the camera in a dark place?

3) Check the light seals around the window, that would be the first place I'd look.

The BX20S has a vertically travelling shutter so I don't think the problem is there.

Sorry I thought I had already replied. The camera was fine from new in 1993 (purchased in Dresden, coincidentally) until this year other than one repair about 12 years ago after I dropped it. The fault then was that the manual shutter speeds would not select.

I used the camera extensively in the summer of 2015, and in March 2016 with a roll of Ilford Delta 3200. All films were fine, no issues with light leakage.
The first signs were two films I shot in May/June 2016, one Fomapan 100 rolled from bulk and one outdated Phototec 100 from a standard 35mm cassette. The foam seals around the window seem perfect, as does the brass hinge on the door. All films were loaded in subdued light.

I have tried putting gaffa tape on the brass hinge area and run a short test roll, with the same problem so it's probably not the hinge.

And now to add insult to injury, I got my B200 out and it's only firing at one speed despite the LED indicating the correct speed in both auto and manual mode.

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