I am a true sucker for Praktica. Absolutely adore their funky, no frills approach. Also, after years of use and abuse, all of my 7 (between LTL3, MTL3, MTL5 and MTL5B) work like clockwork - and I do mean it: their speeds still clock less than 1/3 stop deviation, having never been reconditioned.
I've had any number of Prakticas, and my MTL3 is solid, still works and is still light-tight. It lacks some refinement the Japanese cameras had, but all my Japanese cameras from the same time period have also developed light leaks as their foam seals have decayed. When reviewing old cameras, it might be nice to learn a bit about them before you review. Pentacon was the 'parent' company for all East German camera and lens companies, including Praktica, Meyer Optik, Carl Zeiss Jena and even Exakta in their last years. Their name is on the bottom of the Praktica.... and they were readily available in America till about 1978.
When the former East Germany (German Democratic Republic) built these cameras, they were built to last despite their somewhat archaic design. They produce good quality pictures to date.
Pentacon was by this point a combination of various different companies. The origin of the name? As you mentioned, the M42 mount was invented by Carl Zeiss pre-war, initially for another company, KW. Who made Prakticas... Zeiss themselves making rangefinder cameras as their top-end models, the Contax series. After the war, the Zeiss company was split in two, West German, and East German. The Contax production lines, materials and engineers were taken to the USSR as war reparations, and became Kiev rangefinders. West German Zeiss Ikon began work on similar cameras, the Contax IIa and IIIa - different bodies, more modern shutters, and so on. In East Germany, the company began work on SLRs, with the Contax S - using the M42 mount. As years passed, politics intervened and the East German company lost the right to the Contax name outside the Eastern Bloc. So they started selling cameras under the Pentacon name - for PENtaprism CONtax. Years later, the East Germans merged most of their camera making into the Pentacon company - East German Zeiss Ikon/Pentacon, KW and their Prakticas, Ihagee (makers of Exakta) and others, and also Meter-Optik of Gorlitz, makers of lenses later branded Pentacon. So Pentacon made both this camera and its lens. There was another official lensmaker for Prakticas - none other than Carl Zeiss Jena, the lens-making East German remnant of Zeiss. Their lenses (apart from the cheap Tessar) are pretty exceptional, and probably the best M42 lenses available, and among the best lenses of the time. The Meyer/Pentacon ones are easily the equals of other major manufacturers of the time. Well, except the Domiplan... A few other points - I've well over 50 L series Prakticas, and the idea that they're anything but extremely reliable is simply wrong. They might not feel as solid as some of the others, but very little goes wrong. That vertical-running metal focal plane shutter is an amazing bit of engineering, and far less prone to failure, or even slow running, than most horizontal running cloth FP shutters in many competitors. The previous generation of Prakticas, the Nova series, was incredibly unreliable, sadly, but not the L series. Also, there's pretty much no plastic in an MTL3, certainly not the back. It's metal. Yes, Series 3 L models have that rather odd bobbly rubber body covering, but personally, I like it, and prefer it to the less interesting covers on earlier - and later - models. A better alternative if you don't like the body cover, or want a more available battery, the MTL5b or LED-equipped MTL50 make sense. The open-aperture metering PLC2/3 are great, but their - different - battery is also fairly tricky to track down. The similar VLC/2/3 has interchangeable viewfinders and screens as well, and are just brilliant cameras.
I was in the Navy, 1971-75. I bought a new Yashica TL Electro X at a base store. I loved it...took literally thousands of slides & prints with it and it performed perfectly.
The needle metering system, IMO, is way better than the led gimmicks, because by observing the rate of change of the neede level you can easily tell the factor by which the light is too strong/weak, while the leds only give you a too high/too low reading.
At one point in the 70s, Pentacon/Praktica made 20% of the cameras in the world market. The L series was a huge success for them and was available from 1969 to the late 80s. They also invented the M42 mount in the 40s and built the first pentaprism 35mm SLR.
My first SLR was a Praktica Pro L, which was a rebadged Praktica L, and sold in the U.S. I remember going over to the next town with my Dad in 1969, where the only camera store within 30 miles was so I could pick out my new camera, put in on layaway, and eventually get it paid for over the summer by doing various jobs. I really wanted a Minolta SRT-101, but the Praktica was around $100 and the Minolta a little over $200, and my hot little 13 yr. old hands wanted an SLR ASAP. It was loud and clunky, but I took a years worth of pictures with before I used it as a trade-in + cash for the Minolta the following year. The biggest improvement in my mind was finally getting away from M42 screw-on lenses and entering the world of bayonet mount cameras. Not too long ago I picked up a 70's Praktica model, and while not exactly the same camera, it still looks good on my shelf. Nice video - Thanks.
i have both and actually find the Fujica better on thius subject as its Led metering is useful at night shots... with the Praktica you will have some trouble shooting at night as the needle is black ;)
Interesting video..SLR film cameras have always fascinated me. Brought back memories of when I was deciding on my first 35 mm SLR camera back in late 1970's. Looked at Mamiyas, Yashicas, Minolta, Canon, Praktica, Pentax, etc. but when the Nikon FM came out that was the clincher and that is what I bought and still have it and without doubt I made the right choice. Still, those funky old screw-mount lens SLR's are interesting.
You might also want to talk about the Pentax Spotmatic which also began with the M42 mount. As to to Prakticas, they were quite commonly imported to the US back in the day.
I believe the Praktica and other Eastern Block made cameras were imported at one time. I recall seeing them in the listings from the big mail order houses mostly in New York.
The great thing is the high quality of many of the M42 lenses. Even some of the Vivitar M42 lenses are wonderful, ie: the 200mm. Most of the Pentax lenses are excellent and with a
Best in category: Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar. 1.8 / 50. This is almost identical to the Carl Zeiss Planar 1.7 / 50, They are 1: 1 similar, one made in the east and the other in the west
The Yashica tl also has a MIRROR FLIP UP system, used for slow shutter speed usage, while hand holding. A lot of the camera s you have show, were made by COSINA. With the FUJI st camera s, you can screw on M42 lens, but the f stop of f 16/22,wont totally stop down, and the infinity marking , is not on the top, as it normally is. The fuji St 801/701 were the first camera to have a L.E.D. metering system, that DID NOT have a MEMORY like the others. This way you can shoot faster with out waiting for the slow C.D.S. metering system to START FRESH. Good video.....do more.
I have a Pentax Honeywell 55mm 1.8 lens. It was given to me but no camera so I need to find a camera now. I think it is a later version lens it has that Pin you talked about.
Hi, the Praktica is definitely not a step back for everything - yes it might have a mercury battery (but there are modern alkaline copies which fit the same form and voltage in order to use it further and these cameras are still fully operational), also yes it may not have a led indicator but many photographers prefer the needle much more (not because they are old-fashioned, but because a needle is more precise, it shows more flexible and faster the middle values between + and - ), further under this cheap plastic cover, which is indeed not good enough there is actually metal, it is simply not right that it is plastic, it is metal under the plastic cover and last but not least - the shutter sound is different, yes it is, but it is because its biggest advantage - this camera has a metal shutter, not cloth like the other M42-cameras but a metal shutter! ... the one and only single disadvantage of the Praktica is that it is not "automatic" (you cannot do the open aperture metering like you can with the Fujica for example without stepping down the aperture during the metering) everything else is simply prejudice against the Praktica ...the build quality is far better than you have descirbed it, far better, despite the even more better build quality of the Fujica, but with some big functional advantage of a metal shutter for the Praktica
I think they are nice cameras also a thing i would like to point out is that from the praktica MTL-5b onwards they use Lr44 batterier for the most of them i think.
For a long time I thought my favorite carrier for M42 lenses was the Fujica ST701, probably comparable to the 801 if it wasn't for the mercury problem. Definitely my favorite shutter noise. However, I have to disagree on the Praktica not being reliable after testing so many different camera bodies from ebay and flea markets - I think the slightly more modern MTL5B (LR44 batteries, phew!) is the most reliable and fun to use of the bunch. It's clunky, yes, but really fast and easy to use and unless you have battery corrosion I think these things are build to last forever. For example, the metal shutter seems to never fail. And here in Germany and Europe they are so damn cheap that I'd easily recommend them as the perfect beginner camera. Oh, and a little bit of knowing-better, both the camera and the lenses are made by Pentacon, the lenses are made by (now revived again) Meyer Optic Görlitz who were part of Pentacon since the late 60s. They're really not too shabby for the price of almost nothing.
Since the lever stops down the lens for metering systems, it is more aptly named a "stop down lever". In later cameras, metering was possible without stopping down and so the lever only served as a "depth of field preview lever"
Praktikas were popular cheapo cameras for beginner students in camera classes in the early 70s. Very common camera here. Not all screwmount lenses work on all screwmount cameras. Don't mount Pentax lenses on Mamiya! It will jam on there.
I have a Praktica, it looks a little archaic in design but built like a tank. Very reliable camera. The East Germans built these cameras to last and they do,
great video man! thanks for sharing all those little details to understand the differences between each camera. I also have a bunch of four M42 SLR cameras: a Zenit 12xp (my first and the most basic), a Praktica MTL5, a Fujica AZ-1 (th lighter but worst build conservation) and my recent buy, a Yashica TL electro (the previos version of yours) which am waiting for it to arrive. Am starting this little but interesting collection as all of them are very cheap and beauty in terms of design and mechanic. Also love the fact that each manefacturer has its own little differences but all of them are fully compatible for changing lenses. Now am looking for newer lenses but what i've found they're same price as the camera itself. Could you recomend me a few ones? lower than 50mm, which i have 3. The other I have is the Fujica original lens which has a zoom and its great to use!
+Julio Rodríguez I am glad you enjoyed it! I personally think the st801 and other Fujifilm models are the overall best of the M42 cameras, but there is a bit of a 'cool' factor to having an Eastern European model despite their clunkyness!
I have never understood why the Praktica brand had such a huge following , I have 3, all leak light, 1 refuses to wind on! German engineering is the best they claim! Do not think so, awful camera. Now give me a Zenit and I'll show you a brand that has never let me down in almost 40 years on various Zenit models, currently shooting with a Zenit B and I love the old thing, slows you down, makes you think.
Hey man, great video. I have a question, can the SMC Takumar 50mm 1.4 be mounted on ST-801 and ST-705. I heard the pin on the lens(idk what that is) will cause the lens to be locked in place. If it can, will the open aperture metering function will work?
Really confusing that you describe the Praktica as unreliable ??. As a younger bloke I traveled all over Europe with my MTL3. France , Belgium, Holland, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain. Ireland and Native UK. I had just three lenses, the Pentacon 50mm 1.8 and the Zeiss Jena 35mm 2.4 and A Japanese Bell & Howell 200 m f4 i took literally 1000,s of slide images using Orwo Chrome 80 ASA. and gave camera club presentations using Lieca & Prestinox Projectors. this fruitful happy relation ship ended sadly when i had my out fit stolen, this caused me to upgrade to the Minolta XG system. But have recently for nostalgia Purchased an MTL5 and acquired some DDR and Soviet lenses , and the pictures are coming back great. They weren't, a compromise budget cheapo crappy camera for a guy with no cash, rather a very worthwhile tool.
You haven't lived until you try the 39mm Leica Screw Mount system. M42 may have "hundreds" of lenses, but LSM has Thousands of lenses and possibilities. It's quieter, looks less imposing, and can survive abuse that would crush an M42 screw mount SLR camera. My journey through the LSM world began with a Leica IIIa and closed with a Canon P.;)
I have 4 Praks, bloody awful things,1 refuses to wind on, 2 of the others leak light, another one only got it yesterday but noticed light seals are turning to dust, I'll stick to my Zenit, far better camera.
I am a true sucker for Praktica. Absolutely adore their funky, no frills approach. Also, after years of use and abuse, all of my 7 (between LTL3, MTL3, MTL5 and MTL5B) work like clockwork - and I do mean it: their speeds still clock less than 1/3 stop deviation, having never been reconditioned.
A Praktica ([ have 5) is ofren my grabbiit and go camera. Noisy, but reliable.
I've had any number of Prakticas, and my MTL3 is solid, still works and is still light-tight. It lacks some refinement the Japanese cameras had, but all my Japanese cameras from the same time period have also developed light leaks as their foam seals have decayed. When reviewing old cameras, it might be nice to learn a bit about them before you review. Pentacon was the 'parent' company for all East German camera and lens companies, including Praktica, Meyer Optik, Carl Zeiss Jena and even Exakta in their last years. Their name is on the bottom of the Praktica.... and they were readily available in America till about 1978.
They are built like tanks and pretty reliable. I have one!
When the former East Germany (German Democratic Republic) built these cameras, they were built to last despite their somewhat archaic design. They produce good quality pictures to date.
Pentacon was by this point a combination of various different companies. The origin of the name? As you mentioned, the M42 mount was invented by Carl Zeiss pre-war, initially for another company, KW. Who made Prakticas... Zeiss themselves making rangefinder cameras as their top-end models, the Contax series. After the war, the Zeiss company was split in two, West German, and East German. The Contax production lines, materials and engineers were taken to the USSR as war reparations, and became Kiev rangefinders. West German Zeiss Ikon began work on similar cameras, the Contax IIa and IIIa - different bodies, more modern shutters, and so on. In East Germany, the company began work on SLRs, with the Contax S - using the M42 mount. As years passed, politics intervened and the East German company lost the right to the Contax name outside the Eastern Bloc. So they started selling cameras under the Pentacon name - for PENtaprism CONtax.
Years later, the East Germans merged most of their camera making into the Pentacon company - East German Zeiss Ikon/Pentacon, KW and their Prakticas, Ihagee (makers of Exakta) and others, and also Meter-Optik of Gorlitz, makers of lenses later branded Pentacon. So Pentacon made both this camera and its lens.
There was another official lensmaker for Prakticas - none other than Carl Zeiss Jena, the lens-making East German remnant of Zeiss. Their lenses (apart from the cheap Tessar) are pretty exceptional, and probably the best M42 lenses available, and among the best lenses of the time. The Meyer/Pentacon ones are easily the equals of other major manufacturers of the time. Well, except the Domiplan...
A few other points - I've well over 50 L series Prakticas, and the idea that they're anything but extremely reliable is simply wrong. They might not feel as solid as some of the others, but very little goes wrong. That vertical-running metal focal plane shutter is an amazing bit of engineering, and far less prone to failure, or even slow running, than most horizontal running cloth FP shutters in many competitors. The previous generation of Prakticas, the Nova series, was incredibly unreliable, sadly, but not the L series. Also, there's pretty much no plastic in an MTL3, certainly not the back. It's metal. Yes, Series 3 L models have that rather odd bobbly rubber body covering, but personally, I like it, and prefer it to the less interesting covers on earlier - and later - models. A better alternative if you don't like the body cover, or want a more available battery, the MTL5b or LED-equipped MTL50 make sense. The open-aperture metering PLC2/3 are great, but their - different - battery is also fairly tricky to track down. The similar VLC/2/3 has interchangeable viewfinders and screens as well, and are just brilliant cameras.
This guy seems to make a lot of assumptions about the praktica, they are solid and reliable.
Especially compared to the cheap build of cameras now.
I was in the Navy, 1971-75. I bought a new Yashica TL Electro X at a base store. I loved it...took literally thousands of slides & prints with it and it performed perfectly.
I would love to see some of those pics and hear the stories behind them
Did it float.
@@philipslighting8240 Yes...and it would fetch me a beer from the refrigerator too..!!
Thank you for your service. I am retired US Army, retired in 2010.
I like the Praktica, despite its somewhat archaic image, it is pretty reliable and built almost like a tank.
The needle metering system, IMO, is way better than the led gimmicks, because by observing the rate of change of the neede level you can easily tell the factor by which the light is too strong/weak, while the leds only give you a too high/too low reading.
At one point in the 70s, Pentacon/Praktica made 20% of the cameras in the world market. The L series was a huge success for them and was available from 1969 to the late 80s. They also invented the M42 mount in the 40s and built the first pentaprism 35mm SLR.
My FIRST SLR was the Praktica Super TL...1969...I traveled all over Europe with it.
Thanks for this overview! I love my Praktica Super TL, and just ordered am MTL, and their Meyer Optik Gorlitz lenses are super!
These cameras were made in East Germany (DDR) (1945 - 1990) and they built these cameras to last. They are durable and reliable to date.
My first SLR was a Praktica Pro L, which was a rebadged Praktica L, and sold in the U.S. I remember going over to the next town with my Dad in 1969, where the only camera store within 30 miles was so I could pick out my new camera, put in on layaway, and eventually get it paid for over the summer by doing various jobs. I really wanted a Minolta SRT-101, but the Praktica was around $100 and the Minolta a little over $200, and my hot little 13 yr. old hands wanted an SLR ASAP. It was loud and clunky, but I took a years worth of pictures with before I used it as a trade-in + cash for the Minolta the following year. The biggest improvement in my mind was finally getting away from M42 screw-on lenses and entering the world of bayonet mount cameras. Not too long ago I picked up a 70's Praktica model, and while not exactly the same camera, it still looks good on my shelf. Nice video - Thanks.
Excellent and so informative! The best explanation of these lens and camera systems I have seen.
The Praktica Cameras have very durable
I was having trouble with my Fujica AZ1 light metering, being a big fan of Praktica needle.
This video helped me a lot, merci!
i have both and actually find the Fujica better on thius subject as its Led metering is useful at night shots... with the Praktica you will have some trouble shooting at night as the needle is black ;)
Interesting video..SLR film cameras have always fascinated me. Brought back memories of when I was deciding on my first 35 mm SLR camera back in late 1970's. Looked at Mamiyas, Yashicas, Minolta, Canon, Praktica, Pentax, etc. but when the Nikon FM came out that was the clincher and that is what I bought and still have it and without doubt I made the right choice. Still, those funky old screw-mount lens SLR's are interesting.
You might also want to talk about the Pentax Spotmatic which also began with the M42 mount. As to to Prakticas, they were quite commonly imported to the US back in the day.
I believe the Praktica and other Eastern Block made cameras were imported at one time. I recall seeing them in the listings from the big mail order houses mostly in New York.
The great thing is the high quality of many of the M42 lenses. Even some of the Vivitar M42 lenses are wonderful, ie: the 200mm. Most of the Pentax lenses are excellent and with a
I have that camera.paul.
Best in category: Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar. 1.8 / 50. This is almost identical to the Carl Zeiss Planar 1.7 / 50, They are 1: 1 similar, one made in the east and the other in the west
Good video, I have loads of M42 cameras and lenses.
Which one would you recommend?
You can use the LR44 battery with the prakticas no problem.
The Yashica tl also has a MIRROR FLIP UP system, used for slow shutter speed usage, while hand holding. A lot of the camera s you have show, were made by COSINA. With the FUJI st camera s, you can screw on M42 lens, but the f stop of f 16/22,wont totally stop down, and the infinity marking , is not on the top, as it normally is. The fuji St 801/701 were the first camera to have a L.E.D. metering system, that DID NOT have a MEMORY like the others. This way you can shoot faster with out waiting for the slow C.D.S. metering system to START FRESH. Good video.....do more.
I have a Pentax Honeywell 55mm 1.8 lens. It was given to me but no camera so I need to find a camera now. I think it is a later version lens it has that Pin you talked about.
Funny how they have the atomic symbol while being radioactive,great video and very useful
Hi, the Praktica is definitely not a step back for everything - yes it might have a mercury battery (but there are modern alkaline copies which fit the same form and voltage in order to use it further and these cameras are still fully operational), also yes it may not have a led indicator but many photographers prefer the needle much more (not because they are old-fashioned, but because a needle is more precise, it shows more flexible and faster the middle values between + and - ), further under this cheap plastic cover, which is indeed not good enough there is actually metal, it is simply not right that it is plastic, it is metal under the plastic cover and last but not least - the shutter sound is different, yes it is, but it is because its biggest advantage - this camera has a metal shutter, not cloth like the other M42-cameras but a metal shutter! ... the one and only single disadvantage of the Praktica is that it is not "automatic" (you cannot do the open aperture metering like you can with the Fujica for example without stepping down the aperture during the metering) everything else is simply prejudice against the Praktica ...the build quality is far better than you have descirbed it, far better, despite the even more better build quality of the Fujica, but with some big functional advantage of a metal shutter for the Praktica
I think they are nice cameras also a thing i would like to point out is that from the praktica MTL-5b onwards they use Lr44 batterier for the most of them i think.
For a long time I thought my favorite carrier for M42 lenses was the Fujica ST701, probably comparable to the 801 if it wasn't for the mercury problem. Definitely my favorite shutter noise. However, I have to disagree on the Praktica not being reliable after testing so many different camera bodies from ebay and flea markets - I think the slightly more modern MTL5B (LR44 batteries, phew!) is the most reliable and fun to use of the bunch. It's clunky, yes, but really fast and easy to use and unless you have battery corrosion I think these things are build to last forever. For example, the metal shutter seems to never fail. And here in Germany and Europe they are so damn cheap that I'd easily recommend them as the perfect beginner camera. Oh, and a little bit of knowing-better, both the camera and the lenses are made by Pentacon, the lenses are made by (now revived again) Meyer Optic Görlitz who were part of Pentacon since the late 60s. They're really not too shabby for the price of almost nothing.
"A stop down lever".
Usually called simply the "depth of field preview" lever!
At least for the 45 or 50+ years that I've worked in the trade.
Since the lever stops down the lens for metering systems, it is more aptly named a "stop down lever". In later cameras, metering was possible without stopping down and so the lever only served as a "depth of field preview lever"
I have a Practica L.
2 things I like.
Button release lock.
Vertical travel metal shutter.
Praktikas were popular cheapo cameras for beginner students in camera classes in the early 70s. Very common camera here.
Not all screwmount lenses work on all screwmount cameras. Don't mount Pentax lenses on Mamiya! It will jam on there.
I have a Praktica, it looks a little archaic in design but built like a tank. Very reliable camera. The East Germans built these cameras to last and they do,
Yashica 50mm F2 lenses are excellent.
Mamiya DTL and DSX take a hearing aid battery. Super easy to find.
great video an! I believe A is for Automatic setting and M for Manual aperture setting. what abou the other brands? Zenit for example.
great video man! thanks for sharing all those little details to understand the differences between each camera. I also have a bunch of four M42 SLR cameras: a Zenit 12xp (my first and the most basic), a Praktica MTL5, a Fujica AZ-1 (th lighter but worst build conservation) and my recent buy, a Yashica TL electro (the previos version of yours) which am waiting for it to arrive.
Am starting this little but interesting collection as all of them are very cheap and beauty in terms of design and mechanic. Also love the fact that each manefacturer has its own little differences but all of them are fully compatible for changing lenses. Now am looking for newer lenses but what i've found they're same price as the camera itself. Could you recomend me a few ones? lower than 50mm, which i have 3. The other I have is the Fujica original lens which has a zoom and its great to use!
great video, I have a ST801 and I planned to get snother M42 camera, this vídeo helps, thank you
+Julio Rodríguez I am glad you enjoyed it! I personally think the st801 and other Fujifilm models are the overall best of the M42 cameras, but there is a bit of a 'cool' factor to having an Eastern European model despite their clunkyness!
I have never understood why the Praktica brand had such a huge following , I have 3, all leak light, 1 refuses to wind on! German engineering is the best they claim! Do not think so, awful camera. Now give me a Zenit and I'll show you a brand that has never let me down in almost 40 years on various Zenit models, currently shooting with a Zenit B and I love the old thing, slows you down, makes you think.
Red Shutter Photography None of my prakticas have ever had a problem. I have an ltl 3, nova, bms and bca.
Red Shutter Photography I like my Praktica MTL5B and my Revueflex ML the different betwien them one oft them is black. They never let me stay apart.
Great explanations !! Thanks a lot. How does the Bessaflex TM compare to the Fujica ?
Whats up ??? the sky is up.....
Hey man, great video. I have a question, can the SMC Takumar 50mm 1.4 be mounted on ST-801 and ST-705. I heard the pin on the lens(idk what that is) will cause the lens to be locked in place. If it can, will the open aperture metering function will work?
Really confusing that you describe the Praktica as unreliable ??. As a younger bloke I traveled all over Europe with my MTL3. France , Belgium, Holland, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Spain. Ireland and Native UK. I had just three lenses, the Pentacon 50mm 1.8 and the Zeiss Jena 35mm 2.4 and A Japanese Bell & Howell 200 m f4 i took literally 1000,s of slide images using Orwo Chrome 80 ASA. and gave camera club presentations using Lieca & Prestinox Projectors. this fruitful happy relation ship ended sadly when i had my out fit stolen, this caused me to upgrade to the Minolta XG system. But have recently for nostalgia Purchased an MTL5 and acquired some DDR and Soviet lenses , and the pictures are coming back great. They weren't, a compromise budget cheapo crappy camera for a guy with no cash, rather a very worthwhile tool.
I have a Praktica MTL3, it is built like a tank, it was built to last!!!
You haven't lived until you try the 39mm Leica Screw Mount system. M42 may have "hundreds" of lenses, but LSM has Thousands of lenses and possibilities. It's quieter, looks less imposing, and can survive abuse that would crush an M42 screw mount SLR camera. My journey through the LSM world began with a Leica IIIa and closed with a Canon P.;)
Not everyone can afford a leica, and leicas dont allow infinity focus on m42 cameras.
Still relevant in 2020!
Thanks for video :) which one is most durable from M42 cameras?
What is a professional feel ?
Very informative
Only a very brief overview, hundreds of models missed.
...you take your lenses and screw them...ouch! that sounded weird!
Subscribed.
bybye
I have 4 Praks, bloody awful things,1 refuses to wind on, 2 of the others leak light, another one only got it yesterday but noticed light seals are turning to dust, I'll stick to my Zenit, far better camera.
The only rubber light seal on L series Prakticas is at the door hinge - very easy to change. The back door light seals are cord, and don't break down.