I love my Praktina with its F2 Biotar. Certainly, one of the truly a great camera of the 1950s. BTW there is no controversy as far as the first SLR. The incredible Exakta was the original production 35MM SLR camera (1936) and was the original SLR camera system (1950). The Praktina had the start of a true system camera, way before the Nikon F which many people erroneously claim as the first system SLR. Another example of Nikon "disinformation." The available motor drives were a technological tour de force. You could also add on a rapid advance level on the bottom of the camera, much like the Kodak Retina. I think the biggest problem with the Praktina system was the lack of a large selection of available lenses. For the Exakta - almost every optical house made first rate lenses - Zeiss Jena, Schneider, Meyer, Killfitt, Steinheil, Angenieux, ISCO, Enna, Schacht and even Olympus and Nikon and a host of Japanese lens makers. I think only Zeiss Jena made lenses for the Praktina, though I would welcome any correction. I would like to add a couple of things about the Praktina system. As another commentor noted, the second version of the Praktina - the IIa - had an automatic lens system. You can use Praktina FX lenses (your camera) on the Praktina IIa but not vice versa. You actually have the Praktina IIa prism on your Praktina FX (Oh, the Horror!!!). A couple of other things. The Praktina did not have an instant return mirror, so the additional viewfinder on the side was not so much designed to be an alternative to a rangefinder camera but was rather to allow the photographer to follow the action when the motor drive was being used. Finally, there was a meter prism that came out for the Praktina IIa. It could be used on both the FX and IIa. Saw one once at a camera show and wish I had bought it. Always enjoy your videos.
@@fr.jasonstone8641 Thanks. Yes, you are correct. However, the Praktina lenses are hard to come by, unlike the Exakta where the lenses are everywhere on Ebay. I would very much like to get a T mount for my Praktina. Would open up a lot of flexibility.
This is one of the best cameras from Dresden ever made. Try it also with the 6-lense Flexon or Pancolar. More colour quality and sharpness aren't possible with analogue cameras! The Praktina IIa already had an automatic aperture and a split view rangefinder. - Thank you for your always very interesting and passionate videos. Best regards from Berlin, Heiko
I love this camera so much! My grandfather was from east Berlin and the Praktika Fx is one of the few things he took with him when he fled to Munich as the wall was being built. My father explained photography to me using this camera and I shoot with it to this day. But I never knew about the history and context surrounding it. Thank you so much for making this sweet and informative video !
Great video!! I have I have one of these with a Biotar. It was in a box of mainly scrap cameras and the only decent ones were that and an Edixa. It cost me about £50 for the lot. I bought them for the Biotar but was pleasantly surprised with the Praktina. I put it firmly on par with any of my Leicas. It's a beauty.
Just a small point apparently missed by the other fellow correspondents: your example has the wrong pentaprism which was from a IIA, which is identified by the KW logo at the front. The matching FX prism is not as tall and has leatherette covering on that surface.
As a teenager in the late 1950s, this was one of the few cameras I considered for my first 35mm purchase. It's features were attractive at that time, but there were drawbacks which eventually caused me to pass. In 1959, it's price was a positive, but it had been around for some years. It's negatives included its lack of full automatic aperture operation. Here, he is using a pre-set Tessar - no auto aperture at all. More commonly, the FX was offered with a 58mm Biotar 2.-, which in late 1950s was a very nice lens. To operate, you cocked a spring loaded aperture on the lens to oprn fully. When you shoot, the fully open aperture was released and snapped down to whatever you had set. It stayed there until you cocked the lens again. This operation is separate from the other body and shutter cocking procedures. Finally, the Praktina used a unique lens mount (as discussed here), and in the US there were not that many lens options. In the end, I bought a used Contax II with an uncoated, pre-war 50mm 1.5 Sonnar. That was an experience, so to speak. Around 1962, I pullled the trigger on a new Nikkorex F (budget "NIKon" body made by Mamiya) and the newly issued 50mm 1.4 (big bucks). That proved a solid choice until replace in 1976.
Thanks for the review! I started with an old praktina FX given to me with the incredible biotar lens - shutter curtain full of pinholes but the great feel of the camera and the glory of the lens was clear, pinholes and all. Now I have another praktina FX I'm checking out and a very nice praktina IIA. Amazing that they still function 60+ years later! I wish I could find someone to do a CLA and shutter cloth replacement (no luck yet here in the states). Enjoy your camera, and keep the reviews coming!
I love my Praktina with its F2 Biotar. Certainly, one of the truly a great camera of the 1950s. BTW there is no controversy as far as the first SLR. The incredible Exakta was the original production 35MM SLR camera (1936) and was the original SLR camera system (1950). The Praktina had the start of a true system camera, way before the Nikon F which many people erroneously claim as the first system SLR. Another example of Nikon "disinformation." The available motor drives were a technological tour de force. You could also add on a rapid advance level on the bottom of the camera, much like the Kodak Retina. I think the biggest problem with the Praktina system was the lack of a large selection of available lenses. For the Exakta - almost every optical house made first rate lenses - Zeiss Jena, Schneider, Meyer, Killfitt, Steinheil, Angenieux, ISCO, Enna, Schacht and even Olympus and Nikon and a host of Japanese lens makers. I think only Zeiss Jena made lenses for the Praktina, though I would welcome any correction. I would like to add a couple of things about the Praktina system. As another commentor noted, the second version of the Praktina - the IIa - had an automatic lens system. You can use Praktina FX lenses (your camera) on the Praktina IIa but not vice versa. You actually have the Praktina IIa prism on your Praktina FX (Oh, the Horror!!!). A couple of other things. The Praktina did not have an instant return mirror, so the additional viewfinder on the side was not so much designed to be an alternative to a rangefinder camera but was rather to allow the photographer to follow the action when the motor drive was being used. Finally, there was a meter prism that came out for the Praktina IIa. It could be used on both the FX and IIa. Saw one once at a camera show and wish I had bought it. Always enjoy your videos.
Schacht, Meyer-Optik, Steinheil, and Enna-Werk also made lenses for the Praktina, and there's a T-mount you can get.
@@fr.jasonstone8641 Thanks. Yes, you are correct. However, the Praktina lenses are hard to come by, unlike the Exakta where the lenses are everywhere on Ebay. I would very much like to get a T mount for my Praktina. Would open up a lot of flexibility.
This is one of the best cameras from Dresden ever made. Try it also with the 6-lense Flexon or Pancolar. More colour quality and sharpness aren't possible with analogue cameras! The Praktina IIa already had an automatic aperture and a split view rangefinder. - Thank you for your always very interesting and passionate videos. Best regards from Berlin, Heiko
I love this camera so much!
My grandfather was from east Berlin and the Praktika Fx is one of the few things he took with him when he fled to Munich as the wall was being built. My father explained photography to me using this camera and I shoot with it to this day.
But I never knew about the history and context surrounding it.
Thank you so much for making this sweet and informative video !
Great photos. This camera has a very unique hand cranking“Winder” looks truly innovative
The sharpness of those images is outstanding
Great video!! I have
I have one of these with a Biotar. It was in a box of mainly scrap cameras and the only decent ones were that and an Edixa. It cost me about £50 for the lot. I bought them for the Biotar but was pleasantly surprised with the Praktina. I put it firmly on par with any of my Leicas. It's a beauty.
Just a small point apparently missed by the other fellow correspondents: your example has the wrong pentaprism which was from a IIA, which is identified by the KW logo at the front. The matching FX prism is not as tall and has leatherette covering on that surface.
As a teenager in the late 1950s, this was one of the few cameras I considered for my first 35mm purchase. It's features were attractive at that time, but there were drawbacks which eventually caused me to pass. In 1959, it's price was a positive, but it had been around for some years. It's negatives included its lack of full automatic aperture operation. Here, he is using a pre-set Tessar - no auto aperture at all. More commonly, the FX was offered with a 58mm Biotar 2.-, which in late 1950s was a very nice lens. To operate, you cocked a spring loaded aperture on the lens to oprn fully. When you shoot, the fully open aperture was released and snapped down to whatever you had set. It stayed there until you cocked the lens again. This operation is separate from the other body and shutter cocking procedures. Finally, the Praktina used a unique lens mount (as discussed here), and in the US there were not that many lens options. In the end, I bought a used Contax II with an uncoated, pre-war 50mm 1.5 Sonnar. That was an experience, so to speak. Around 1962, I pullled the trigger on a new Nikkorex F (budget "NIKon" body made by Mamiya) and the newly issued 50mm 1.4 (big bucks). That proved a solid choice until replace in 1976.
A superb review of an excellent camera. Another of its advanced features was the clockwork motor drive attachment.
The Praktina FX may be my favorite camera in my collection. Love using it. (It had interchangeable screens, too.) Thanks for the video.
Legendary KW! Thanks for the video
Thanks for the review! I started with an old praktina FX given to me with the incredible biotar lens - shutter curtain full of pinholes but the great feel of the camera and the glory of the lens was clear, pinholes and all. Now I have another praktina FX I'm checking out and a very nice praktina IIA. Amazing that they still function 60+ years later! I wish I could find someone to do a CLA and shutter cloth replacement (no luck yet here in the states). Enjoy your camera, and keep the reviews coming!
Very interesting, thank you for sharing and please keep them coming, I do enjoy your offerings.
A very interesting video!
An interesting one, for sure.
Sharp!
Very nice
I have one too, I'm looking at it like my eyes.