Firstly, why would you want to meet the Praktica family? It offered a modestly priced single-lens reflex interchangeable-lens system. If you were an impecunious young person, it gave you the opportunity to build up a low-budget system from scratch.
That modestly priced system mirrored the more expensive early Japanese brands of Pentax, Minolta and Olympus. Despite their bargain-basement price tag, the Praktica family of products were well-made, sturdy, reliable and produced good results. As we say nowadays, what’s not to like?
The resurgence of film
Film is not dead: that’s the clear message over the last five years. More and more (mostly young) people try film for the first time, it’s the photographic equivalent of the vinyl record. And, despite the extra costs in comparison with digital, film is enjoying a new place in the world of photography. All these new fans are having an unexpected impact on the cost of your hobby. That’s a little annoying for those who never lost their affinity towards film.
Rising costs
Just ten years ago, marketplaces were full of smart looking, serviceable 35mm film cameras from leading manufacturers. Cameras from Pentax, Olympus and Nikon were cheap. It was possible to pick up a gem of a camera, with a standard “nifty fifty” 50mm lens, for as little as £25. That’s all changed. And the most desirable of film cameras, the Leica M, has changed more than most.
Older Leicas are heading out of reach
A Leica M6, one of the most popular pre-digital Ms, is now prohibitively expensive. A few years ago, a used Leica dealer in London reported a steady stream of undergraduate customers, keen to pick up an M6 for under £500. The M6 had become a “must have” street camera. But those days are gone. You will be lucky to find any functioning M, from the M3 through to the M7, for under £1,000. M6s have passed the £2k barrier. Desirable black-paint MPs are fetching up to £3,500; not much less than a brand-new version.
So, what to do if even a 1970s Olympus or Pentax is beyond your budget? Time to meet the Praktica family.
The Praktica family’s background
Praktica cameras were manufactured in the former German Democratic Republic under the controlling eye of the Soviet Union. Despite, or for that reason, they occupied a unique place in the experiences of photographers in the West. They were mostly young beginners in the 1960s and 70s. And the Praktica’s solid, dependable, and competent ways belied the low price tag.
The Second World War created a schism in the German photographic industry, just as it did in the manufacture of most consumer goods. Renowned brands found themselves operating either under communist principles or enjoying the greater freedoms and benefits of the West. Fortunately for most branches of industry, they were either in the east or the west. The photography industry was in both, with Leica being one of the great beneficiaries of the ability to operate entirely in the Federal Republic.
The German photographic industry, which pre-war had largely been centred around the eastern city of Dresden, was particularly badly affected. Zeiss, one of the foremost names in the industry, found itself straddling the Iron Curtain: half in, half out. Leica, in contrast, was comfortably ensconced in the American zone, not far from Frankfurt.
The impact of a competition-free market
The remnants of the industry in the east soldiered on, huddled around Dresden. Some of the most well-known brand names were denied to the photographers living there. Communist principles dictated that competition was undesirable. State companies (Volkseigene Betriebe — VEB — or Publicly Owned Enterprises) generally offered just one of everything. But often at various price levels, and they seem to have made something of an exception for cameras.
The camera industry, nevertheless, turned out a remarkable list of noteworthy brands. Besides the Praktica family, we had Exacta, the Penti series of compacts, the Werra from Carl Zeiss Jena, the Pentacon (the company that produced the Praktica range) and KW1. Sometimes less really can offer more.
It is now 75 years after the founding of the German Democratic Republic (and 36 years after its denouement). Prakticas and all the other products of the people’s own enterprises, have been left behind and mostly forgotten. Fortunately, because of its popularity in the west, the Praktica lives on.
When the west embraced the Praktica family
For some reason, it was the lowly Praktica that made the breakout, forging a market in the West. Very few East German consumer goods managed to create a market in the West. The car industry representatives (Trabant and Wartburg, both with two-stroke engines) failed.
Fast-track seventy years and the same principles apply. Praktica remains an inexpensive second-hand alternative in the burgeoning film camera market. It is often overlooked, yet I know that these cameras and lenses can still constitute a great system.
Which members of the Praktica family cameras would I buy?
My first-choice camera
This would be a Praktica MTL3 or an MTL5 / MTL50. These cameras were made until the 1990s and so are only 30-odd-years old and likely to work. They have TTL metering, which is compatible with any M42 lens (stopped down metering). They have good shutters and operate like most other SLRs of the time.
My second-choice camera
An older Praktica IV or V. These are slower to use, but are well-built. They are more likely to work than the ‘Nova’ series, and will give you a taste of 1950s cameras, with generally good results.
It’s best to check the operation before you finally commit to a purchase.
Which members of the Praktica family lenses would I buy?
The same principles apply to Praktica lenses. There are many lenses with the M42 screw-thread mount — too many to list here. But what are the most sensible buys to start a Praktica outfit?
There are some standard lenses that are sought after and can sell for circa £100 in the UK. These are the 58mm F2 Biotars and the 50mm f2 or f1.8 Pancolors. Some photographs in this article show those lenses, but I won’t include them as recommendations due to cost.
Allow me to offer three standard lenses that won’t break the bank but which will provide great results in combination with your new camera.
My first-choice lens
The Pentacon 50mm f/1.8. These are usually coupled with a Praktica MTL3 or MTL5 and provide reasonable performance.
My second-choice lens
The Zeiss Tessar f/2.8. It performs impressively, but check the focusing isn’t stiff.
My third-choice lens
The Meyer Optik Domiplan 50mm f/2.8 (see image of Praktica V F below). The Tessar is better optically, but the Domiplan is often better mechanically.
Conclusion
You can set yourself up with a robust camera from the Praktica family for not much money. If you like it, you can buy the 35mm Zeiss Flektogon and the 135mm Carl Zeiss (Sonnar). Both of them focus very close and perform well.
Then there are hundreds of others you can buy for peanuts and have fun with. You can even couple them to your Leica M.
Useful links about Praktica
More on Praktica: Wikipedia
More on Praktica: Camera-wiki
Mike’s Praktica Collection is very comprehensive.
Ten cameras that shaped my life, including Praktica
More on camera manufacturers behind the Iron Curtain
This link will take you to Ken Davis’s Flickr albums showing some results.
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Thanks for the article about the Praktikas.
I suggest going over the following website https://photobutmore.de/vintagephoto/praktica/, which tells the story of Praktika and the competition between Ihagee, the Praktikas, Carl Zeiss and not to forget Meyer Goerlitz.
Praktika intruduced the M42x1 bajonett and Ihagee is the first company that brought a SLR in the market. M42x1 was adopted by Pentax as well.
The decline of the East German camera industry started long before the wall came down. Their incapacity to fit the products with microelectronics was the nail in the coffin.
There are so many more stories to tell; like the Russian Helios lenses. Until the mid 50s Helios even used war-booty-material for their lenses that had been made before the war in Jena. One can tell by some tiny inclusions in the glass.
Many greetings,
Dirk
p.s. Maybe a start for some articles that dive deeper into that topic.
The Praktica LTL should not be overlooked. My first SLR before i graduated to an OM1. It is a very good basic camera and no electronics to go wrong
Having researched all the camera brands for a previous MacFilos article, I ‘developed” (sorry about that) a respect for Pentax. Previously, because they have a much smaller marketing budget than Sony / Canon / Nikon, I had, honestly, not paid much attention to the brand. However, they have an independence of spirit and a will to go against the mainstream that marks them out and which I applaud. I think that Pentax / Ricoh provide an important alternative to the mirrorless juggernaut. It would not be my personal choice but I am really pleased that they continue to thrive.
I remember gazing longingly at Prakticas in the window at Dixons in Leicester, in the early 1970s. I never bought one – my first SLR camera was a secondhand Zenith E. Like the Prakticas, the Zenith E was a camera that you wouldn’t want to drop on your foot. And like the Prakticas, it was a great camera to learn on.
I started with a Werra and later bought a Praktika SLR (don’t remember the precise model, but probably and MTL3). These camera’s worked perfectly and the Praktika was build like a tank. I bought two Werra’s again a couple of years ago.
When on holiday last summer in The Harz region we went to the nice town of Quedlingburg and walked past a camerashop. They had a Praktica digital camera in the window. We didn’t know the brand still existed.
The Praktica MTL3 and a Pentacon 50mm f1.8 was my first serious camera. I had no idea what I wanted at the time and was talked into the Praktica in the North Finchley Arcade camera shop in London. I purchased it just before heading to Australia for the first time. It turned out to be a great camera to learn the fundamentals of photography. Unfortunately the camera was stolen some years later, but I still have the lens and now very occasionally take it out on my Leica SL with an M42 adaptor.