3106.photography
Created 6 June 2001 ... Updated 25 September 2005
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Praktica MTL-5B
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When looking for a simple manual camera I, of course, came across the Praktica.
Made during the 1980s it's a very basic M42 camera but it's built like a
Russian tank: very crude but very reliable. Unfortunaly that cannot be said
of the M42 lenses, many of them cannot be used anymore because of a stuck
aperture system. The spring was simply not strong enough to keep it's tension
over the years. Ah well, they're cheap to replace and there are many working
lenses, just keep looking...
This little camera is great for hikes, when size and weight are an issue. On a hike, a few years ago, I took with me my two Canon EOS 600s, three lenses, the Yashica D TLR and of course plenty of film. Apart from that I carried food for 5 days, a tent, cooking equipment and spare clothes. I was way too heavy and hiking became a pain. The scenery were nice and some very nice pictures where taken back out but it would have been nicer to have carried only half the weight. The Praktica would have been perfect for that, all mechanical, no autofocus lenses and therefore not needing so much space and weight and above all: very inexpensive. When something breaks it's easily replaced. Did use the camera later on some smaller hikes and it's great for snapshots. The Carl Zeiss (Jena) and Pentacon lenses are sufficiently sharp when stopped down. The only thing is to make sure to hold the camera very steady, a tripod would be perfect or else make sure to use a natural support or a high enough shutter speed. The mirror-slap is considerable, especially compared to the more modern systems. |
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Specifications
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Praktica web links
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Historic information about the cameras, the factories and the advertising.
All photos copyright of M. Koning 1997 - 2005
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