Praktica (1949)

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The Praktica is the first member of the Praktica family, a 35mm SLR introduced by KW in 1949, sucessors of the Praktiflex.

Introduction

The Praktica is sometimes held to be the first M42 camera, though this is also said to be the Contax S. It accepts M42 lenses, a threaded mount with 1 millimeter threads and a diameter of 42mm, but does not have a mechanism for internally stopping down later lenses, a feature introduced in the Contax SLR family and used nearly universally later.

Not all of the first generation Prakticas had flash terminals. As this was a time when the Prontor-Compur socket was only gaining popularity, different variants had different flash terminals, some having "PC" sockets, but most having Vacublitz or a kind of terminal on the bottom of the camera for use with certain proprietary bracket flashes. By 1952, these variants standardized into the Praktica MX and FX, which, like a few of the latest generation 1 Prakticas, have dual sync and an added shutter speed for use with the flash, being otherwise very similar.

Physical description

The Praktica is fairly typical of its age in some ways. It is a fairly hefty and angular camera with straightforward design principles. The film advance is by knob, which also doubles as a frame counter, and rewind is also by a top-mounted knob. The shutter is controlled by two dials: one selects a shutter speed, while a smaller, coaxial dial selects either the fast mechanism or the slow mechanism. Each shutter speed requires one mechanism or the other to be engaged to work properly, and two speeds, 1/20 and 1/2, share space on the larger dial. The rim of the larger dial lifts up and turns to select a shutter speed, while the entire dial turns when the shutter is cocked and again when the shutter is released. The shutter release is on the front of the camera body, and has threads for a cable release.

The waist-level finder is shielded by a hood, which pops up at the press of a button. The hood includes a loupe and a sports finder: the loupe folds up to view the focusing screen or to hold the front flap out of the way when the sports finder is in use.

The back is a very simple piece, including a latch and a pressure plate, but no hinge. Instead there is a flange that fits into a slot in the body acting as a primitive hinge, but also allowing the back to come free once it has pivoted open. Some backs have embossed logos in the leather over the swell that corresponds to the pressure plate, while others are quite plain.

Lenses and optics

The camera can mount and use a very large variety of lenses, including later m42 lenses with pins for automatically stopping down the aperture, though these lenses must have controls to manually stop down the lens for full functionality. It is possible that some m42 lenses protrude too far into the camera, and would possibly damage the mirror or the internal mechanism connected to the mirror. Even putting aside those that would damage the camera, there are an incredible number of lenses available for this camera, from very rudimentary and cheap, such as the original 50mm f/2.9 Viktar often sold with the camera, to highly-sought after fast and sharp lenses of all focal lengths.

The viewfinder is bright and sharp, owing to a large condenser lens that sits over the focusing screen (in fact, it seems to be one piece of glass). The loupe is not always necessary to sharply focus the camera, as the image quality even without it is rather high. The hood is not removable.

An auxiliary pentaprism was available: it sat on top of the hood and wrapped around the back of it, clicking into the latch that would normally hold the hood down when closed. This is a rather poor optical compromise, as it puts the bottom of the prism almost an inch from the condenser lens on top of the ground glass, leading to the perception that the screen is quite far from the photographer's face and quite small. It is noticeably difficult to focus in dim light with this prism, though on a positive note the eye relief is better than most pentaprism finder. Also, the camera is incredibly tall while the prism is mounted, and the eyepiece is mounted very high.

The poor quality of the prism would remain the case until the F.X2, which had an entirely different hood and an entirely different and noticeably better, though still substandard, prism finder.

Shutter mechanism

The camera has a basic focal plane shutter, which is cocked by advancing the film. It has a top speed of 1/500 and a low speed of 1/2, plus bulb exposure. The mirror is not instant return. The shutter can be cocked without advancing the film by turning the shutter-speed selector until it locks, but this does not lower the mirror. Double exposure is more conveniently achieved as on later SLR's, by pressing the rewind-release button and turning the advance knob.

Conclusion

This camera is one of the first full-featured (for the time) SLR's in a line that would become one of the unsung classic SLR families. Building on essentially this base, the M42-mount Praktica went on to be a moderately successful and sometimes innovative series, including cameras that could compete with Pentax, Minolta and Canon in terms of features and available lenses.

Ihagee Dresden would have been the most significant competitors, and their Exakta cameras beat the Praktica in everything but price point. It is interesting to note the contrasting strategies shown in the Exakta Varex line and the Praktica line. Where the Varex line had removable finders that carry the focusing screen with them, allowing bright prisms, chimney finders and large WLF hoods, the Praktica at this stage had a fixed WLF hood and would continue to have a fixed focusing screen, and that is perhaps its most critical flaw, even when considered as a budget alternative to the Exakta. The shutter is comparable, but crippled by the lack of a robust slow-speed timer, and overall, it is no surprise that the Exakta is better-remembered. The Praktica, however, had its role, as an intermediate between the Exakta and the Exa, and at any rate, the choice of M42 mount would be greatly to the favor of the Praktica line, allowing a larger variety of lenses and forward-compatibility with lenses made decades later.

The immediate successors would all keep the same basic body but make small changes. By the F.X2, the hood was modified, compromising its performance in bright light for compatibility with a better prism, and a longer delay for the F-sync was added. The FX3 would introduce a mechanism for automatically stopping down Pentax-type lenses, but was otherwise much the same as the F.X2. Not until the Praktica IV would the same basic camera receive a large, fixed pentaprism and a large winding lever on the bottom.

Technical Specifications

  • Type: 35mm SLR
  • Manufacturer: Kamera Werkstätten Guthe & Thorsch (better known as "KW.")
  • Lens mount: M42 screw mount, no linkage
  • Shutter: Focal-plane
  • Shutter speeds: 1/2 to 1/500 sec. + B.
  • Film Transport: Knob, double exposure prevention.
  • Metering: None.
  • Exposure: Manual.
  • Viewfinder: SLR, waist-level type, auxiliary sport finder.
  • Flash: Present on some variants, possible aftermarket on others.

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