The mount originated in Germany in 1938 made by Carl Zeiss Jena for the KW pracktica brand. Post world war 2 it was used by the East German camera companies and of course the Russians. Interesting fact is that Pentax was a registered brand name for East German cine film equipment in the early 50's, derived from Pentaprism/Contax. In 1956 or 57 (depending on which source you read) the Asahi Optical Company adopted or bought the brand name.
I have a couple of Pentax ES II using the m42 lens and a whole bunch of lenses. Wonderful. Stick to the top Pentax lenses though for the best quality when using m42 would be my recommendation. Good to see you guys shouting this subject out to the viewers.
Remembering my first camera I bought, a new Praktica LTL3 with M42 screw mount. What a relief, when I later bought Oly OM2, I could change lenses on the go in seconds. Now I have some cameras with the M42, but honestly, I don't use them as I should. The reason can be my feelings about M42 with my Practica.
Lack of ultrawides would depend on your definition of ultrawide. There are more than a dozen 24mm ultrawide lens models for M42, probably more options than other mounts. Going wider, 20mm Mir20 is a pretty famous ultrawide, and 16mm Zenitar is a pretty "OK" fisheye. I think its not something limited to mount, generally ultrawides are very rare compared to other lenses for any film era camera.
There are so many different Praktica cameras from the former GDR that have only been mentioned here in passing and, if I have looked correctly, only in this video. Some cameras, especially from the so-called L-series of the third Praktica generation, should be able to easily compete with Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta or Olympus, and even easily put them in their pockets, especially in terms of price/performance ratio. Whether Nikon FM or FM2, Nikon F2 or F3, Canon A-1 or AE-1, Canon F-1, F-1n or Canon New F-1, Pentax ME or MX, Pentax K2 or KX or the Pentax LX, Olympus OM1 or OM2, Minolta SR-T 101 or Minolta SR-T 101, Minolta XK or Minolta Xm, Praktica has cameras that are at least on a par or perhaps even a little ahead. The best example is the Praktica VLC series with the Praktica VLC, the Praktica VLC2 and the Praktica VLC3, which may not differ greatly technically, but are a real alternative to the above-mentioned professional models with interchangeable viewfinders from the other companies. In addition, the Praktica VLC models are many times cheaper than the competition at the time. If you pay for a complete set of VLC cameras, consisting of: - Camera - prism viewfinder, waist-level viewfinder and magnifying viewfinder - 1-2 Pentacon MC electric lenses - Hot shoe - Original Praktica carrying strap - Leather camera bag - Attachable eyecup - and possibly one or two filters between €200 and €350, other comparable systems start at around €1000 for such a complete set. This means that even beginners could afford such a professional system from Praktica. And M42 screw mount is by far the lens mount with the most lenses on the market, with a price range from 5 to several 1000 €. Battery adapters for the cameras are also readily available on the major sales platforms, so there are no problems there either. And of course, as with all old cameras, you should generally make sure that the camera comes to you in perfect working order, depending on how the previous owner handled it. You have to be a little more careful with the models from around 1985 - 1992/1993. There may be certain defects, but not necessarily. But even today there are still plenty of opportunities to have these old GDR cameras restored and, if necessary, repaired. You have to be a little more careful with the models from around 1985 - 1992/1993. There may be certain defects, but not necessarily. That's why I don't understand why a Praktica wasn't discussed in more detail here on the channel. It would be predestined for its own video: - Praktica LLC - Praktica LTL to Praktica LTL3 - Praktica PLC to Praktica PLC3 - Praktica VLC to Praktica VLC3 As I said, enough material for several videos, at least in my opinion. Greetings from Germany Lutz By the way, as a little fun fact, with cameras like the Praktica cameras that have an M42 screw thread connection, you no longer need an adapter and the Prakticas of the L series already had a metal focal plane shutter. In other words, a cloth shutter can no longer get burn holes from direct sunlight and the cloth cannot become porous at some point. Incidentally, many Carl Zeiss Jena lenses, many Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses and most Helios 44 lenses have an M42 screw thread... 😁
The mount originated in Germany in 1938 made by Carl Zeiss Jena for the KW pracktica brand. Post world war 2 it was used by the East German camera companies and of course the Russians. Interesting fact is that Pentax was a registered brand name for East German cine film equipment in the early 50's, derived from Pentaprism/Contax. In 1956 or 57 (depending on which source you read) the Asahi Optical Company adopted or bought the brand name.
Great to know that.
Pentax Spotmatic M42 Takumar Lenses, are some of the FINEST LENSES EVER MADE.
I have a couple of Pentax ES II using the m42 lens and a whole bunch of lenses. Wonderful. Stick to the top Pentax lenses though for the best quality when using m42 would be my recommendation. Good to see you guys shouting this subject out to the viewers.
Remembering my first camera I bought, a new Praktica LTL3 with M42 screw mount. What a relief, when I later bought Oly OM2, I could change lenses on the go in seconds. Now I have some cameras with the M42, but honestly, I don't use them as I should. The reason can be my feelings about M42 with my Practica.
I have and use several M42 mount cameras. Those being a Ricoh Singlex and a Praktica Super TL 1000. Enjoy using both of them.🙂
Lack of ultrawides would depend on your definition of ultrawide. There are more than a dozen 24mm ultrawide lens models for M42, probably more options than other mounts. Going wider, 20mm Mir20 is a pretty famous ultrawide, and 16mm Zenitar is a pretty "OK" fisheye. I think its not something limited to mount, generally ultrawides are very rare compared to other lenses for any film era camera.
There are so many different Praktica cameras from the former GDR that have only been mentioned here in passing and, if I have looked correctly, only in this video. Some cameras, especially from the so-called L-series of the third Praktica generation, should be able to easily compete with Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Minolta or Olympus, and even easily put them in their pockets, especially in terms of price/performance ratio.
Whether Nikon FM or FM2, Nikon F2 or F3, Canon A-1 or AE-1, Canon F-1, F-1n or Canon New F-1, Pentax ME or MX, Pentax K2 or KX or the Pentax LX, Olympus OM1 or OM2, Minolta SR-T 101 or Minolta SR-T 101, Minolta XK or Minolta Xm, Praktica has cameras that are at least on a par or perhaps even a little ahead.
The best example is the Praktica VLC series with the Praktica VLC, the Praktica VLC2 and the Praktica VLC3, which may not differ greatly technically, but are a real alternative to the above-mentioned professional models with interchangeable viewfinders from the other companies. In addition, the Praktica VLC models are many times cheaper than the competition at the time. If you pay for a complete set of VLC cameras, consisting of:
- Camera
- prism viewfinder, waist-level viewfinder and magnifying viewfinder
- 1-2 Pentacon MC electric lenses
- Hot shoe
- Original Praktica carrying strap
- Leather camera bag
- Attachable eyecup
- and possibly one or two filters
between €200 and €350, other comparable systems start at around €1000 for such a complete set. This means that even beginners could afford such a professional system from Praktica.
And M42 screw mount is by far the lens mount with the most lenses on the market, with a price range from 5 to several 1000 €. Battery adapters for the cameras are also readily available on the major sales platforms, so there are no problems there either.
And of course, as with all old cameras, you should generally make sure that the camera comes to you in perfect working order, depending on how the previous owner handled it.
You have to be a little more careful with the models from around 1985 - 1992/1993. There may be certain defects, but not necessarily.
But even today there are still plenty of opportunities to have these old GDR cameras restored and, if necessary, repaired. You have to be a little more careful with the models from around 1985 - 1992/1993. There may be certain defects, but not necessarily.
That's why I don't understand why a Praktica wasn't discussed in more detail here on the channel.
It would be predestined for its own video:
- Praktica LLC
- Praktica LTL to Praktica LTL3
- Praktica PLC to Praktica PLC3
- Praktica VLC to Praktica VLC3
As I said, enough material for several videos, at least in my opinion.
Greetings from Germany
Lutz
By the way, as a little fun fact, with cameras like the Praktica cameras that have an M42 screw thread connection, you no longer need an adapter and the Prakticas of the L series already had a metal focal plane shutter. In other words, a cloth shutter can no longer get burn holes from direct sunlight and the cloth cannot become porous at some point. Incidentally, many Carl Zeiss Jena lenses, many Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses and most Helios 44 lenses have an M42 screw thread... 😁