1953 Praktica FX - Pics!

<p>This is a U.S. import 1953 Praktica FX. It bears the Astra-35 FX nameplate due to a ban on importing East German cameras bearing the Praktica name. It came with a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 Lens. This camera was a gift to me my pal, and master classic camera tech, Clarence Gass of Gass Camera in Mission, KS. I was shocked by the amazingly kind and generous gift. The camera and lens were in fantastic shape. Naturally, it had been on Clarence’s bench so it worked perfectly.</p><div></div>

<p>The FX has a nice quality feel in the hands that speaks well of its German heritage. It sports a wonderful shutter that has a two-stage release. Press the shutter and the mirror pops up; continue pressing and the shutter fires. Shutter speeds from ½ sec to 1/500 sec were accurate. It took awhile to figure out the shutter speed dials, but some of the guys pitched in, on a previous post, to help me figure it out as well as give me some information on the camera’s pedigree.</p><div></div>

<p>The waist level reflex finder is bright and a good quality magnifier pops up when called upon. The flash sync is interesting is as much as it allows both X and M sync depending on the position, in the three holes, on the front right, of the removable sync adapter. The entire back comes off to load the film and it fits back easily.</p><div></div>

<p>The real jewel of this rig is the all chrome Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm f/2.8 lens. The front element of this red “T” coated Tessar is deeply recessed to the point that the lens needs no hood. I found it sharp, even wide open with a creamy bokeh that makes you just want to shoot portraits all day. Stopped down from f/4 on, it sings with impressive sharpness. As a bonus, it focuses down to about 16 inches! Perfect for close up shots. Speaking of shots here are a few pics on Fuji Superia 400 film. Exposures determined by eye.</p><div></div>

<p >#1 Portrait of Bret. Shot at f/4 </p><div></div>

<p >#2 Portrait of Jennifer. Lens is wide open</p><div></div>

<p >#3 Lionhead on an Oak Door. Shot at f/8</p><div></div>

<p >#4 Totem. Shot at f/5.6</p><div></div>

<p >#5 Chinese Girl with a Dog. This small, delightful sculpture, from my personal collection, is done with Vivitar 285 flash at minimum focus distance at f/16</p><div></div>

<p>#6 Suzie with Flowers. Lens is wide open.</p><div></div>

<p >#8 Deer Skull on a Log. Shot at f/8</p>

<p > <br>

What a delight to shoot with this camera and lens. A real classic manual camera with no automation, no batteries and no meter. It took a while to get use to shooting verticals with this type of finder, but after a while I got the hang of it. This Praktica FX was a wonderful gift and I will forever cherish it. I will honor it, and the giver, by fulfilling it’s destiny….bringing it to my eye to make photographs. </p><div></div>

<p>In 1955 I got a Pentacon (Contax D or S) at Peerless in New York City that had the 2.8 Tessar. The lens mount had a bit of a lip on it such that it was easy to hold the lens on to the body in reversed position to get within a few inches of the subject. Maybe you can do the same with your Practika. If so, maybe give it a try and show us some results.</p>

<p>Lovely pictures and tones Louis; that is an enjoyable camera. Regards, sp.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I will honor it, and the giver, by fulfilling it’s destiny….bringing it to my eye to make photographs.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>And what a great job you are doing in fulfilling its destiny! stunning images from a gorgeous camera-lens combo. I'm a CZJ addict myself...</p>

<p>It wasn't that the Praktica <em>couldn't</em> be imported under its own name. If you look through the contemporary advertisements you will find plenty of Prakticas for sale. Astra and other such renamings were for "house" brands by Sterling Howard and other importers. Sometimes the relabelled camera was sold side-by-side with the Praktica in the same advertisement, but at a small discount.</p>

<p>The Tessar is a fine lens, far superior to the Meyer Domiplan that later replaced it as the "kit lens".</p>

<p>Anyway, congrats on your new "camera"!</p>

<p>Arnie: Thanks for the tip but it doesn't seem to work on this one. Dang!<br>

SP and Mihai: Thanks for the feedback!<br>

JDM: Thanks for the clarification. I need all the help I can get with the history of these classics.</p>

 

<p>I should point people toward JDM's and others good replys to my previous post on this camera here:<br>

Praktica FX Mystery Camera - Help<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00SgNj">http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00SgNj</a></p>

 

<p>Good looking camera and very sharp pics!</p>

<p>Excellent photographs. Good looking black and white from Color neg film. I would swear this is Neopan 400!<br>

I'm just nuts about German optics from 1935-1970. I don't think any finer lenses were made on the planet at any time. The Zeiss Jena works seemed to be at the top of the heap. Can't wait to shoot with my Tessar 2.8 in Exakta mount.</p>

<p>Great looking camera Louis, and I love your pictures, especially the composition on the deer skull. I have dusted off my Prakticas, I have the FX, Fx2 and 3 and the 1V. Unlike you, I can't get the hang of vertical shots with the waist level finder, beats me every time! I must admit though, that I do like those plain ground glass screens for focussing.<br>

Tony</p>

<p>Louis,<br>

Wonderful pictures! How did you convert to B&W?<br>

Arnie,<br>

Thanks for the tip about reversing the lens. I have a Pentacon FM with the same lens and can't wait to try that.</p>

 

<p>Great post Louis, the portraits are outstanding, with nice tones and great expressions. The lion relief is captured so well that it boldly conveys the fierce nature of the beast.</p>

<p>The camera is beautiful and nicely presented for us here to enjoy. If you don't mind me asking, what setup do you use when you photograph your classics for presentation in terms of lighting? I see your front and back pictures are resting on the bottom of some sort of coffee mug if I am not mistaken. Personally I have found that day light through an open window provides the best lighting, but that's my opinion. I would be interested to hear yours. Regards</p>

<p>Stuart, Russs and Tony: I appreciate the comments, fellas!<br>

Allen: I convert my color film using Photoshop CS channel mixer. I have a number of RGB presets that mimic traditional B&W silver films. It's nice to have both color and B&W in the same shot. I do shoot more B&W films, mostly Tmax 400 in 120 size, and process/scan myself.<br>

Ralf: Thank you for the kind words. Yes, the camera is sitting on a white mug in a white lighting dome. I have a small studio in my basement. I use Speedotron Blackline Strobes for the light source. If I want more of an illustrative approach (see the leading image of the Beauty rangefinder in a previous post), I'll switch to soft boxes and white reflector cards. I agree, window light can be very lovely and I have used it, see my previous post on the original 1961 Canonet, for a more "natural" look.</p>

 

<p>Thanks Louis.</p>

<p>Louis,<br>

Wonderful shots! I have a Praktica FX with the same lens. I need to drag mine out again. I was a bit put off by the 35mm waist level finder, being used to 6x6 cm TLR finders, but it's worth the challenge, clearly!<br>

Keep up the great work!<br>

--Micah in NC</p>