A gift

I've just received, totally out of the blue, a very kind offer to be given a person's father's Praktica LTL, complete with Zeiss lenses. His father bought the camera in "soviet-era Poland". I do not know this person but apparently he has been sort of following me (and my photographic journey) on a vintage motorcycle forum.

 

I'm stunned & humbled- and also very excited.

 

Any info you folks can give on the LTL will be appreciated.

Nice gift! The LTL is one of the least decorative of the Prakticas, having a rather plain stippled covering that's sensibly grippy but definitely not showy! In common with the other Prakticas of the era it's a mechanical camera with 1-1/1000th shutter speeds, using a 1.5v button cell to operate only the light meter, which operates in stop-down mode on a "center the needle in the viewfinder" system. They're a good strong camera that started me on the slippery slope of "collecting a few cameras" and I now have rather too many, but they are probably the most reliable cameras I've encountered, built tough with the M42 screw lens mount that originated with the makers in East Germany, though Asahi later kidnapped the mount as the Pentax screw mount. There are literally hundreds of lenses available worldwide.

 

Enjoy your new acquisition! The amazing Pentax Collector web site has a description here:

 

Praktica LTL

Thanks, Rick! I am totally jazzed about it. He used the word "lenses" so I assume more than one. Can't wait to give it a go. Need to make certain I have some 35mm film in stock.

You can find the manual here:

https://www.cameramanuals.org/praktica_pdf/praktica_ltl.pdf

 

The battery should be a PX625 1.35 volt which is not going to be easy to find these days. However you can buy a 675 size hearing aid battery (they are very cheap) of the zinc-air type which outputs a steady 1.4 volt which is certainly close enough. You need to put an O-ring or something around it though since it's not quite as wide as the PX625. I use some playdough as a spacer which works fine...

 

I have an LTL sitting right next to me. It's a solidly built piece; the only thing I don't like is the positioning of the meter lever. I understand it was so you can easily push it, but it sits a little too close to the shutter button for my taste.

christer_medin|1 said :

The battery should be a PX625 1.35 volt which is not going to be easy to find these days

 

Wrong. The recommended battery is a Varta V 625, a 1.5v button cell. These or the 1.5v equivalent are easy to come by.

Sorry Christer, I shouldn't have been so adamant about the battery, having consulted my copy of the instructions and found that the 1.35v battery is indeed specified, as opposed to the Varta 1.5v battery detailed on the Praktica Collector site. However, I believe the "L" series Praktikas have a Bridge circuit in the electronics and will consequently operate accurately with a 1.5v cell. Certainly, I've never used anything other than a 1.5v battery in these Prakticas and the meters seem accurate enough.

christer_medin|1 said :

 

Wrong. The recommended battery is a Varta V 625, a 1.5v button cell. These or the 1.5v equivalent are easy to come by.

 

Where do you see this information? From the manual: "The automatic exposure system is powered by a Mallory mercury batteri PX 13, PX 625 or any other corresponding type having a nominal voltage of 1.35V". I've seen a couple of camera sites claim V625 but I'd be more inclined to trust the camera manual. :)

Well, in that case either would work fine certainly. Was not aware of the bridge circuit so used a 675 in mine.

Where do you see this information? From the manual: "The automatic exposure system is powered by a Mallory mercury batteri PX 13, PX 625 or any other corresponding type having a nominal voltage of 1.35V". I've seen a couple of camera sites claim V625 but I'd be more inclined to trust the camera manual. :)

Sorry Christer, I shouldn't have been so adamant about the battery, having consulted my copy of the instructions and found that the 1.35v battery is indeed specified, as opposed to the Varta 1.5v battery detailed on the Praktica Collector site. However, I believe the "L" series Praktikas have a Bridge circuit in the electronics and will consequently operate accurately with a 1.5v cell. Certainly, I've never used anything other than a 1.5v battery in these Prakticas and the meters seem accurate enough.

 

Christer, thanks for the link to the manual, I'll download and print it for sure!

I can shoot the LTL without the battery tho, yes? And just skip the metering if I choose to do so?

 

Actually a quick internet search reveals these batteries, from Adorama. B&H seems to have them as well. These should work, at 1.35v, yes?

 

 

Wein MRB625

The Practika only needs the battery to power the exposure meter. It will work without, just set the exposure with a hand held meter or sunny 16.

 

I believe it's correct that they have voltage compensation such that 1.5V batteries can be used. The PX625 1.5V alkalines are much cheaper than those Zinc Airs, and will last longer too.

 

Actually these cameras are 40 years old and who can say if the metering accuracy has not drifted over time, whether with 1.35 or 1.5 Volts? And stop down metering is not the most sensitive system.

 

By the way, the ordinary flangeless 1.5V button batteries found in cheap multi packs will work with a little packing to ensure contact.

Edited August 5, 2020 by John Seaman

I've now been told by my benefactor, that the camera is equipped with a 50mm f1.8 Zeiss Jena Pancolar lens. This lens seems to be well loved over the years and has a couple nice descriptive video reviews youtube. I just watched one 10-ish minute long vid by one gentleman. The sharpness, colors and background (bokeh) rendering from this the lens look really lovely.

I have lot of Prakticas, it was my first obsession as a collector.

 

For my money, the L series as a whole is among the best of all Prakticas. All of mine still work just fine.

 

The one bow-wow from slightly earlier was the M42 "kit" lens -- a Meyer Domiplan -few of their automatic diaphragms still work, and those that do won't work for much longer

Edited August 5, 2020 by JDMvW

The one bow-wow from slightly earlier was the M42 "kit" lens -- a Meyer Domiplan -few of their automatic diaphragms still work, and those that do won't work for much longer

 

Is that the 50/2,8 Domiplan? I have one on a Nova B I just brought back to life and it works like a champ. Aperture blades look clean as a whistle too!

Richocetrider said:

I've now been told by my benefactor, that the camera is equipped with a 50mm f1.8 Zeiss Jena Pancolar lens.

 

You just get luckier by the moment! The Pancolar is about as good as it gets; it's at the top of the hierarchy of native standard lenses for the Prakticas, and it's a fine lens by any standard. They can get a little sticky with old grease in the focusing helical, but fingers crossed that yours doesn't have this problem. Anyway, it's a lens that's well worth a professional cleaning and adjustment, should this be necessary.

Richocetrider said:

 

You just get luckier by the moment! The Pancolar is about as good as it gets; it's at the top of the hierarchy of native standard lenses for the Prakticas, and it's a fine lens by any standard. They can get a little sticky with old grease in the focusing helical, but fingers crossed that yours doesn't have this problem. Anyway, it's a lens that's well worth a professional cleaning and adjustment, should this be necessary.

 

 

I'm waiting to see how this camera is, Rick. I'm not sure it's seen any action at all in a long while so the whole thing could well need a CLA. I'd happily put the money into it tho. I'm really excited about having (and shooting) this "new" camera and lens! The send has promised to get it mailed off asap. He's not super far away so once mailed off, it shouldn't take long to arrive army doorstep.

 

I'll definitely keep you all posted.

 

oh BTW he told me also that the cameras "was purchased Poland through black market connections at the height of the Soviet era"- I knew his father had bought it in Poland but the "blackmarket connections" bit was just disclosed. Adds a degree of interest to the provenance, IMO. Will post pix and stuff upon my receipt of this fabulous gift!

Well I have the camera. It's in pretty good shape, it seems. A bit dirty but not bad for its age, far as I can tell. I dry fired it thru every shutter speed and it sounds reasonable enough, tho that's not much of an indication of how it really is. But it's time to find out what's what with the camera so I loaded a roll of Rollei Superpan 200 into it and will shoot the camera this week and over the weekend. I'll take some more photos of it too and post a complete loot at it, inside & out. I am pleased as punch thong am happy to have it. If it ends up that the speeds are off or whatever, I'd happily send it out for a CLA, IF anyone knows somebody who would work on it?

 

Anyway, here are a few initial pix of the camera. But you''ll have to wait for photos from the 1st roll of film.

 

 

 

 

 

How are the light seals looking? If you decide not to send it off for a CLA it might be worth redoing them yourself. It's usually a pretty simple task and can avoid annoying light leaks along the edges.

From memory - it's a while since I had a Praktica - the seals in the grooves above and below the film door are some kind of yarn and should be OK. The hinge seal is probably foam and likely in need of replacement.

I dry fired it thru every shutter speed and it sounds reasonable enough, tho that's not much of an indication of how it really is.

 

If you have an old CRT monitor or TV, you can easily check shutter speeds yourself:

 

You already own a shutter tester

 

If it ends up that the speeds are off or whatever, I'd happily send it out for a CLA, IF anyone knows somebody who would work on it?

 

The Praktica metal shutter is generally known to be reliable and accurate, though the cameras themselves are not cost-effective to get repaired, even if you could find someone willing to do the work. Looks like yours is in good shape, though. And the lens is a keeper. :)

Edited August 18, 2020 by m42dave

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I've shot one roll so far thru the camera, Rollei Superpan 200, last weekend. Still waiting to have an opportunity to get the roll sent in for processing to see what comes of it. I forgot about 36 exposures and felt like it just kept shooting and shooting. I worried I might have multiple exposures on the final frame, but eventually it would not let me advance the film and further so I guess it's OK. after all.

 

Will definitely post photos once I get the scans in from the lab.

When I shoot 36 exp.. I also begin to wonder if the film caught.. I rarely remember to set this and so many classics are old enough not to auto-reset. Always grateful and relieved to feel the end of the roll resistance, it means all the other shots were not in vain as...too many other cases of "not started" ripped, pulled out of the self spooled tape etc.. Edited August 30, 2020 by chuck_foreman|1

The Praktica LTL's counter doesn't work, or counts in some weird way that I cannot comprehend, and that added to my concern. The film is off to the lab now so hopefully within a week or so, we can see my results.

first look at photos from the LTL!