Praktica LB-2

[panos_voudouris]

I just unearthed my father's old Praktica LB-2. There was also a

ruined (very scratched and dirty) 50mm/2.8 Domiplan lens with it and

a clean Vivitar 28mm/2.8 that I have on the camera. A few questions:

 

a) Anyone know whether that Vivitar is any good?

 

b) What would be a good fast 50mm M42 lens to buy? There seem to be

lenses around that (40-58mm) so if any of these is good I don't mind

the slight difference in focal length.

 

c) The viewfinder is a bit cloudy. I think there is some moisture and

dirt just inside the eyepice glass. Is there a way to easily remove

the screen or eyepiece and clean it?

 

Thanks!

[yury_markman]

I have soligor 28/2.8, which, I believe, is very much the same as your Vivitar. very nice, sharp lens, at least for black-n-white. You can just try this lens, to see if it suits your quality criteria.

I think the best normal lens for M42, which I tried is Pentax Super Takumar 50/1.4. Excellent lens, even compared with my modern Canon EOS 50/1.4. I also have Pentacon 50/1.8 which is also ok, but performs worse when wide open (at f/2 and 1.8). I think, you should look for something made by Pentax. They made also 55mm lens. Stay away from Russian Helios 44, unless you want to make a monocle.

There were East German Pancolars for Practikas, but I didn't tried them. I believe, they are very like Pentacon.

There are Tessars, which are very sharp, maybe even too sharp.

Not sure about cleaning the camera at home. I would not do it myself.

Best regards.

[Alan Johnson]

(b)From "Getting the most from your Praktica lenses " , Adpress, 1977, I made some notes.There are four 50mm lenses (elements in brackets), Domiplan f2.8 (3), Tessar f2.8 (4) , Pentacon f1.8 (6) , Pancolar f1.8 (6). At f2.8 the Pancolar has the highest definition.At f5.6 the Pentacon will match up very well to the Pancolar and after this the two can be described as identical. I have 2 old Prakticas and consider the Pentacon might be a good choice as the Pancolar is now a slightly expensive collectors item.Regards.

[bruce_appel]

I have to disagree about the helios 44 lens. It does not qualify as fast at f2, and being a preset lens slows down its use even more, but the one I have is amazing. These are, ( or maybe considering Soviet quality control, can be),wonderful lenses. I much prefer mine to my f2 pentax k 50mm. These are great lenses, that can be had for next to nothing. Yury, have you ever used one?

[nick roberts]

Well, the Domiplan is an absolutely terrible lens anyway, so no loss there. The Tessar is OK, the Helios better, the Pentacon just about the equal of any 50mm lens made, and the Pancolar better than most. The Pentacon normally represents best value for money. Other great options are Super or Super Multi Coated Takumars.

My LB2 also has a grotty viewfinder. In 20-odd years I've never worked out a way of cleaning it! Shame, as it's rather nice otherwise.

[panos_voudouris]

Great, thanks for all the info. I'll see if I can find a Pentacon or one of the Pentax 50mm ones. I thikn I'll leave the viewfinder as it is, it is just a bit annoying but nothing major.