Praktica L2 - Second Generation L basic camera

[JDMvW]

<p>And what are we thinking! Of course the Exakta had front releases back to before WWII. On the wrong side, of course (but if you're the <em>first</em>, who's to say it is <em>wrong</em>?). Only the last, the RTL 1000, went to the normal side but still had the normal (for Exakta) release too.</p><div></div>

[h._p.]

<p>OK, JDM, I'm now officially jealous of you. My first serious camera being a Pentacon FM, I've always wanted a Super. Unfortunately for me, with prices being the way they are, I can't imagine it ever happening. I hope you take it out regularly and feed it plenty of film. It's a camera that deserves to be used.</p>

<p>And, of course, it has that marvellous 45 degree release!</p>

<p>:-)))</p>

[alan_ginman]

"The most important feature of the Nova and later models, it seems to me, is the angled release button, inherited from the Contax S and its Pentacon successors. I feel certain that it's worth at least one and possibly, two stops of extra steadiness."

 

Interestingly enough, I found the opposite. I used to own a LTM (?) The one where you pushed a big black button on the front to activate the light meter. The fact that I had to push the shutter at an angle to the other forces on the camera (gravity, me holding it against gravity, me pushing it into my face) meant that I induced more camera shake than with a conventional vertical shutter release. That combined with the fact that you had to push the light meter button in another direction was all too much for me.

 

Cheers

 

Alan

[stephen_lumsden]

The L2 does not get the justice it deserves. I am not crazy about the shutter button location myself or the really loud mirror slap. It does lack finesse also, but is reliable with a good viewfinder and delivers consistently.

[John Farrell]

It's good to see a thread about Prakticas resurrected...my only camera for many years was a Praktica LLC, which I bought new in 1973. The meter died after a few years, but I just used a handheld meter. I haven't used the LLC in the last few years, but it still works fine. I have, though, aquired another dozen or so L series Prakticas, of different models. Some, I have repaired. Two of the cameras had shutter cocking problems - one caused by battery leakage, and the other being worn out. Another had a shutter problem caused by grease on the mechanism; I cleaned the parts, and fixed it.

There are some odd ideas about Praktica L cameras out there. One "critic" was complaining about plastic gears...I don't know where he found them, the only plastic gears I've found in these cameras are in the meter mechanism.