I’m all about purity of form and function, and I love a good brutalist design aesthetic. So when I discovered that there was a whole line of cheap and ugly-beautiful SLRs made by the workers of the former Deutsche Demokratische Republik, I was intrigued. The focus of my new obsession was specifically the model L of the Praktica L line, being meter-less and peerlessly featureless. It has very little fancy about it, it is just a camera in true communist style. The only embellishment that it has is an ISO indicator, how decadent.
Things that I love about the Praktica L:
- No meter or needle in the viewfinder
- No pesky self timer that I never use
- A sturdy and wonderfully noisy kathunking metal shutter
- Lightweight chromed plastic top and bottom plates
- A shutter release in a peculiar place
- A handy viewfinder indicator that the camera/film is not advanced
- M42 mount for attaching a lot of garbage and great glass to
I bought three of them for barely any money, all with lenses. A Meyer-Optik 50mm Domiplan, a Tokina 28mm f/2.8, and the lens I was most interested in, a Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm Tessar. One Praktica L was in excellent condition, just needed a clean and a light seal, the other two will be tinkered with and serviced as practice. The Domiplan was not in a good way and I threaded the terrible plastic front element cover quickly, so you won’t be seeing that one here. The 28mm Tokina was in good shape, but with a superficial scratch on the front element. The Tessar was in rough shape, stiff focus, and frozen aperture. After a couple of long nights, I managed to service and calibrate the Tessar myself. It’s nice and smooth with correct infinity now, and most importantly the aperture blades close up.
I took the newly sealed Praktica loaded with HP5+ and the Tokina out for a night of beer, wine and pasta. Using my trusty little FlashQ Q20II. Might I add, excellent little flashes for manual cameras, thoroughly recommended. The photos from the Tokina turned out great despite the damage to the front lens element.
After my Tessar repairs were completed, I went on a few walks with the it and some UltraMax 400. The Tessar renders wonderfully, a very nice lens for the money, albeit a bit cheap feeling.
Thus far my opinion is that these cameras are wonderful to use, make a fun noise and don’t get in the way of anything. They seem to built like tanks, and they’re not as heavy as they look. Cheap and cheerful with a wealth of cheap lenses available. Recommended for those of you with a particular bent on having only what is absolutely necessary.
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Reed George on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
Nigel Cliff on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
jfbonnin on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
Alejandro on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
If a vintage camera works well, never sell it: No one is selling brand new and used ones are a surprises bag.
Jeffery Luhn on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
Thanks for the article on the Praktica! The only time I shot with one was in the late 1970s. It was loaned to me by a fellow Brooks student when I showed an interest in it. I remember it feeling a bit clunky, but the results were decent. It piqued my interest in Soviet cameras and since then I've played with Zorki, Fed-3, and Mockva folding cameras. The Mockva is by far the best performer as far as sharpness, but it's quirky. I wish I could get a sharp lens for the Fed-3 because I love the feel and look. Question: A simple search online delivers loads of shots taken in the West on every kind of vintage camera, but I fail to find shots taken in the 'eastern block.' Censors I guess. Too bad. I'd like to see what Russian/Ukrainian photographers did over the last 75 years. Any suggestions? Jeffery
Alastair Griffiths on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
Back to the Praktica. Unfortunately I had to sell, along with others, in the early 2000s when times were tough but I recently bought a replacement on ebay for not a lot of money. Sadly the focus ring is stuck on the Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm so it has been rendered useless. I'll get it swapped one day.
If you don't mind guessing exposures it's a great little camera.
Stefan Wilde on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
being from former West-Germany I saw tons of those, they were the starting point for so many young hobbyists and future pros before they had the money to move on to something more modern. In their country of origin, the DDR, they were practically unavailable. The East-German camera industry existed to make revenue in valuable foreign currency. Producing gear for the workers and farmers had to take the back seat until the inevitable triumph of scientific Marxim-Leninism occured. That turned out to take unexpectedly long... VEB Pentacon, maker of the Praktica, however was forever struggling to meet the demands of the ever currency hungry planning commission while simultaneously being starved of funds for R&D. Still, with immense ingenuity, they muddled through and even came up with necessity driven innovation - such as chromed plastic body parts , first introduced by Pentacon and than copied elsewhere. After reunification in 1989, the end came swiftly and suddenly. It was brutal and destructive and badly hurt the pride of many a Pentaconian. It is this background that sparked my interest in Praktica. So I'm glad you're appreciating them for what they are and enjoy the results!
Thanks for posting!
Gary Smith on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
I recently added a 65 y.o. camera to my pile for $50. We'll see how it does once I finish up what's left of the 36 exposures.
Great article!
James Edward Hofweber on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 28/08/2025
Geoff Chaplin on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
Argentix on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
Chris Giles on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
Ibraar Hussain on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
I always wondered what Praktica the late great HW Tilman had round his neck in this photo?
https://comlay.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/1c6c6-img0013.jpg
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
Comment posted: 29/08/2025
Steviemac on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 30/08/2025
JC on 5 Frames with a Praktica L – Nothing more than necessary
Comment posted: 03/09/2025
I'm shooting Prakticas since 1989.
Among the older Prakticas i can recommend Praktica Nova IB with a very good selenium light meter ( much more better than any Zenit ), furthermore Praktica Super TL Mk.I ( shutter more quiet than later Prakticas ). The standard Praktica Nova is a pure SLR without light meter, but lovely too.
(A very rare model is the Praktica mat, similar to the Super TL Mk.1, but nicely made, unfortunately less cameras in the market today . But indispensable when collecting Praktica.)