Hi Peter, great video. Praktica cameras are so undervalued these days. Unlike their Russian counterparts Praktica kept innovating. As you state you can fix any 42mm lens to these cameras. The later BC range was particularly good, bayonet mount and a step less shutter. Envious over the 35mm!
You can use 675 hearing aids batteries with these cameras. They are 1.4 volts and will give you more accurate results with the metering. They are cheap and readily available as well. I use em with my praktica mtl3 and it gives very slightly over exposure with them.
Good afternoon Mr Elgar. I have one of those. It's darn near indestructible, and that shutter could sever a finger. At the end of the world there'll only be cockroaches and Praktica MTL's left 😀 haha
Hello Peter and thanks for your opinion on this. The only issue with these is their poor reliability, but if you have one that is fully working, it is an awesome piece of kit and the zeiss lenses are just wonderful.
It seems to not only take Takumar lenses but it operates in a similar way to a Pentax Spotmatic. When turning a focusing ring on a Takumar it is like running a hot knife through butter.
Lovely gift in just the lenses alone, since many of the Carl Zeiss lenses of that era are rather costly should they function as intended. Yes, the East German lens grease gets a bit thick with age, but a CLA by a good repair shop usually clears that up. Many of the cheaper, zone-focus, view-finder models from the 50's suffer from like problems. Hope you enjoy your early Christmas gift very much. Warmest regards.
@@theoldfilmbloke how very fortunate indeed. A free camera outfit and the prize for photofraphy from a club as well. I'm just a lifetime fine artist with strivings in capturing a few moments in time. Best wishes.
Great video! My first SLR was a Praktica LTL from 1974, which my dad gave me when he bought an auto-focus camera in the 1980's. I still have it, but it's jammed (and my Zeiss lens has the same sticky focus ring as yours). I bought a second one for parts, but I really don't have the confidence to try to repair. Do you happen know anyone in the UK who can repair Prakticas? Thanks again!
I know this is a 2yo comment, but if the change of voltage under exposes the picture, doesn't that mean you need to adjust the asa upwards? Noobie here.
@@1996Takis1996 You need to fool the meter in to thinking that the film is less sensitive to light in order to get it to increase the exposure. You do that by reducing the ASA / ISO you set on the camera. If you were to increase the ASA / ISO the meter would think the film was more sensitive to light and would reduce the exposure. It's basically the same as using exposure compensation, where you have + and - marked in stops.
@@urbanimage Oh I got that thank you. I saw somewhere else that the meter is not volt sensitive, so I don't know what's what. I'll make some shots using your method and I'll make some with the meter centered to see which ones come out better. A stop down is dividing by two right? If I have 200 iso film I put 100 on the camera?
@@1996Takis1996 As I recall, there are two versions of this camera: MTL5 and MTL5B. The later model might well be different. Try comparing the exposure indicated by the camera against another camera or light meter and see if the readings are similar. There are also some light meter apps for smartphones that seem to work quite well.
Could someone share a link to a battery they've successfully used in this camera? The camera shop suggested buying a light meter, which is a bit pricey, or using a digital camera to read the light, but I felt like that defeats the purpose. Thanks, Amy
Peter Elgar I couldn’t give them away back in 2006, so I left them in my garage along with some old Exacta gear. Damp and fungus attacked everything, including a number of Zeiss Pancolar lenses, hence my decision to take them to the tip. I used to be a camera repair technician many years ago.
I have been in Hospital in London so could not reply,,, to use flash is easy-- if you have a flash unit with a 'Hot Shoe' just slide it into Hot Shoe on top of Pentaprism. If your unit has a 'Wire' then that goes into the 3mm co=axial socket near lens mount. You set any shutter speed slower then 1/125th ... there is a 'Lightning 'Mark' on shutter speed dial if I remember right that is 1/90th for flash . You can use the auto settings for apertures on your flash unit to control depth of field. So if you want background OUT of focus use f4 or if you are flashing a long way off. If you are Closer use f11. It's easy ! I cannot bend down to check MY MTL5 as I am too sore with operation on my Liver.
@@theoldfilmbloke I've been using my Dad's MTL5B from when he was my age, it works just as it did when it was new. I've been struggling with the flash but this was really helpful! Thank you!
Hi! I have a very similar “Cavalier SLRII” also from east germany around the same time period. The iso gauge is very strange, as there aren’t any markers on it to be able to see what it is set at? Any ideas on that? I haven’t been able to find ANY information on the internet.
@@theoldfilmbloke no, the other gauges have markers that are indents with orange paint. So there isnt any chance it would have rubbed off. The iso gauge also has three numbers around the outside: 12, 20, and 36. I have no idea what they mean 😂 but thanks for the reply!
Turn the wind lever until both wires are 'FLAT', then pull across film leader and tuck it under the black metal 'lip' near take-up spool with the wires to the 'Green' spot . Then as you wind on, the wires turn and grip film leader underneath one. Then make sure after closing camera back the ' Film Rewind Knob' moves as you wind on a frame.
It is very easy to get standard 35mm FILM -- You can get from photography dealers here in England in shops or on-line but if you buy from e-bay BE CAREFUL as the sellers probably have not 'Cold Stored ' it in a Fridge.
just came to watch some loading. I do not know why but it is so idiotic. I like the camera, I like the results, but THAT LOADING puts a lot of pain in my whole body. I have wasted something like 8 different films.
This was the very camera that i owned about 30 years ago, it never let me down, i am sure they still work just as fine today =)
They do. I have one for 30 years now (got it from my father as a present) and it's still brilliant!
They do.
Nekem is van. Tökéletesen működik. Nagyon szép darab, időtálló, hasznos eszköz. És nem avul le pár évente mint a digitális utódai.
I love how you talk joyfully.
The best camera for beginers and beyond!!
Hi Peter, great video. Praktica cameras are so undervalued these days. Unlike their Russian counterparts Praktica kept innovating. As you state you can fix any 42mm lens to these cameras. The later BC range was particularly good, bayonet mount and a step less shutter. Envious over the 35mm!
Praktica are pretty nice cameras. Carl Zeiss S 135mm 3.5 is a superb lens - especially for Portraits.
Great stuff, a very clearly intro. And by the way I found a praktica mtl 5 for around 23 GBP with a tokina lens 28-70mm lens.
I own a Praktica MTL3 camera, they are like tanks, durable and reliable!
You can use 675 hearing aids batteries with these cameras. They are 1.4 volts and will give you more accurate results with the metering. They are cheap and readily available as well. I use em with my praktica mtl3 and it gives very slightly over exposure with them.
Thanks for that Tip!
I got my practica TL 1000 with a standard 1.5 volt mercury, so probably 1.5 wouldn't be a problem 🤔
My grandpa had a bunch of old cameras this was one of them. The other is a Argus that looks really old
Good for you, this more modern Flektogon is one delicious piece of glass!
I have a mint condition also in this Camra , took the lens off and fitted with my Soligor 80 - 200 lens
Another wonderful presentation.
Good afternoon Mr Elgar. I have one of those. It's darn near indestructible, and that shutter could sever a finger. At the end of the world there'll only be cockroaches and Praktica MTL's left 😀 haha
and that's why I now bought the Practica Super TL💪
nice to see you back peter and with another interesting camera .
Hello Peter and thanks for your opinion on this. The only issue with these is their poor reliability, but if you have one that is fully working, it is an awesome piece of kit and the zeiss lenses are just wonderful.
It seems to not only take Takumar lenses but it operates in a similar way to a Pentax Spotmatic. When turning a focusing ring on a Takumar it is like running a hot knife through butter.
Lovely gift in just the lenses alone, since many of the Carl Zeiss lenses of that era are rather costly should they function as intended. Yes, the East German lens grease gets a bit thick with age, but a CLA by a good repair shop usually clears that up. Many of the cheaper, zone-focus, view-finder models from the 50's suffer from like problems. Hope you enjoy your early Christmas gift very much. Warmest regards.
Yes -- Thanks ! I won a trophy at Brentwood District Photographic Club with a B&W photo print taken with this MTL5 !
@@theoldfilmbloke how very fortunate indeed. A free camera outfit and the prize for photofraphy from a club as well. I'm just a lifetime fine artist with strivings in capturing a few moments in time. Best wishes.
Moi j'ai le dernier modèle fabriqué en RDA : le Praktica BX 20 S ;) le top du top !
Thanks, I enjoy all of your videos.
Glad to hear from you again!
Great video! My first SLR was a Praktica LTL from 1974, which my dad gave me when he bought an auto-focus camera in the 1980's. I still have it, but it's jammed (and my Zeiss lens has the same sticky focus ring as yours). I bought a second one for parts, but I really don't have the confidence to try to repair.
Do you happen know anyone in the UK who can repair Prakticas?
Thanks again!
NO Sorry -- most camera repair Technicians I knew have died or retired
Using a 1.5 volt battery will cause under exposure of about a stop. Easy to fix by adjusting the ASA down to compensate.
Exactly the same fix with my Nikkormat FTn.
I know this is a 2yo comment, but if the change of voltage under exposes the picture, doesn't that mean you need to adjust the asa upwards? Noobie here.
@@1996Takis1996 You need to fool the meter in to thinking that the film is less sensitive to light in order to get it to increase the exposure. You do that by reducing the ASA / ISO you set on the camera. If you were to increase the ASA / ISO the meter would think the film was more sensitive to light and would reduce the exposure. It's basically the same as using exposure compensation, where you have + and - marked in stops.
@@urbanimage Oh I got that thank you. I saw somewhere else that the meter is not volt sensitive, so I don't know what's what. I'll make some shots using your method and I'll make some with the meter centered to see which ones come out better. A stop down is dividing by two right? If I have 200 iso film I put 100 on the camera?
@@1996Takis1996 As I recall, there are two versions of this camera: MTL5 and MTL5B. The later model might well be different. Try comparing the exposure indicated by the camera against another camera or light meter and see if the readings are similar. There are also some light meter apps for smartphones that seem to work quite well.
Oneeee second! What a great tip. Thank you
I'm thinking of getting this. I use Nikon and was looking for a decent manual camera. Nikons are too expensive but Prakticas aren't!
Could someone share a link to a battery they've successfully used in this camera? The camera shop suggested buying a light meter, which is a bit pricey, or using a digital camera to read the light, but I felt like that defeats the purpose. Thanks, Amy
Hi Amy, the battery for the camera is a 1.5V button battery, I use a Varta V625U.
Bonsoir, très bonne vidéo ! Les pellicules sont des 35mm ? :)
oui! le tout sur 35mm uniquement Merci pour le visionnement
I'm pretty sure the meter circuit design used in Praktica L models makes the batterie's voltage irrelevant
I believe the later MTL5 B has a bridge circuit as isn't voltage sensitive - within reason.
Crikey, I took a box full of those things to the local council tip a couple of years ago. Some of them had open aperture metering too.
OH NO !!! You should have contacted your local camera club == what a SHAME !
Peter Elgar I couldn’t give them away back in 2006, so I left them in my garage along with some old Exacta gear. Damp and fungus attacked everything, including a number of Zeiss Pancolar lenses, hence my decision to take them to the tip. I used to be a camera repair technician many years ago.
I am new and a beginner to film, how can I use a flash on this camera?
I have been in Hospital in London so could not reply,,, to use flash is easy-- if you have a flash unit with a 'Hot Shoe' just slide it into Hot Shoe on top of Pentaprism. If your unit has a 'Wire' then that goes into the 3mm co=axial socket near lens mount. You set any shutter speed slower then 1/125th ... there is a 'Lightning 'Mark' on shutter speed dial if I remember right that is 1/90th for flash . You can use the auto settings for apertures on your flash unit to control depth of field. So if you want background OUT of focus use f4 or if you are flashing a long way off. If you are Closer use f11. It's easy ! I cannot bend down to check MY MTL5 as I am too sore with operation on my Liver.
@@theoldfilmbloke I've been using my Dad's MTL5B from when he was my age, it works just as it did when it was new. I've been struggling with the flash but this was really helpful! Thank you!
@@mollb8222 Thanks for Kind Comment -- I love helping people as I was helped when I was 15 years old and joined The South Essex Camera Club !
name of mount please
The 'Mount' name is usually called the 'M42 Pentax/ Praktica Screw Thread Mount'
Hi! I have a very similar “Cavalier SLRII” also from east germany around the same time period. The iso gauge is very strange, as there aren’t any markers on it to be able to see what it is set at? Any ideas on that? I haven’t been able to find ANY information on the internet.
Sorry -- never heard of that Camera --maybe the paint on the ISO markings has worn off ?
@@theoldfilmbloke no, the other gauges have markers that are indents with orange paint. So there isnt any chance it would have rubbed off. The iso gauge also has three numbers around the outside: 12, 20, and 36. I have no idea what they mean 😂 but thanks for the reply!
when loading the camera, does the film need to through the iron bar that’s upward, or the other one
Turn the wind lever until both wires are 'FLAT', then pull across film leader and tuck it under the black metal 'lip' near take-up spool with the wires to the 'Green' spot . Then as you wind on, the wires turn and grip film leader underneath one. Then make sure after closing camera back the ' Film Rewind Knob' moves as you wind on a frame.
Where can I get film for this
It is very easy to get standard 35mm FILM -- You can get from photography dealers here in England in shops or on-line but if you buy from e-bay BE CAREFUL as the sellers probably have not 'Cold Stored ' it in a Fridge.
do you even need the lenses to take pictures?
Of course you cannot form an Image without a LENS !
@@theoldfilmbloke ah damn
A 135 - 36 exp.
You can do a 39 exposures ............are you Scottish?
I make 13 exposures 6 x 6 on a 120 spool film ... I am Dutch.
Damn son
just came to watch some loading. I do not know why but it is so idiotic. I like the camera, I like the results, but THAT LOADING puts a lot of pain in my whole body. I have wasted something like 8 different films.