Best East Germany made SLR?

[Doddle]

Living in Germany I see a ton of Dresden made stuff on second hand markets.. I rarely buy any because I am just plain ignorant when it comes to DDR-made cameras and so I never took the plunge.

But lately I am starting to get a taste for German glass so I'm wondering what would be some good SLRs to keep an eye out for. Anything on par with Nikkormats or early Pentax? I mostly use sunny 16 so fully mech without battery is fine (actually I prefer it)

Cheers,

Dan.

 

[Kai-san]

In my opinion the Exacta Varex cameras are the best 35mm SLR's. If you want to go for medium format the Pentacon Six is a very nice shooter. You can get a lot of nice glass for these two, both Zeiss and Schneider-Kreuznach. None of them have light meters, but you can get a prism finder for the Pentacon Six with an in-built meter.

 

[Waus]

Don't know about the cameras, I'm in the market for the DDR Carl Zeiss Jena (zebra) glass. This great website is just a treasure trove, with lots of info on lenses and camera's: http://zeissikonveb.de/

 

[johnf04]

L series Prakticas - I have an LLC I bought new in 1973, and apart from a dead meter, it works fine.

 

[xayraa33]

I too would go with the L series Prakticas....they never have let me down.

My experience with the classical 35mm Exaktas has not been very good... via reliability and ergonomics , although they can look kind of cool.

 

[p.giannakis]

Exaktas are beautifully made cameras but they need servicing as the lubricants tend to dry and seize. I had a VX1000 and was a nice camera,

I also recommend an L-series Praktica. In my experience, the LTL, LTL1, LTL2 and LTL3 are the most reliable.

 

[johnf04]

One of the advantages of the Prakticas, is that you can use both the East German lenses made for Praktica and Contax SLRs, and the West German lenses made for Edixa SLRs.

 

[Moto-Uno]

I'm one to second the Pentacon Six 🙂 . Great selection of glass and it's kinda
cheap too ! Peter

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

My Praktinas have been very good to me. I realise some owners have had some issues with theirs but mine have been trouble free, and their build and finish is superb. I'm fond of Exaktas, too, and they can be reliable, but need to be purchased with care because they're easily damaged by owners too stupid to read and follow the instruction manual.

 

[Pál_K]

My vote is for Exakta. I have three VX Exaktas, a VX IIa, and an Exakta 500 (Exa II).

I've had them for close to 10 years, have used all of them, and, with the exception of 1/1000 capping on the VXIIa, all the shutter speeds work, plus slow speeds, plus the delayed speeds.

I now have a plethora of really nice Exakta mount lenses from 28mm to 200mm.

These are amazing cameras. I claim to be the only person who photographed the 2017 total solar eclipse with an Exakta!

 

[Out to Lunch]

I'd go for a Praktica. In its day a big seller. There must be tens of thousands of them around today.

 

[DanskDynamit]

the Pentacon Super with its Pancolar 55mm f/1.4 yummy.

 

[PAN F]

Praktica IV And V Models

Praktica IV And V Models

I recommend the Praktica IV and V cameras, particularly the Praktica IVF and the Praktica VF, the 'F' indicating that they are fitted with the much brighter Fresnel focussing screen. Don't buy the later 'Nova' series cameras they are very unreliable and not up to the build quality of the earlier Praktica IV and V cameras.
I also recommend the early (Non-alloy) Post-war 5.8cm F2 Biotar (M42) 17 blade manual (Dual distance scale)version (as shown below) which gives superb 'Bokeh' and is ideal for use with digital cameras.It gives results very similar to the much sought, but 'very pricey', legendary Carl Zeiss Jena 75mm F1.5 Biotar.

 

[Russell W. Barnes]

'I recommend the Praktica IV and V cameras, particularly the Praktica IVF...'

I use a Praktica MTL3, bought in a fit of nostalgia as one of these was my first SLR. I thoroughly enjoy using it with its Pentacon f1.8 50mm lens.

I recently acquired an IV-F and whilst it is a lovely, solid, well-made camera, you should be aware that you can't look through the viewfinder to compose a picture unless the shutter is cocked!

 

[santino]

Praktica L series. Inexpensive, reliable and a nice industrial design. The shutter is loud though..

 

[David Murphy]

I favor the Praktina myself. The lenses made for these are good to outstanding.

 

[hilltime]

My first collectible SLR was an Exakta VX because it was cheap and looked so cool. I found a plenitude of lenses, Carl Zeiss Jena, Meyer, Schacht, Steinheil, Schneider, the occasional Kilfit and Angienieux to use and most were very affordable. Today, 25 yrs later some of these great German lenses that I paid $25-$50 for, are now selling for $2, 3, 5 hundred dollars.

I have taken some of my profit and invested in Praktina with mostly Carl Zeiss Jena lenses. My prize possession is a 75/1.5 Biotar in Praktina mount, which I got very reasonably, and had it completely CLA'd, and now is in pristine condition. Other lenses from 24/4 Enna to 180/2.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar I have purchased and only very recently made the plunge to get a camera I had always read about, but never could afford: the Pentacon Super.
Now I still can't afford the legendary 55/1.4 Pancolar but must make do with some Zebra Zeiss screw mount lenses which I don't think will be bad.

I am certainly glad I started with the Exakta range as many of those early lens purchases turned into the ability to move beyond and experience some of these other great German SLRs.
But let's not talk about the other German SLRs from the West, the Contarex..... my latest passion.
Who ever said collectors are not addicts?

 

[Nokton48]

Darkroom Print 3 Hot Rodded Pentacon Six by Nokton48, on Flickr

Back in the day this was the hottest Pentacon Six to be found anywhere. I sent two P6 identical bodies to Pentacon Dresden and they upgraded it to full Exakta 66 MK2 mode. Note in the digipix the EX66 Film Advance Lever. Notice also the EX66 Cradle for the Neckstrap of your choice, I selected Domke Wide Gripper Straps for my P6s and EX66s. The body was then covered with "Rollei SL66 Anniversary Diamond Rubber" which I procured from the Rollei factory. At the time I was using P6 gear for selected professional assignments.

Photograph made in my studio by direct flash. Hasselblad 100mm F3.5 Planar, 70mm Kodak Surveillance Film, processed in ADOX Borax MQ.

Silver gel print on RC paper

 

[markjwyatt]

I will add a vote for Prakticas. I have an LTL3 (my favorite, but has small light leak and meter does not work) and an MTL5. The MTL5 is almost fully functional (no self timer switch, but I do not care), and the meter is accurate. Here is a picture of the MTL5 fitted with a Zeiss 50mm f1.8 Ultron (shot with a Zeiss Ikon Contax iia w/Zeiss Optron 50mm f2 Sonnar). They are some of the nicest mechanical SLRs I have shot. The fast winding mechanism is really nice, and I like the shutter release on the front. I am a fan of the vertical travelling metal shutters. My Prakticas feel good in my hands.


Praktica MTL5 & Zeiss Ultron by Mark Wyatt, on Flickr

 

[Pentode]

I’m a fan of the Exaktas, especially the early VX and VXlla, but they are extremely quirky to use. Very well made but quirky nonetheless.

The Pentacon F and the Praktina FX are two other cameras I really like. Bear in mind that none of these have an auto-return mirror. They’re all too early for that. They were extremely advanced for their time but they’re slow and cumbersome by today’s standards regardless of how beautifully they were made.

If your goal is to take advantage of all those great East German lenses from that era you might consider that they were all available in m42 mount (originally introduced by Contax, I believe). That means you’re not restricted to using a DDR body. You could just as easily use all that wonderful glass on a Pentax S1 or similar and you would probably have a more reliable outfit in the long run. I love my DDR SLRs but they don’t feel as solid to me as an old Pentax.