Praktica Super TL

The Praktica Super TL

 I've said plenty of times on my blog that I am done with Prakticas but they always manage to find their way to my camera collection - well, Prakticas are not done with me it seems. This one was different though; it came with an early radioactive Pancolar 50f/1.8 and was for £10 so I grabbed the opportunity as fast as I could.

A Praktica (BMS) was my first camera back in the early 90s, when the unification of Germany was fast approaching and Pentacon was selling off Prakticas at production cost. The seller told me back then that they were making profit on the cases and filters they were selling with them. So I suppose I wil always have a soft spot for Prakticas.

A year ago I got hold of a Nova PL which seemed to work well but it came with a CZJ Tessar with dry lubricants so I sold it online. This Super TL was the successor to the Nova adding a light meter although it is quite quirky to use and quite frankly, I don't use it at all.

I find it funny reading the camera manual: Praktica dedicated two whole pages listing 19 "features" that this camera has, including things like "swing out rewind crank" or "meter key connected to the meter system". Anyway, this camera came out in 1968 - by that time Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Minolta had cameras that were a decade ahead in terms of automation and features - Eastern Germany was producing simple to construct cameras that will just do the job of taking a picture on film.

Indeed the Praktica Super TL feels like a camera coming from the late 50s rather than the late 60s. It is big and bulky, stop-down metering, speeds up to 1/500 sec, no self timer. Also the viewfinder is very dark compared to the Spotmatic I have and the film advance feels like gears grinding sand. The mirror produces a very loud slap and changing the speeds after having cocked the shutter makes an audible sound. The ASA dial is also linked to the shutter dial, they both rotate simultaneously. To set up the correct ASA for the meter, you have to lift the dial and align it to the white dot.

The light meter on this camera is quirky to say at least. There are plenty of posts online reporting that the meter is not working - either the needle goes on the overexposure side and doesn't move or it goes to under-exposure. Mine does the same but what I figured out is that if I set the aperture to f16 or f22 and press the meter button and gradually open the aperture, the meter works accurately. I suspect that the meter cells got old and suffer from temporary blindness. Despite reports online saying that the Praktica is not sensitive to the voltage difference between old vs new batteries, mine needs 1 stop overexposure in order to be accurate (setting iso 200 for a 400iso film). (Edit: the Praktica LTL isn't thought)

Another peculiarity is the two flash sockets on the front of the camera but no hot/cold shoe on the camera to mount the flash (!). It was an additional accessory !

A really useful feature is the shutter lock button. I do like that ! I wish more of my cameras had it - it would have spared loads of accidentally taken shots whilst trying to get the camera out of the bag.

If you pay a bit more attention, you will notice that the Praktica Super TL allows you to set a couple of reminders regarding the film type and number of exposures. I suppose these are nice touches but I wouldn't go as far as calling them "features". Also, the symbols that refer to the type of film (i.e. b&w or fast colour) are not self-explanatory at all.

The Pancolar is an excellent lens.

The Pancolar 50f/1.8

I will not go into any depths about the history of this fantastic lens - grab a drink and visit this page. It will tell you everything you need to know.

Mine came with the usual yellowing and had to spend a month under intense UV light. Now the yellowing has gone by 99% - there is still a slight hue when you look through it but I can't get rid of it completely.

Actually, the Pancolar was initially so yellow that made it impossible to focus. My first reaction was to check if it is stopped down - it felt like an f/3.5 lens. The rather dark viewfinder on this Praktica didn't make matters any better.

The lens came with all lubricants being dry - aperture blades were sticky and the focusing ring was impossible to turn. I sent it for service to Luton Cameras and it came back as if it had just left the factory. It is in pristine condition.


Using the Praktica Super TL

I have to say that I was tempted to use the Pancolar with my lovely Spotmatic but then changed my mind - this camera and lens were married together 55 years ago - it felt unfair to separate them now.

I hardly used the camera's light meter, instead I trusted my handheld meter.

I was so pleasantly surprised by the Pancolar - so much that I shot some testing shots between the Pancolar and the Takumar to see how they compare. I think the Pancolar is my new favourite 50 - and trust me, I've used plenty of 50mm lenses.

Yes, using this camera comes with challenges, viewfinder is not easy to focus, the shutter button can feel clunky and hard to push, it is bigger than it needs to be, top speed of 1/500 can be a bit of an issue with fast films but once you nail the focus and the exposure, the pictures look lovely.

Looking in my cupboard, I discovered my old leather case that came with my Praktica back in the 90s. I thought it was only fair to recall it from retirement and carry the Super TL in it. What a strange sense of satisfaction!


Conclusion

It is difficult to imagine the socio-political environment that gave birth to this camera and lens. Walter Ulbricht was in charge and the DDR was churning out Trabants and Prakticas. Don't be fooled though - the Praktica Super TL is a half decent camera and the lens is the crown jewel.

The camera feels out-dated and difficult to use but due to the impressive Pancolar, it will reward you with good pictures. It is also relatively reliable - well, more reliable that any M42 Praktica that came after the LTL series or the dreadful B-series.

I would say use it. If it comes with a Pancolar grab it quickly.