Praktica LTL

The gorgeous looking LTL

I haven't even finished putting a film on one Praktica and suddenly another one pops up on my doorstep. Seriously though, it was an impulsive buy, I didn't need it - the seller wanted £35 and I offered £10, walking away reassured that he was going to reject my offer. Well, he didn't. Why did I want it ? How can you say no - even Juliette Binoche is using a black LTL in the "Unbearable lightness of being".

If you scroll down my blog, you will find my review of its successor, the LTL3 (a camera for all intents and purposes similar to this) that I ended up selling as I was more interested in higher specified models. My impressions back then was that the LTL3 was a clunky camera to use and that you are better off buying a Nikon F6 if you want to enjoy film (...eyes rolling...🙄).

A flock of M42s...

As I said, to some extent the Praktica LTL is very similar to its successor- the LTL3. Size and ergonomics are the same, focusing screen is slightly darker than how I remember it and the meter is sloooow... It uses the outlawed mercury battery but a simple SR44 will work just fine with a rubber ring around it. The voltage difference between the old mercury and the modern cells doesn't seem to be affecting the accuracy of the readings with this Praktica. 

It is really so difficult keeping up with all the different L-models Praktica released over the years. Even minor updates were sold as a different camera - for example the difference between the LTL and the LTL2 is that the "2" has a slightly brighter screen. The LTL3 has a plastic tip on the advance lever and a more sensitive meter. Others have self timers and others don't. Same for meters or some offer black models and others don't. You really need to have a lot of free time to figure out the difference between each models especially considering that most of them  are essentially the same camera.

Taken with the excellent Pancolar 

Comparing the Praktica LTL to its predecessor, the Super TL, the LTL feels clearly as a step up. The L-series Prakticas coincided with a modernization of the Praktica factories that allowed greater numbers to be produced (note: this was also one of the reasons why the second version of Pancolar came into being: it was easier to produce, faster to catch up with the production of camera bodies). Within the next 15 years, more than 4.5 million L-series cameras will go into production making them one of the most produced SLRs in history. 

The Praktica LTL feels more modern (although quite out-dated for a 1970s camera) with a better shutter, more smooth film advance and brighter viewfinder. Yes the sound of the shutter is slightly louder but not as much as you might think. One thing that the Super TL has but the LTL doesn't, is a shutter button lock. On the LTL, although the button is significantly bigger and easier to press, it has to travel quite a distance before firing the shutter.

Where I think the LTL shines is in the  aesthetics department: I like the way it looks in black and the bare brushed metal advance lever matches very well zebra lenses. It won me over from the moment I opened the box.

Wrong camera for the occasion 

Going back to that comment about Juliette Binoche using a nice, black LTL : Hollywood needs to do it's research a bit better; she is recording the invasion of Prague in 1968 with a camera that came out in December 1970. If we wanted to be more accurate, Binoche should have used a Praktica Super TL. Or even better a Nova PL.

My experience with L-series Prakticas is that as we move towards the late 1970s, quality control took a nose dive. Personally I have seen more LTL/2/3 in fully functioning condition than MTL3/5. It is pretty safe to consider any B-series camera that came later as 100% unreliable  - it pains me to say this as my first camera was a BMS, bought brand new and treated as jewellery but still gave up 6 years later. Blown up shutter capacitors and dirty aperture contacts are extremely common. 

My sample does not have the Pentacon Ernemann tower on the bottom plate - that indicates that it is a slightly later production model intended for export. Rumours online regarding them being somehow of lesser quality are unsubstantiated and hearsay. 

Going out and about with the Praktica LTL and the Pancolar was good fun. Swapping between the Pancolar and the Takumar, I noticed how much brighter the viewfinder looks with the Takumar on. Looks like the Pancolar is not fully de-yellowed and this affects the ability to focus. Yet, this is not as evident with the Super TL - the prisms used must be different. 

Despite all my efforts and months under intense UV light, the Pancolar is still not fully de-yellowed. 

One thing that I didn't like was the rewind process - the lever is quite difficult to rotate and it feels as if the take up spool doesn't rotate as freely - I worried that it will damage the sprocket holes on the film.

Summary 

So, is the Praktica LTL a poor man's Spotmatic? No, of course it is not. Although both M42 and both using stopdown metering, they feel very different. The Spotmatic seems to be more refined as camera and has a brighter focusing screen. Holding them in your hands, the LTL feels larger and heavier - has sharper corners and is more square.

But is it less fun to use? No, not really, I personally prefer it to the previous Super TL and think I will keep this Praktica LTL for Eastern block lenses and the Spotmatic for Takumars. Why to have one if I can have both?