[ismaelg]

Hello,

First of all, I was not really sure if this is the right forum section for this, so apologies if not.
I have always been curious and wanted a camera from behind the iron curtain. Something like the Russian Zenith, etc. Thanks to a fellow forum member, I now have a Revue ML M42 SLR! Now you ask: What is that? It is a re-badged Praktica MTL5B built in East Germany in the mid 1980's (1984-1986 according to my quick internet research)
The M42 lens mount we know is popularly known as the Pentax screw mount, but the truth is that Pentax did not invent it. It was used by many camera manufacturers. Praktica was one of the first users of this mount. Pentax just made it popular and cool.
This camera is built like a tank. It is a no frills tool. Despite been from the mid to late 80's, it is big and heavy and I would compare it technology wise to a Spotmatic of the early 70's. All manual, mechanical speeds up to 1/1000, mechanical timer, etc. The light meter and flash hot shoe are some of the most hi-tech features of it.

So I received this:

These cases are great protecting equipment.




The camera is in great shape and has an Auto Miranda 50 f2.8 lens











The battery compartment is corroded, so the meter doesn't work. Maybe, just maybe, I will try to fix it... eventually.


As with all the used cameras I get, I took it to my workbench and carefully cleaned it. It was very good to start with so the work was minimal. The mirror was cleaned as well. The lens is also in great shape.



So after a quick shine it is ready for the world!

One screw is missing from the top cover so it may have been serviced. If only it could talk!
Dry tested it and it seems it is working properly. Shutter speeds sound about right, lens closes properly, shutter works fine, timer works and I even tested the hot shoe with a modern manual flash and it worked.
So... I just loaded a roll of Kodak Gold 200 and will take it out for a spin.
I also want to try some of my other M42 lenses.
I will eventually report on the results.

Thanks,

---

Last edited by ismaelg; 07-29-2019 at 03:49 PM.

[Aaron28]

sweet! great shots of cool light box! want a MTL3 but currently waiting on a NOVA I......top speed of 1/500 should be decent with B&W film

[HYS]

Praktica - my great love and great disappointment...

[PJ1]

No LCD?? (Just joking) That is an interesting camera and very good shots of it. My first SLR was an Exa 1a out of what was then East Germany. I must have got it around 1971 because I was using it in Papua New Guinea in 1972-73. It had a CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 It served me well except that if you didn't wind it on completely (if my finger slipped off at the end of the stroke) the mirror would not flip up all the way and a few shots got a black edge on them (of course, they were always the best shots). In the early 1980s I sold it to a mate of mine (who knew what the issue was), bought an MX and I'm still here. Enjoy you Revue.

[Cuthbert]

I have a MTL50, the last camera of this range...like the 5 but with LEDs.

The feeling is quite rough and the viewer is a little dim, but I like the fast loader and the lance inside the finder that informs you have to rewind for shooting. It was interesting because the spacing is so narrow I could get 39 exposures on a 36 mm film.

Later I moved away from that particular camera because I "discovered" the high range Prakticas, in particular the VLC3 with electric lenses that allows open metering (solving the issue of the dark viewfinder) and especially the B series that besides being quite similar in philosophy to the Pentax LX has some of the best lenses I have ever tried.

However this is MTL50 and these are some of the pictures it takes.

[ChrisPlatt]

I have a couple of Praktica bayonet model bodies from the 1980's.
They are interesting cameras with some nice features.

Build quality is similar with Japanese brands of the time.
Often available at bargain prices they are a good value, as are most of the lenses.

Chris

[Russell W. Barnes]

That Revue looks a lovely piece of kit.

My first SLR was an MTL3 back in '78. In a fit of nostalgia last year, I bought another off eBay. It came with a Carl Zeiss Tessar f2.8 50mm lens which was mis-aligned for infinity. While I was fiddling about with that, I thought I'd seek out a Pentacon lens, like the one on my original MTL3. I found one, and it came with a camera attached, so now I have two MTL3s. Both work fine, light seals (black cord, not foam) intact. Counter on Praktica 1st is ten out, but hey...

Last month I was GIVEN, for absolutely NOTHING, a mint-looking B200 which had sat in the back of someone's wardrobe for years and was about to get thrown out. It came with a Bayonet Pentacon f1.8 50mm lens; a 28mm f2.8 lens; a Sigma 70-210 f3.5 / 4.5 zoom (tired potentiometer wiper inside but cleaned up) and a leather-cased, still-accurate Weston-Master III meter. Even the battery had some life in it! Attached are a couple of pics I took with it.

I know I moved from Praktica to Pentax back in '81 but I still have a soft spot for the Praktica MTL3 - probably because it was my first 'big step' in photography and the memories of the pics I took with it. In my mind I was trying to recreate that magic by buying another. Isn't it surprising how camera collections can build up?
--

Kind Regds,

R.




-

[arnold]

If you want a really solid Practica, try to find the KW IV series from 1959

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

This one from later is more modern, but not as solid.

[IMG][/IMG]

[Helios 1984]

My first 35mm reflex was a Praktica L-2 which I’d purchased on Kijiji for 20$ with a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f/2.8 which needed extensive tinkering. The body sat in the basement for 5 years, until I finally get interested in film. I still have it, I also have the original L.

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Samples with EXIF! The results are in!

Just got the test roll back from Dwayne's. As usual their scans are very good. I'll eventually scan the negatives myself but my experience is that I won't get that much more than Dwayne's scans.
So I took the camera and loaded a roll of Kodak Gold 200. It expired about 3 years ago but always kept in the fridge in lightproof bag. I took the Miranda lens the camera came with plus my Rexatar 200mm f3.3 and my Helios 44-2
Since the meter is not working I followed Sunny 16 rules and in a few cases took a K1000 with a 50 f2 as meter.

I haven't touched any of these in post process.

Miranda lens:

My avocado tree in full bloom (absofreakinglutely buttery delicious)

1/1000 @ f4


1/250 @ f8


1/60 @ f2.8

Rexatar 200mm lens:

Same tunnel

1/500 @ f5.6


1/500 @ f8


1/1000 @ f5.6 with timer (Shutter went off before fully composed. Idiot user error)

Helios 44-2 lens:

Yup! Same tunnel again.

1/250 @ f5.6


1/60 @ f4


1/60 @ f8

And here is the EXIF file


As you can see the Miranda lens is very sharp! The Rexatar is also very good. The Helios has the lowest contrast of them but still acceptable.

Conclusion: The camera works and I had a lot of fun!

Thanks!

[arnold]

Hello,

Samples with EXIF! The results are in!

Just got the test roll back from Dwayne's. As usual their scans are very good. I'll eventually scan the negatives myself but my experience is that I won't get that much more than Dwayne's scans.
So I took the camera and loaded a roll of Kodak Gold 200. It expired about 3 years ago but always kept in the fridge in lightproof bag. I took the Miranda lens the camera came with plus my Rexatar 200mm f3.3 and my Helios 44-2
Since the meter is not working I followed Sunny 16 rules and in a few cases took a K1000 with a 50 f2 as meter.

I haven't touched any of these in post process.

Miranda lens:

My avocado tree in full bloom (absofreakinglutely buttery delicious)

1/1000 @ f4


1/250 @ f8


1/60 @ f2.8

Rexatar 200mm lens:

Same tunnel

1/500 @ f5.6


1/500 @ f8


1/1000 @ f5.6 with timer (Shutter went off before fully composed. Idiot user error)

Helios 44-2 lens:

Yup! Same tunnel again.

1/250 @ f5.6


1/60 @ f4


1/60 @ f8

And here is the EXIF file


As you can see the Miranda lens is very sharp! The Rexatar is also very good. The Helios has the lowest contrast of them but still acceptable.

Conclusion: The camera works and I had a lot of fun!

Thanks!

Love the shot of the flag. Bright clear and colourful.

[Cuthbert]

Hello,

Samples with EXIF! The results are in!

Just got the test roll back from Dwayne's. As usual their scans are very good. I'll eventually scan the negatives myself but my experience is that I won't get that much more than Dwayne's scans.
So I took the camera and loaded a roll of Kodak Gold 200. It expired about 3 years ago but always kept in the fridge in lightproof bag. I took the Miranda lens the camera came with plus my Rexatar 200mm f3.3 and my Helios 44-2
Since the meter is not working I followed Sunny 16 rules and in a few cases took a K1000 with a 50 f2 as meter.

I haven't touched any of these in post process.

Miranda lens:

My avocado tree in full bloom (absofreakinglutely buttery delicious)

1/1000 @ f4


1/250 @ f8


1/60 @ f2.8

Rexatar 200mm lens:

Same tunnel

1/500 @ f5.6


1/500 @ f8


1/1000 @ f5.6 with timer (Shutter went off before fully composed. Idiot user error)

Helios 44-2 lens:

Yup! Same tunnel again.

1/250 @ f5.6


1/60 @ f4


1/60 @ f8

And here is the EXIF file


As you can see the Miranda lens is very sharp! The Rexatar is also very good. The Helios has the lowest contrast of them but still acceptable.

Conclusion: The camera works and I had a lot of fun!

Thanks!

Nice but you need some serious CZJ glass like the Pancolar 50mm f1.8, or the Sonnar 135mm f3.5. Also the Sonnar 200mm f2.8 is a killer lens but very pricey.

[Jon Goodman]

Many years ago I bought most of the inventory of a failed Russian camera store. Bought it sight unseen...just took a chance. Even though most of the stock was new I was amazed at how many cameras had to be repaired before they could be sold. Most were Zenits. A few Kievs. A few half frame models and one or two medium format cameras (which were utterly horrible). I finally broke even and in the end made a bit of money on the deal. I only kept one item: a new Helios 44-2 lens which I still have and use frequently with my Pentax *istD.
Jon

[g026r]

A few half frame models and one or two medium format cameras (which were utterly horrible).

Probably either a Kiev 88, which is a copy of the Hasselblad 1600, or a Kiev 60, which is a copy of the East German Pentacon 6.

None of the medium format Kievs have a great reputation, but the 88's is particularly dire.

[Cuthbert]

Probably either a Kiev 88, which is a copy of the Hasselblad 1600, or a Kiev 60, which is a copy of the East German Pentacon 6.

None of the medium format Kievs have a great reputation, but the 88's is particularly dire.

I have an 88 with the last spot lightmeter they made (quite good, a lot of people use it on Hasselblad) and besides the nutcracker noise that makes me feel it's about to self destroy in any minute it's a capable but slow camera to operate.

This is the Ukrainian monstrousity.