East German cameras

[keller]

I've seen a few of these old SLRs supposedly from East Germany, and they're selling for as low as $30. Does anyone know why?

I mean, I know the joke about East German cars, but are their cameras notorious for bad quality or something? Or did I just end up finding a really cheap model? $30 is a bit low for a film SLR, compared with the Canon/nikon/etc models.

 

[Rob]

I've seen a few of these old SLRs supposedly from East Germany, and they're selling for as low as $30. Does anyone know why?

Build quality and image quality mainly - you get what you pay for. There are some Eastern Bloc cameras which produce interesting and sometimes good results. For that money, give it a try and see if you like it!

Rob

 

[montresor]

What about the Werra, made by Carl Zeiss Jena? I think Jena was in East Germany. I have no experience with the Werra, they always seem available on eBay (not cheaply, either!) from former Eastern Bloc countries, and I'm reluctant to send money to strange lands; but they are certainly some of the sleekest 35mm cameras I've ever seen. The transport/shutter-cocking mechanism looks like it could cause trouble as it ages, but the first model, with the olive leatherette trim, is a breathtakingingly beautiful design classic. Admittedly, it's a rangefinder, not an SLR....

 

[ThomThomsk]

Praktica SLRs are solid and go for next to no money, and were a common student camera because they were good value. I think they are probably better than the Russian equivalents.

The MTL series are the ones I remember, often with a Carl Zeiss Jena lens. Jena is a town in East Germany, and after World War 2 the Carl Zeiss company got split into 2, with the Jena factory coming under Russian control. Many of the Jena lenses are pretty highly regarded.

Thomsk

 

[Iron Flatline]

The East Germans have been making some of the finest glass in the world. I can't speak to shutters, build quality or the overall controls of their cameras, but as far as their lenses go, they are quite good.

East German binoculars are highly prized.

 

[Torus34]

Don't overlook the Russky rangefinders. You can pick up a decent Fed 3a, Zorki 3-C or Kiev 4AM for about $US60, including shipping. These were solidly built rigs and remain fully functional today. Lenses such as the Jupiter 8 are fully acceptable for most work.

Why so cheap? The lure of modern rigs with all sorts of whistles and bells has proven irresistable and the old cameras are being traded in for them. There are far more old cameras than buyers in the old Russian Empire countries.

 

[JonK]

Don't overlook the Russky rangefinders. You can pick up a decent Fed 3a, Zorki 3-C or Kiev 4AM for about $US60, including shipping. These were solidly built rigs and remain fully functional today. Lenses such as the Jupiter 8 are fully acceptable for most work.

Why so cheap? The lure of modern rigs with all sorts of whistles and bells has proven irresistable and the old cameras are being traded in for them. There are far more old cameras than buyers in the old Russian Empire countries.

watch yourself if buying those from ukraine or russian federation based sellers...been stories of lots of problems with them on ebay. plus they are literally flooding the market...millions of these cameras were made and a lot of them are suspect. buyer beware!

 

[keller]

Yes, Praktika was the one they were selling. I might go buy one just to try it out. The sellers are from Australia fortunately, so (hopefully) shouldnt have too many problems.

 

[darin3200]

Prakticas are some sweet cameras. I got a B200 for under $100 w/ shipping. Prakticas are built like tanks. Pentacon makes good glass and made some for zeiss.

from wikipedia

Praktica is a brand of camera manufactured by Pentacon in Dresden in eastern Germany, formerly within the DDR prior to reunification. Pentacon is the modern-day successor to Dresden camera firms such as Zeiss Ikon, and for many years Dresden was the world's largest producer of cameras. Currently Praktica is the only brand sold by the company; previous ones included Zeiss Ikon, Contax (now owned by the Carl Zeiss company), Exakta, Pentacon and many more.

The firm collapsed after German reunification but was resurrected in partnership with Schneider, and produces many products under various brands such as car industry products, 3D LCD screens, and still cameras and lenses under their own Praktica brand and also for more known international brands.

 

[nreed_94]

I own a Praktica LTL3 for $10 at a flea market. I absolutely love it, and use it more than my digital camera. It has a Carl Zeiss Jenna Tessar lens, and it takes fantastic photos. East German cameras may be cheap, but they are built to last!! The LTL3 has a solid body, and a great feel. Overall, I am very please with it. Some companies are better than others, so it all depends though.

 

[SamSpade1941]

There are a few members of my Medium Format group on Deviant Art who are from Eastern Europe that shoot the Pentacon Six cameras and submit their scanned photos and from what I can see the Pentacon Six is no slouch as far as being able to produce nice quality images.

 

[timor]

Pentacon company, a maker of Practika had, like many others companies in communism, problem with raw materials. Very seldom one model had a run longer then 2 years without any change. That is why there is so many models with different reliability "rating". I was a happy owner of brand new LLC model with some "electric" lenses: Pancolar 1.8/50, Flectogon 4/20 and Pancolar 1.8/80 and one non electric, Sonnar 2.8/80. I lost that set during the emigration, too bad, I am still mad at myself for it. Nevertheless LLc body withstood around 1000 rolls of film with just one failure of film winding sprocket which was fixed for small money. This bodies, except for small price, are very indifferent, basic cameras, quite noisy but with excellent film loading system, which will save at least 2 frames and if you lucky 3 frames on every roll. It is simply very good value for the money.

 

[jeroen]

I have a Praktica MTL-3. The M42-mount SMC lenses that you can get for it is about the best glass ever made. I also own a couple of Pentax Spotmatics, its more refined Japanes M42 cousin. The Praktica is heavier and noisier and looks and feels a bit cheaper. But it is a very good and reliable camera.

 

[Irish_Melkite]

I own 2 Praktica PLC3's that I purchased for little money.

Techs at the former Essex Camera/camerarepair.com, whose opinions I highly valued, praised the model as a highly reliant, well-made camera. Based on their comments, I decided it would be worthwhile investing in a CLA, though the cost was several times what I paid for either camera. I've no regrets - my experiences with the two have been very positive. My only complaint is that the mechanism for unlatching the rear is a bit of a nusciance - photo quality is excellent and I've found them to be pretty rugged.

Neil

 

[orejano]

East German cameras are oriented towards SLR's. The only rangefinders I recall are the Belmira and some Werras. Of the reflex devices, the best are the Praktinas, although finding lenses for their mount is more difficult than for Exaktas and Prakticas. The Exas are easier to use than Exaktas and the shutters more durable. Exaktas and Prakticas with lift, turn and drop speed dials are liable to shutter breakage if speed is changed without firing and camera put away. This apparently also happened to me with a Praktica of metal shutter plates which self-destructed. As someone stated above, the optics are better than the mechanics in East German products, and a good Japanese camera is a better choice. West Germans tended to go with leaf-shutter SLR's, less durable than the focal-plane shutter ones, and difficult to get an ample line of lenses for, especially zoom lenses. Some East German devices (Penti and Pentina) are of interest as oddities, but I would advise against them as serious users. There has been a long-standing tendency to underrate Japanese cameras, but even in the 50's, they were improving and evolving rapidly.