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Post by John Farrell on Feb 12, 2023 19:27:37 GMT
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Post by nickr on Feb 13, 2023 10:08:37 GMT
That black VLC3 (?) is absolutely stunning.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 5:47:18 GMT
The Praktica L and LLC variants are the ancestor of the MTL-3 and the later MTL-5 cameras. Main selling feature are quick film loading (Canon QL) and high flash sync. speed of 1/125th second.
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Post by nickr on Apr 11, 2023 7:29:42 GMT
The Praktica L and LLC variants are the ancestor of the MTL-3 and the later MTL-5 cameras. Main selling feature are quick film loading (Canon QL) and high flash sync. speed of 1/125th second. Well the L is, but the LLC really isn't a direct ancestor, it's a rather different development path, the ancestor of the PLC2 and 3. L models had no exposure meter, LB models had a non-TTL selenium cell meter, xTL models had a TTL CdS stop-down meter, and xLC and EE models had a full aperture TTL metering system that used potentiometers in "Electric" lenses from Pentacon (formerly Meyer for the nost part, with a few Sigma lenses as well) and Carl Zeiss Jena with 3 gold contacts on the lens marching 3 on the lens mount to pass set aperture information to the camera. EE models featured aperture priority autoexposure, the rest were all manual. The Electric system was also used on the Praktica B bayonet. When the B mount and the B200 were launched, two mount adapters were shown for M42 - a plain one, and one with pass-through electrical contacts to allow M42 Electric lenses to be used at full aperture on B series cameras. I've never actually seen one, and don't know if they ever made it to production - this is an item I would dearly love to know more about and ideally own. The LC and EE cameras could use non-Electric M42 lenses in stop-down mode, but there is no lever on the camera, so lenses need to have an auto/manual switch if they have an auto diaphragm. Several accessories were marketed for Electric lenses to keep connections for full aperture metering when the lens isn't directly connected to the mount, such as Electric extension tubes, and a connecting cable with mounts both ends for using the camera on a bellows unit (there were two such bellows units in the L system) or even when using a reversing ring. |
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Post by John Farrell on Apr 12, 2023 0:32:09 GMT
The Praktica quick load system is very simple - just 2 articulated wires on the takeup spool. The Canon system is far more complex. Both work well.
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Post by nickr on Apr 12, 2023 1:08:27 GMT
The Praktica quick load system is very simple - just 2 articulated wires on the takeup spool. The Canon system is far more complex. Both work well. Indeed. Similar in intent, quite different in execution. The different approaches various manufacturers tried to simplify 35mm film loading has always fascinated me. I'm obviously easily pleased. The Canon system is one of the most complex; Pentax took a totally different direction with their magic needles; I've always admired the simplicity and efficacity of the Praktica system, though. |
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Post by squeamishossifrage on Apr 12, 2023 8:06:20 GMT
Slightly off-topic, but I always found it an immensely satisfying thing to drop a new 35mm film into a camera and wind it on to the first frame. My favourite was my Dynax 7 - drop in the canister with a good lead showing, slap the back shut, and let the auto-magic do its stuff. Somehow sliding a fresh card into a slot just doesn't hack it!
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Post by nickr on Apr 12, 2023 8:21:44 GMT
Slightly off-topic, but I always found it an immensely satisfying thing to drop a new 35mm film into a camera and wind it on to the first frame. My favourite was my Dynax 7 - drop in the canister with a good lead showing, slap the back shut, and let the auto-magic do its stuff. Somehow sliding a fresh card into a slot just doesn't hack it! Yeah, the autoload of motorised cameras, particularly AF ones, was something else - couldn't ever really understand why some people found it tricky enough to need the solution of APS. Now 35mm film loading could be bad - my Horizon 202 takes it to a whole new level, and loading an old Leica is never the easiest. With many of these cameras, you always looked for rotation of the rewind knob for confirmation that film was actually loaded. But if you couldn't reliably load a camera with an autoload system - well. |
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Post by squeamishossifrage on Apr 12, 2023 8:38:40 GMT
I occasionally got frustrated loading Rollei 2000 magazines as it was so different from very other camera I had owned. I was delighted when I bought my Dynax 7 to find that on rewind it left the correct amount of leader out, and if you made a note of the last frame taken, then a film could be reloaded and auto-wound to the next frame, doing away with the need for magazines.
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Post by nickr on Apr 12, 2023 8:56:38 GMT
Those mags are a little fiddly, but I can't say I found them that alien, having been through lots of different film loading methods over the years. I tended to pre-load them, so never had to load one in a hurry, which helped.
I've never actually changed film type mid roll on an AF SLR - when I did weddings, I used multiple bodies to avoid missing a shot if I had to, and even for travel I would use multiple bodies. As a result, I never left the leader out (despite it being an option) because I was always afraid I would confuse a half-used film with a fresh one in the heat of the moment. Well actually probably more the other way round, that's probably why I never changed film mid roll. Now that WAS an advantage of APS - except for the lack of different film types...
To bring it back on topic, I have sometimes changed film mid-roll on L series Prakticas, because the quick load system left bend marks on the leader, making it immediately obvious if a film was part used. Mind you, I always left a blank shot just in case.
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Post by zx9 on Apr 12, 2023 9:02:19 GMT
...... To bring it back on topic, I have sometimes changed film mid-roll on L series Prakticas, because the quick load system left bend marks on the leader, making it immediately obvious if a film was part used. Mind you, I always left a blank shot just in case. ^^^ One of my few memories from briefly owning and using a Praktica Super TL was the unmistakable evidence that a film had been at loaded from a quick glance at the leader.
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