Vintage Cameras From the G.D.R

Welcome to my blog, where I hope to cover buying, using and collecting cameras made in the former German Democratic Republic and dig into their history, the people and Country that made them and of course showing some results taken with these fantastic cameras.

Let me quickly introduce myself, my name is Philip Walker, I'm 63 and I have been collecting and using older cameras since my teens. As a member of my school cameras club, I took my CSE photography using an Exa 500 which I 'borrowed' from my Dad! I used this camera for many years after that, with its Domiplan 50mm standard lens, it never failed me, produced some lovely black and white photographs and I still have it tucked away in the loft. This started my interest in East German Cameras.

I have owned and used many cameras over the years, but keep coming back to Exas, Exaktas and Prakticas, they just have that look and feel to them that you just don't get with a Pentax or a Miranda, even though the Japanese cameras were usually more advanced with a better specification and produced fantastic results, they just did not feel right to me!

Also at the time there was of course the cost. When I was 21 I bought a Praktica B200, brand new, to me at the time it was a lot of money, but still much more affordable than similar SLRs from Japan.

Todays Camera - Lets look at the Praktica IV from 1959 one of Dresdens best designs.

Praktica IV with 50mm Meritar lens

I really like the first version of this camera, the black prism front with the striking KW logo on it really makes it stand out from the crowd.

The lens is a 50mm 2.9 Meritar numbered 1248566 from E. Ludwig and carries the red V marking and the focus goes down to 2.6 feet, or 0.8 meters. The camera has two methods of winding on, from the top, a round knob to the far right of the shutter speed dial, which is pictured below and a rewind lever as shown on the picture above.

The above picture shows the top wind on knob and shutter speed dial. In the centre the little button is the re-wind button. The top black arrow is I suppose just to remind you which way to turn the wind on knob i.e. clockwise. The two little arrows, the one on the left is black, the one on the right is red, are for setting the shutter speeds. The top red arrow pointing to the bottom black arrow as shown above means the shutter is set for fast speeds of between 50, and 500. The actual speed set in this pic is 500th of a second. If slow speeds were required then you would set the top red arrow to the bottom red arrow.

The black dial on the opposite side to the wind on knob is a sort of film reminder, so you remember what type and speed of film you loaded the camera with. Useful, I always forget! Later the feature was superseded with those little squares on the camera back that you could place a section of your cardboard film box in to act as a reminder. I do like the nice dial method on the Praktica IV though.

The back of the Praktica IV is not hinged as one might expect, it just comes off as a separate item. In the black leather of this camera back is embossed the symbol above with the numbers 00054. Also below it are two further marks embossed, just Germany, and opposite the KW logo.

The body number of this particular camera is 373195, and can be found under where the film cassette would sit. It's all Black and can be difficult to locate.

The weight of this camera is quite heavy, weighing in at 814 g with the Meritar lens, which is quite hefty, but it is easy to get a firm grip and it feels solid. Compare that to a much later Praktica BMS at 640 g and you can see what I mean!

On this particular camera there is currently a shutter fault, the mirror drops down sometimes when you are winding on, so the prism is black and you can't compose your picture. It does not happen every time, but it makes it not currently useable, however I have found a repairer who can sort the shutter and give it a good clean and service, so the repair and first film in, can be the subject of a future post.

I hope you found this post enjoyable and maybe a little bit useful. I'll leave you with this picture of the original KW design with it's later Pentacon brothers sat on each side.

The original KW design takes some beating though, at least in the looks department.

Philip Walker

Up Date. Camera now repaired by Cameras Galore in Devon, shutter and mirror problems all sorted out. Camera tried out with film, see further post. 1959 Praktica IV First Film