Jörg Krüger
Praktica Super TL
Praktica Super TL with Carl Zeiss Jena 1.8/50 Pancolar
Though it has the L in its name, it clearly belongs to the Praktica nova/nova PL series. Introduced in 1968 it was probably the last one with the horizontally travelling shutter. In 1969 the L-series was launched, more brick-shaped, with the top plate made out of chromed plastic and with the new, famous shutter with metal blades. The Super TL was a very successful camera, more than 500.000 were made and sold under many names like Porst or Hanimex. It was produced parallel to the L-series until 1976 and survived some of the L-models.
Its a quite simple camera, stopped-down metering (TTL), shutter speeds from 1 s to 1/500 s. The viewfinder is small and dim, it has a needle for metering and a small red flag which indicates, that you should advance the film. For metering and stopping down you have to press the big black button besides the lens. It is the best and most convenient DOF-button I have ever experienced on a camera.
The camera has some real quirks: the aperture is closed by pressing the shutter button, that means, if you take away your finger from the shutter button at long shutter speeds to early, the aperture opens again before the shutter closes.
If you turn the film advance lever, you have to turn it until its end position. When done so, you can turn the lever as often as you want without any effect.
The clockwork of the shutter makes weird sounds when changing the shutter speeds or operating the film advance lever at long shutter speeds.
About the lens, the reason why I bought the camera at all. There are several Pancolars out there, but usually you come across the 1.8/50. There are three M42 versions of it and there is written a lot contradictory stuff about them on the net. As I found out.
Version 1: Zebra look, 6/4-design, 8 blades, single coated, contains glass with Thorium, therefore yellowish and radioactive.
Version 2 (my copy): also Zebra look, 6/4-design, 6 blades, single coated.
Version 3: all black, 6/5-design, multi-coated, several variants like "MC auto" or "MC electric".
The 3rd version is considered to be the sharpest. It has at least multi-coating and in my opinion the 6/5-design is a little bit superior to the 6/4-design regarding sharpness. Some claim, that very late Zebra lenses also have the 6/5 design: my copy has a relatively high serial number and I determined a 6/4-design by counting the reflexions. Anyway, if 6/4 or 6/5, the Pancolar is a fine lens, some quick testshots with mine revealed brilliant colors already at f/1.8.
Here is a lens comparison with some test shots.
At my copy the diaphragm didn't close, the blades stuck doggedly. Unfortunately this lens is a bit more complex than other fifties. If you want to open yours: there are the usual two rings with the holes, which bear the small gibs of the blades, mark the position of the upper, stationary ring very carefully.
Praktica Super TL
Praktica Super TL with Carl Zeiss Jena 1.8/50 Pancolar
Though it has the L in its name, it clearly belongs to the Praktica nova/nova PL series. Introduced in 1968 it was probably the last one with the horizontally travelling shutter. In 1969 the L-series was launched, more brick-shaped, with the top plate made out of chromed plastic and with the new, famous shutter with metal blades. The Super TL was a very successful camera, more than 500.000 were made and sold under many names like Porst or Hanimex. It was produced parallel to the L-series until 1976 and survived some of the L-models.
Its a quite simple camera, stopped-down metering (TTL), shutter speeds from 1 s to 1/500 s. The viewfinder is small and dim, it has a needle for metering and a small red flag which indicates, that you should advance the film. For metering and stopping down you have to press the big black button besides the lens. It is the best and most convenient DOF-button I have ever experienced on a camera.
The camera has some real quirks: the aperture is closed by pressing the shutter button, that means, if you take away your finger from the shutter button at long shutter speeds to early, the aperture opens again before the shutter closes.
If you turn the film advance lever, you have to turn it until its end position. When done so, you can turn the lever as often as you want without any effect.
The clockwork of the shutter makes weird sounds when changing the shutter speeds or operating the film advance lever at long shutter speeds.
About the lens, the reason why I bought the camera at all. There are several Pancolars out there, but usually you come across the 1.8/50. There are three M42 versions of it and there is written a lot contradictory stuff about them on the net. As I found out.
Version 1: Zebra look, 6/4-design, 8 blades, single coated, contains glass with Thorium, therefore yellowish and radioactive.
Version 2 (my copy): also Zebra look, 6/4-design, 6 blades, single coated.
Version 3: all black, 6/5-design, multi-coated, several variants like "MC auto" or "MC electric".
The 3rd version is considered to be the sharpest. It has at least multi-coating and in my opinion the 6/5-design is a little bit superior to the 6/4-design regarding sharpness. Some claim, that very late Zebra lenses also have the 6/5 design: my copy has a relatively high serial number and I determined a 6/4-design by counting the reflexions. Anyway, if 6/4 or 6/5, the Pancolar is a fine lens, some quick testshots with mine revealed brilliant colors already at f/1.8.
Here is a lens comparison with some test shots.
At my copy the diaphragm didn't close, the blades stuck doggedly. Unfortunately this lens is a bit more complex than other fifties. If you want to open yours: there are the usual two rings with the holes, which bear the small gibs of the blades, mark the position of the upper, stationary ring very carefully.