Praktica MTL5B

There was no lock for the needle on my Weston, it just didn't move with no light falling on the selenium, like when its in the case....nice and dark.
It should still be usable..
 
I can't believe this, I have been reading down the thread for the first time and several posts ago you were saying about a problem with that dial on the Euromaster and I am thinking 'don't be heavy handed with it'. Then it becomes clear you have been! This was a popular fault with them years ago if you were not careful. I had to have one repaired. By the sound of it you have broken yours..

The Euromaster was a great selenium meter requiring no batteries and was unaffordable for many people. It was sort of a professional bit of kit in much more innocent times. The flap on the back was used to cover the cells to reduce the ight in very bright light, as you move the flap the scale changes from low light sensitivity to brighter light. The invercone is for measuring incident light, typically much more accurate and better for slide film users like I was. In those days TTL metering was just being introduced and people tended to use charts to approximate exposure, use built in meters on cameras (often not TTL) or serious togs had exposure meters. It might not look much, but this was a classy bit of kit to have unless you had a much more expensive Gossen.
 
To be fair, its knocking on a bit, plastic stuffs become brittle, sometimes things are just waiting for you to touch them so they can break, maybe it was already weak, such is the way with all things ancient...

except Ven ofcourse, he's just hard as nails..:p
 
joxby said:
To be fair, its knocking on a bit, plastic stuffs become brittle, sometimes things are just waiting for you to touch them so they can break, maybe it was already weak, such is the way with all things ancient...

except Ven ofcourse, he's just hard as nails..:p
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yes, I meant that, they are already manufactured weak, it doesn't take much to break them. did one myself and then you understand what not to do! :)
 
It broke just being pressed. One minute it was working the next not. It still works now though but without the locking mechanism so you would just have to remember what the meter says !
 
Adeyb said:
I have an MTL5B in my mums loft, with a vivitar 80-200 mm lens and a 2x teleconverter ( I thought I was the daddy ) and a big crappy flash on a bracket, I was only 12 when I had it.
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That's almost the same as what I had - only my converter was 3x!! (useless with the 80-200 unsurprisingly) and I had a 135/2.8 to go with it which was ok with the 3x.
 
jox said:
except Ven of course, he's just hard as nails..:p
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Oi... :cautious: ... I resemble that remark :thinking: ... I'm actually soft as butter ... especially around the Green bits ... :naughty:


Incidentally I have a Euro-Master II and it is in perfick working order... :D




:p
 
"The metering system seems very cumbersome ie set ISO for the film, set aperture, press button on front and look through view finder at needle, if it is not in the right place between the marks change the shutter speed or aperture and repeat till it is..... Or have I got this wrong?"

Welcome to the world those of us of a certain age used to live with,the 5B was the last of the screw mount Praktica's and was a good solid camera,the Euromaster is an absolute gem of a meter and you will find that taking incident light readings and setting them on any modern DSLR will give you the best exposure you have ever seen.

If however you dont want to try a bit of hard 1970's photography work I will happily take them off your hands
 
while you guys are talking about broken stuff and practicas, my mTL5B won't advance the film, the shutter doesn't seem to be cocked and won't fire if I press the button

vvvv weird

any help appreciated?
 
The lens looks like a Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm MC S. I have one and it's sharper than my Canon 70-200 F4 L lens. The 50mm Pentacon is also very good, but often has a sticky iris.

I used to have an MTL5 (not b) and it was a good camera.

As for value, the camera is probably worth a £5, the Pentacon about £5-15 and the CZJ is around £50.
 
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