Praktica FX 2 and a Meyer Görlitz Primotar E 3.5/50mm

This time, it was quite a challenge to use a camera dated back from around 1956. The lens was made by Meyer Görlitz around 1957.

The Praktica FX 2 was one of the first SLR cameras, and it still had a waist level finder and no instant return mirror, something special in today’s world. It is an all metal beauty, which – as it revealed later – had some shutter issues. Technical details can be found here.

The lens was a stoke of genius by its designers to allow the lens to be opened up to aperture f/3.0 while composing the picture, even the lens was limited to aperture f/3.5 when finally shooting.
This way, it was able to compete with the leading German lens designs from Carl Zeiss Jena with their then minimum aperture of f/2.8. Its image quality was impressive.

Beautiful Praktica FX2 with the Meyer Görlitz Primotar E 3.5/50mm lens
Every detail fits. Besides a model ‘FX2’, there also exist models ‘F.X2’ and ‘FX2.’.
Full metal …
… on both sides of the waist level finder.
The waist level finder. Not quite easy to focus, but it works – there’s even an integrated finder magnifier.
Original Leaflet, Meyer Görlitz Primotar E 3.5/50mm (in Exakta Mount)

Image wise, it was a mixed result, as a lot of frames were ruined due to the shutter issue. The best results can be seen below. Partially, I cropped the images to avoid larger areas with black stripes. The film used was a Kodak Ultramax 400, which was sometimes challenging with the camera’s minimum 1/500 second shutter speed.

City walk through Regensburg
Along the river Donau
View across river Donau to the dome
Bicycles in an old town alley
Some tulips

In case you’d like to comment, it’s appreciated … and maybe, you want to visit my website or my flickr page too.

So long … and thanks for all the fish.

2 comments

  1. Nice images, let down by the faulty shutter. I have had the same experience with Exacta cameras, balky shutters and mind-bending ergonomics, but great Zeiss and Meyer Optik glass. The Exacta is largely unused, it is too difficult and unpredictable to use. I have a friend from Germany named Nils Karlson. He is (or was) a great photographer (google his work). He took some of my gear on an artist residency in Iceland. He has moved on from taking pictures unfortunately. He was scheduled to visit with me here in the States, then COVID hit. A visit now would be ok, but he stopped taking pictures so may have no interest. He still has the plane ticket (I think)!

    Reply

    1. Thanks!
      Unfortunately, this came as a ‘fully working’ sample.
      I have a second body and hopefully that one has a working shutter then.
      The handling of such a camera is very simple but rather slow.
      I’m often using zone focusing, as the small waist level finder is tricky ;)
      Couldn’t find anything about Nils Karlson, besides the story from Astrid Lindgren :)

      Reply

Leave a Reply