At a glance
£50 approx (Praktica L with 50mm f/2.8 lens)
● 35mm manual-focus SLRs
● Robust and economical
● Universal M42 screw mount
● Produced in the German Democratic Republic (DDR)
● Excellent optics available from a range of makers
● Gave access to low-cost, good-quality cameras for a generation of photographers
If you were starting out in photography in the 1970s and 1980s, and wanted a single lens reflex, you had a few decisions to make. For many of us, budget – or the lack of it – was the biggest problem, not least when the rate of VAT for ‘luxury items’ zoomed from 10% to 25% in the autumn of 1974.
The thickness of your wallet had a direct impact on where your camera would originate from. For the lucky few at the top of the market, Japan was emerging as the market leader for SLRs, with Nikon, Canon and Pentax all making a strong showing. At the opposite end, the truly budget option was to go for a Zenit from the USSR, and many folk did just that. Lurking between the two extremes, and from just beyond the Iron Curtain in East Germany, was
