This is the Kamera-Werkståtten Praktica FX, a waist level finder SLR produced in Dresden, Germany between 1952 and 1954. Just shy of 30,000 cameras were produced. This particular camera came with a Carl Zeiss Jena eye-level finder, but the camera looks quite bulky with it attached and I prefer not to use it.
The build quality of the FX is similar to that of many other East German-produced cameras. That is to say it’s functional, but not refined. The shutter fires with a pronounced “thunk” and the components making up the rest of the controls feel like they are several generations removed from the original castings.
That being said, there are some great touches, like the leather embossing on the back, and the overall look of the camera is very nice.
| Make | Kamera-Werkståtten |
| Model | Praktica FX |
| Year | 1952-1954 |
| Format | 35mm |
| Shutter | focal-plane |
| Speed | B, 1/2-1/500 |
| Lens | Carl Zeiss Jena |
| Biotar f2 58mm | |
| Focus | 0.5-inf |
| Aperture | f2 – f16 |
| Light Meter | no |
| Focus System | SLR |
Though I typically prefer lenses with aperture detents, the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar on this camera has a wonderfully fluid, yet stable, aperture ring and I found it easy to focus without accidentally changing the aperture.
Overall, I like this camera, but had a really hard time nailing focus with it. Hopefully there is some adjustment I can make to allow it to produce pictures more in line with the image quality I was expecting.
Sample images taken on Ilford FP4, stand developed HC-110 for 30 minutes.
