C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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slr-35mm
The Praktica BX20 (1986) is a 35mm single-lens reflex camera made by VEB Pentacon in Dresden, East Germany, and represents one of the most capable cameras to emerge from the Praktica line. Unlike its M42-mount predecessors, the BX20 uses the Praktica B bayonet mount — a proprietary electronic mount introduced in 1979 that enabled fully automatic aperture coupling, electronic data communication between body and lens, and TTL flash metering through the lens.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The final chapter of the Praktica legacy — the BX20 brought modern aperture-priority automation and TTL flash control to East Germany's best-known SLR brand, wrapping it in an accessible plastic body that sold alongside the fall of the Wall.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24×36 mm) |
| Mount | Praktica B bayonet (electronic) |
| Years | 1986–1995 |
| Shutter | Vertical metal focal-plane: 1s – 1/1000s + B |
| Flash sync | 1/100s (X-sync) |
| Meter | Silicon blue cell TTL, open-aperture |
| Exposure | Aperture-priority auto + manual |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism, 92% coverage, 0.87× |
| Focus | Manual, split-prism + microprism ring |
| Battery | 2× AA (LR6) |
VEB Pentacon introduced the Praktica B mount in 1979 with the Praktica BC1, the first Praktica with a bayonet mount and electronic lens coupling. The B series was positioned as a modern, competitive response to Pentax's K mount and Canon's FD mount, offering automatic aperture without the stopped-down penalty of M42.
The BX20 arrived in 1986, nearly coinciding with the Gorbachev era, and was one of the last significant camera models developed and manufactured under East German state control. Production continued through German reunification in 1990 and into the early 1990s under the successor organisation Pentacon GmbH, finally ceasing around 1995.
The BX20 and its siblings sold in reasonable quantities in East Germany, the Eastern bloc, and via cut-price export channels in the UK and Continental Europe. Pentacon's camera operations declined rapidly through the 1990s as Japanese manufacturers and eventually digital cameras reshaped the market.
The Praktica BX20 represents the final evolution of one of the most historically significant camera brands in film photography. The Praktica line — from the Praktiflex of 1938 through the M42 years and into the B mount era — spans nearly 60 years of continuous production. The BX20's aperture-priority automation and TTL flash place it firmly in the modern camera era despite its East German origins, making it an affordable entry into B-mount Zeiss Jena optics.
Praktica B-mount lenses by Carl Zeiss Jena: Pancolar 50/1.8 MC, Flektogon 35/2.4 MC, Sonnar 135/2.8 MC, Vario-Pancolar 35–70/4 MC. Also compatible with Meyer-Optik and third-party B-mount lenses from Sigma and Tamron. TTL flash: Metz 45 series with Praktica SCA adaptor, Cullmann, and branded Pentacon flashguns.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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