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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The Praktica MTL 5 (1983) is a 35mm SLR produced by VEB Pentacon in Dresden, East Germany. It is the direct successor to the MTL 3 (1978), sharing the same M42 universal screw mount and mechanical vertical-metal focal-plane shutter, but with refinements to the body ergonomics, shutter reliability, and metering circuit. Like the MTL 3, it uses TTL stop-down CdS metering, requires a PX625 mercury battery for the meter, and the shutter is fully mechanical and operates without batteries. The MTL 5 was produced until approximately 1988, when it was succeeded by the MTL 5B variant with a hot shoe for electronic flash. Production volumes were in the hundreds of thousands; the camera was a major export product for East Germany.
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
Refined East German M42 SLR - the MTL 3's 1983 successor with improved ergonomics and a more durable shutter.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | M42 universal screw |
| Years | 1983-1988 |
| Shutter | 1s - 1/1000s + B, mechanical vertical metal |
| Flash sync | 1/125s |
| Meter | TTL stop-down CdS, match-needle |
| Modes | Manual |
| Weight | ~700 g |
| Battery | 1x PX625 mercury (meter only) |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism, ~93% coverage |
| Mechanical fallback | Yes - shutter works without battery |
VEB Pentacon's M42 SLR lineage traces to 1949. The Praktica series moved through PL, MTL, and BC/BX variants across the 1960s-1980s. The MTL 3 (1978) established the high-production workhorse format; the MTL 5 (1983) was a refinement rather than a redesign, addressing known weak points of the MTL 3 - particularly improving the vertical-metal shutter mechanism's long-term reliability. The MTL 5B (c. 1985) added a hotshoe, and the BX-20 series (mid-1980s) introduced an M42-to-Praktica-B mount transition. East German camera production declined sharply after German reunification in 1990; the Pentacon factory closed and the brand was eventually acquired.
The MTL 5 is one of the most practical budget entry points into the M42 lens system. The vertical-metal focal-plane shutter is more durable than the cloth shutters used by most M42-mount SLRs of the same era - cloth shutters on 40-year-old cameras can develop pinholes; metal shutters do not. Full mechanical operation means the camera works with no battery at all, which makes it a reliable backup body.
The M42 lens ecosystem is massive: Carl Zeiss-Jena (Pancolar 50/1.8, Flektogon 35/2.8, Sonnar 135/3.5, Tessar 50/2.8), Meyer-Optik Gorlitz (Oreston/Primotar 50, Trioplan 100 with bubble bokeh), Soviet (Helios-44 58/2, Industar-50-2), and Pentax Super-Takumar (any era). The MTL 5 focuses any of these natively.
Compared to the MTL 3, the MTL 5 is a marginal improvement rather than a step change. For most buyers, either body provides identical practical results; the MTL 5 is preferred when a lower-risk shutter is a priority.
Mount: M42 x1mm screw universal. Stop-down metering only - no open-aperture coupling.
Native M42 glass (recommended):
Adapters: M42 to Nikon F (with limitations), M42 to Canon EF, M42 to Sony E.
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.
View profile →Praktica MTL 5
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