The definitive equipment listing for Prakticas on the internet
	Main  |  Camera Bodies  |  Lenses  |  Accessories  |  Photo index  |  Contact  Lenses -> Lens catalogue of 1983 PRAKTICA lenses - for creative picture composition The performance and versatility of an SLR camera like the PRAKTICA can only be exhausted when exchangeable lenses are used. Without changing the camera-to-object distance, exchangeable lenses make it possible to pack plenty of details into a frame at a relatively small scale or pick out one detail and fill the frame with it, thus individually controlling picture information content and artistic expression. The wide range of exchangeable lenses from PRAKTICA multiply your photographic possibilities and provide an excellent basis for creative photography. First-class lenses have been developed for all photographic fields. Highly refractive glasses with multi-coated surfaces to reduce reflection enhance the contrast and definition of your pictures and prevent glare, aperture images and light patches even when taking against-the-light pictures with extreme brightness differences. The lenses do not only provide sharp definition and optimum contrast but the pictures obtained with them are also true to colour. PRAKTICA lenses with large f-numbers make it easy to photograph with relatively short exposure times even under poor lighting conditions and without the use of a flash unit. Two of the particular mechanical features worth mentioning are the unusual long worm drive of some lenses and the automatic diaphragm system considerably shortening the readying time for the camera. Standard lenses These lenses, being the nucleus of your optical equipment, cope with the major part of all the pictures you take for their angle of field and, thus, the information contained in the picture is very much like that gathered by the eye. The same is true of the perspective reproduction. They are therefore suitable for a great variety of photographic fields, for example for snapshots of children and animals, taking pictures of groups of persons, photographic reportages, sports, landscape and architectural photography. However, should you desire to depict more details of an object or bring it nearer to you without changing the distance to the object, then have a try at a PRAKTICA exchangeable lens disclosing the wide-angle and telephoto ranges. PENTACON auto 1.8/50 MC PENTACON electric 1.8/50 MC ZEISS PANCOLAR auto 1.8/50 MC ZEISS PANCOLAR electric 1.8/50 MC ZEISS TESSAR 2.8/50 DOMIPLAN 2.8/50 Unique standard lens close-up focusing without accessories Most of the PRAKTICA standard lenses occupy an unexcelled special position. Their long worm drive allows close-up focusing to 33 cm and 35 cm without any accessories. This means that objects of the size of a postcard will fill the frame. Picture taken with the usually shortest possible distance setting of 50 cm. Frame-filling imaging with the shortest PRAKTICA standard lens distance setting of 33 cm. Wide-angle lenses You are sometimes faced with the problem of not being able to photograph a subject, say a group of people, from a distance long enough to get them all into the frame. In other words, the angle of field of your standard lens is too small. A wide-angle lens is the remedy. Its large angle of field packs more into the frame than a standard lens and its perspective is more extended. Owing to its superior information content, a wide-angle lens is indispensable when taking overall views of buildings and landscapes (panoramic shots), groups of persons, and above all when taking pictures in museums, galleries, exhibition halls and the like. The enormous depth of field and. consequently, easy focusing make the wide-angle lens ideal for reportages and sports photography as well as for other snapshots. Wide-angle lenses image objects near the camera relatively large whereas distant objects are rather small so that they lose significance. Thus, there is a clear distinction between foreground, middle-ground and background, and the perspective is emphasized. A super wide-angle lens converts a small room into a hall. The distance between foreground and background is apparently extended. This perspective phenomenon can be made use of in a creative enhancing or weakening of the effect of an object. ZEISS FLEKTOGON auto 2.8/20 MC ZEISS FLEKTOGON electric 2.8/20 MC PENTACON auto 2.8/29 MC PENTACON electric 2.8/29 MC PENTACON 3.5/30 ZEISS FLEKTOGON auto 2.4/35 MC ZEISS FLEKTOGON electric 2.4/35 MC Telephoto lenses of medium focal lengths If you cannot get closer to an object you want to photograph larger than it is possible with a standard lens, then use a telephoto lens. Technically, this is the reversal of wide-angle photography. The long focal length and the small angle of field seem to bring the object closer to you so that the frame is better utilized. Telephoto lenses of medium focal lengths have a pleasant correcting effect on the perspective. The object focused on is separated clearly from the unsharp background. Persons are shown in landscapes and architectural photos in proportions we are accustomed to see. These lenses are especially recommended for portraits as perspective distortions do not occur but they are also suitable for still lives. A remarkable advantage of some lenses of medium focal lengths and all lenses of longest focal lengths is the practical adapter permitting the lenses to be mounted on various camera types. ZEISS PANCOLAR auto 1.8/80 MC ZEISS PANCOLAR electric 1.8/80 MC PENTACON auto 2.8/135 MC PENTACON electric 2.8/135 MC PENTACON 2.8/135 ZEISS S auto 3.5/135 MC ZEISS S electric 3.5/135 MC ZEISS S 2.8/180 MC (with adapter for electric aperture value transmission) PENTACON auto 4/200 MC PENTACON electric 4/200 MC PENTACON 4/200 ZEISS S auto 2.8/200 MC ZEISS S electric 2.8/200 MC Telephoto lenses of longest focal lengths Their versatility is similar to that of lenses of medium focal length but they already show clearly the advantage of longer focal lengths. They bridge long distances and bring details into the frame you would hardly notice with a standard lens. Therefore, they are ideal for photographic reportages, wildlife and sports photography, and also for scientists who appreciate them for their capability of delving into realms that are almost beyond reach. The image scales and perspectives obtained with lenses of extreme focal lengths allow to produce unusual effects. ZEISS S 4/300 MC (with adapter for electric aperture value transmission) PENTACON 4/300 PRAKTICAR 5.6/500 (with adapter for M42 x 1 thread) ZEISS mirror lens 5.6/1000 PENTACON auto 2.8/29 MC ZEISS PANCOLAR auto 1.8/50 MC PENTACON auto 2.8/135 MC PENTACON 4/300 Different picture contents by different focal lengths The different effects of exchangeable lenses of short and long focal lengths are evident when comparing the pictures taken from one and the same position. Wide-angle lenses cover a large field, bringing many details into the frame, which are imaged, however, smaller than with a standard lens. Telephoto lenses, in contrast, have a small angle of field, making an object appear larger so that the frame can be filled with it; they are used when the camera-to-object distance cannot be shortened (for wildlife, sports and stage photos, reportages, etc.). The minimal depth of field of long focal length lenses is of advantage for picture composition. By bringing only essential items into focus, they can be effectively detached from an unsharp background. The photographs show that the use of lenses of different focal lengths produce new and amazing effects. The accessories part of the catalogue has been built into the Accessories Section of this site. Back | Index | Top