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.
View profile →slr-35mm
The Praktica B100 Quartz (c. 1986) is a limited production variant of the KW Praktica B100, VEB Pentacon's entry-level Praktica B-mount SLR. The core camera is identical to the standard B100 in all significant respects: aperture-priority-only exposure automation, silicon blue cell open-aperture TTL metering, Praktica B electronic bayonet mount, polycarbonate body on a metal chassis, and four AA battery dependency with no mechanical shutter fallback. The distinguishing feature of the Quartz variant is a quartz-controlled timing circuit for the electronic focal-plane shutter, in place of the standard B100's RC-circuit timing oscillator.
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.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
Develop 35mm film
Labs in our directory that process 35mm film.
Before you buy used
About this camera
The B100 with a quartz-controlled shutter clock: same aperture-priority simplicity, improved timing accuracy in a limited production variant.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm (24x36 mm) |
| Mount | Praktica B bayonet (electronic) |
| Introduced | ~1986 |
| Shutter | Electronic focal-plane: 1s - 1/1000s + B (stepless in Av) |
| Shutter timing | Quartz-controlled oscillator |
| Flash sync | 1/100s (X-sync) |
| Meter | Silicon blue cell TTL, open-aperture |
| Exposure | Aperture-priority auto only |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism |
| Focus | Manual, split-prism + microprism ring |
| Battery | 4x AA (LR6) |
| Mechanical fallback | None |
VEB Pentacon introduced the Praktica B bayonet in 1979, replacing the M42 screwmount that had defined Praktica cameras for three decades. The B mount was an electronic bayonet with dedicated contacts for aperture-value transmission, enabling open-aperture TTL metering across the range of B-mount Carl Zeiss Jena and Pentacon-branded lenses.
The standard B100 entered production in 1985 as the base-level B-mount body, positioned below the BC1 (which added manual exposure control). The B100 Quartz variant followed approximately in 1986, extending the quartz-timing upgrade programme that VEB Pentacon was applying to selected models in this period. Production numbers for the Quartz variant are believed to be substantially lower than those of the standard B100, making it less common in the used market.
German reunification in 1990 brought the VEB Pentacon organisation into the successor Pentacon GmbH, which continued production of some models before the Praktica brand passed through subsequent ownership. By the early 1990s, autofocus Japanese SLRs at comparable prices had made manual-focus aperture-priority-only cameras difficult to market, and the B-mount line was discontinued.
The B100 Quartz's significance is narrow but specific: it demonstrates that VEB Pentacon saw value in applying engineering refinements even to the base of its product range. Where quartz timing on the MTL3 or a hypothetical BC1 Quartz variant might serve professional or semi-professional users needing consistent long exposure accuracy, the B100 Quartz applies the same upgrade to an aperture-priority-only entry-level body. The improvement is most meaningful at slower shutter speeds -- 1s and 1/2s -- where the quartz oscillator's stability over an RC circuit produces more reliable exposure.
For collectors, the Quartz variant is the more interesting of the two B100 specifications. It represents a data point in VEB Pentacon's mid-1980s engineering programme and is scarce enough to be difficult to find in working condition. For practical film photographers, the standard B100 serves the same purpose at lower cost.
Praktica B electronic bayonet mount. All B-mount lenses function on the B100 Quartz in full aperture-priority automatic mode:
M42 lenses can be physically adapted with a B-mount adapter but lose electronic aperture coupling, reverting to stop-down metering. Without manual exposure control on the B100 Quartz, stop-down metering is operationally awkward; native B-mount lenses are strongly preferred.
TTL flash via hotshoe with compatible Pentacon or Metz units at 1/100s sync.
The B100 Quartz was a niche variant sold through VEB Pentacon's domestic and Western European export channels in the mid-to-late 1980s. No association with specific photographers or notable photographic projects has been documented. Like the standard B100, it served the amateur and student market.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
View profile →C41
Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
View profile →KW Praktica B100 Quartz
Image coming soon