KW Praktica IV1959

History

The Praktica name was adopted by KW around 1949 as it phased out the Praktiflex designation and began producing a more refined, commercially oriented SLR. The early Praktica FX models of the early-to-mid 1950s maintained a waist-level viewfinder inherited from the Praktiflex lineage. By the late 1950s, the eye-level pentaprism had become the expected configuration for a serious SLR -- the Asahi Pentax (1957) and Minolta SR-2 (1958) had established the standard.

The Praktica IV, introduced in 1959, was KW's response: a body that brought the core Praktica mechanical system -- M42 mount, cloth focal-plane shutter, all-mechanical operation -- into an eye-level pentaprism configuration. The model designation "IV" reflected the iterative numbering convention KW used in this period; the Praktica line was not strictly sequential in naming and several model numbers were applied to bodies with varying feature sets across the same years.

Production continued for several years, with the IV eventually succeeded by models with self-timers, improved shutter mechanisms, and, eventually, the TTL metering introduced on the VLC in the late 1960s.

Why It Matters

The Praktica IV marks the point at which the Dresden SLR line committed fully to eye-level viewing. Before it, the Praktica brand was associated in the minds of many photographers -- particularly in Western Europe where these cameras were exported -- with an older, more awkward waist-level workflow. The pentaprism model brought the Praktica into direct competition with mid-range SLRs from Japan and West Germany.

For the East German photographic industry, the Praktica IV also represented a successful domestically produced response to Cold War-era competition: it was manufactured, exported, and sold in Western markets under various rebadged names, contributing foreign currency to the GDR economy.

Lenses & Accessories

The Praktica IV accepts all M42-mount lenses. Lenses produced contemporaneously by East German manufacturers included:

• Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50/2.8 -- standard four-element lens, sharp when stopped down
• Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 58/2 -- faster standard lens, sought after by collectors for its bokeh rendering
• Meyer-Optik Görlitz Primotar 50/3.5 -- budget-tier standard lens
• Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston 50/1.8 -- faster option introduced in the early 1960s
• Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon 35/2.8 -- wide-angle, well regarded

Any M42 lens produced by any manufacturer, including later Asahi Super-Takumar and Pentax lenses, also fits.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Used by East German press photographers and amateur photographers in the late 1950s and 1960s, particularly those without access to Western import cameras.
• Exported to Western Europe under rebadged names; its M42 lenses, particularly Carl Zeiss Jena glass, were sought after independently of the body.
• Collected today as a representative example of the Cold War-era Dresden camera industry's mid-tier output.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Praktica -- covers the full Praktica line history including model variants and production dates