Reviews of the Praktisix and the Pentacon Six

The Pentacon Six System

by TRA

Reviews of the Praktisix and Pentacon Six

On this page we present a selection of reviews of the Praktisix and the Pentacon Six. This clearly does not attempt to be comprehensive, and the main focus is on the early years. There are articles here in English and in German.

English-language Reviews

Click on the images below to be taken to the corresponding review, which will either be displayed as an original-size jpeg (in the case of single-page articles) or as a pdf (in the case of multi-page articles).

The U.K. photographic monthly “PRACTICAL photography” described itself as “THE BRITISH HOW-TO-DO-IT PHOTO MAGAZINE”. In 1962 it cost 2/6 (pronounced “two and six”), i.e., two shillings and six pence, or twelve and a half pence (12½p) in the decimal currency that was introduced nine years later.

From “Practical Photography”, March 1962

Review of the Praktisix
(Compared with £25 for the electronic flash at the top of the page, £141 9s for the Praktisix does not sound expensive – but a young person in their first job might have taken home £30 per month.)

The BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY has been the leading U.K. photographic periodical for professional photographers for over a century and a half. With its emphasis on professional, rather than amateur, photographic equipment, it published reviews of the Praktisix, the Praktisix II and the Pentacon Six, as well as on the lenses and accessories for these cameras.

We reproduce some of these reviews here.

From “British Journal of Photography”, 4th January 1963

Review of the Praktisix

From “British Journal of Photography”, 10th December 1965

Review of the Praktisix II

From “British Journal of Photography”, 22nd March 1968

Review of the Pentacon Six

From “British Journal of Photography”, 3rd May 1968

Review of Pentacon Six lenses

The magazine “AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER” is to amateur photographers in the UK what the “British Journal of Photography” is to the professional. It has been published weekly since 1884 and it has regularly published reviews of the Praktisix and the Pentacon Six and lenses and accessories for them.

We reproduce some of the earliest reviews here.

From “Amateur Photographer”, 10th February 1965

Review of the Praktisix II

From “Amateur Photographer”, 24th January 1968

Review of the Pentacon Six

From “Amateur Photographer”, 20th March 1968

Review of Pentacon Six lenses

From “Amateur Photographer”, 12th February 1969

Review of 120mm Biometar lens (mis-spelt as “Biometer”)

From “Amateur Photographer”, 23rd April 1969

Review of bellows for the Pentacon Six
(Readers may also be interested in the review of the 50mm Carl Zeiss Jena Pancolar for 35mm cameras.)

From “SLR YEARBOOK 1970”, published by The Haymarket Publishing Group, London

Review of the Pentacon Six

From “MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY” (USA), December 1972

“PRAKTICA PHOTOGRAPHY” articles

“PRAKTICA PHOTOGRAPHY” was the journal of the U.K. Pentacon Club, which operated from 1974 until 1990 – another casualty of the collapse of East Germany, and with it the subsidy that made it viable to publish a high-quality magazine six times a year, at a very modest price. On eight occasions the magazine contained reviews of the Pentacon Six. Here they are.

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1977 No 5

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1979 No 5

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1979 No 6

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1990 No 2

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1990 No 3

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1990 No 4

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1990 No 5

From “PRAKTICA Photography” (UK) 1990 No 6

With this issue came the sad news of the closing down of the club and, with it, the magazine. We also reproduce here the editorial that contained this announcement.

German-language Reviews
Artikel in Deutscher Sprache

I am grateful to the authors and the publisher for permission to provide here copies of some superb articles on the Praktisix, Pentacon Six and Exakta 66 and their lenses.

The magazine is Photo Deal, which is highly recommended for everyone interested in classic cameras. It provides well-informed and authoritative articles and high-quality illustrations. To visit the Photo Deal website, click on their logo, to the right of this text.

Clicking on any of the titles below takes you to a pdf of the article.

Click on the logo
to find out more.

Von der Praktisix zur Exakta 66 (From the Praktisix to the Exakta 66)	Praktisix Prototypen (Praktisix Prototypes)
Zeiss-Objektive mit Praktisix-Anschluss (1) (Zeiss lenses for the Praktisix & the Pentacon Six (1))	Zeiss-Objektive mit Praktisix-Anschluss - Die Teleobjektive (2) (Zeiss lenses for the Praktisix & the Pentacon Six - The Tele Lenses (2))
Meyer-Objektive für die Praktisix (1) (Meyer lenses for the Praktisix (1))	Meyer-Objektive für die Praktisix (2) (Meyer lenses for the Praktisix (2))
Pentacon Six M (special version of the Pentacon Six for the microscope)	Konverter zur Praktisix (Converters for the Praktisix)
Vollsynchronisierte PENTACON six-Modelle (Pentacon Six models with full flash synchronisation)

To go back to the beginning of the literature section, click here.

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