Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston - a photo on Flickriver

On September 7, 2024, at the annual photo fair of Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure, France, I found this Meyer-Optik Görlitz lens Oreston 1:1.8 f=50mm in M42 mount that I wanted to associate to my Praktica IV SLR camera body.

The lens was in acceptable condition for 20€ in the range range of price of my Praktica IV. Both were manufactured in Dresden, Germany in the year 1960’s. Oreston lens was marketed starting from 1965 in order to equip, in particular, the Praktica Nova that was anticipated to be produced massively by Pentacon for exportation (zeissikonveb.de/start/objektive/normalobjektive/oreston.html).

Oreston was a modern normal lens 6-lens double Gauss type, capable to compete with other foreign productions of that time, with a large aperture, automatic diaphragm mechanism, and optical performances that could not rival to Zeiss Jena productions (as the Flexon and Pancolar) but still very near at medium apertures.

For testing the lens, I loaded a 36-exposure black-and-white Fomapan 100.In the Praktica IV equipped with the Oreston lens. The lens was equipped a generic Yellow 49mm screw-on filter and a cylindrical modern shade hood for the views taken. The expositions were determined for 64 ISO instead of the nominal 100 ISO to compensate the filter light absorption, using an Autometer III Minolta light meter fitted with a 10° finder for selective measurements privileging the shadow areas or with the integrative dome for measurement of the incident light.

September 10, 2024
69001 Lyon
France

After complete exposure, the film was revealed using Adox Adonal (Agfa Rodinal) developper at dilution 1+50 at 20°C for 9 min. The film was then digitized using a Sony A7 body fitted to a Minolta Slide Duplicator installed on a Minolta Auto Bellows III with a lens Minolta Bellow Macro Rokkor 50mm f/3.5. The RAW files obtained were processed without intermediate files in LR and edited to the final jpeg pictures.

All views of the film are presented in the dedicated album either in the printed framed versions and unframed full-size jpeg plus some documentary smartphone color pictures.

About the Praktica IV camera :

I got the camera body Praktica IV and a set of related KDH Leipzig accessories from an eBay seller near Paris, France.. The whole arrived to me on January, 31, 2024, in Lyon, France.

The Praktica IV was designed by the prestigious KW (Kamera Werk Niedersedlitz) German company in Dresden on the basis of their previous Praktica FX SLR camera's. The camera was produced first under the KW name starting from June 1959 then within the Kombinat VEB Pentacon after the merge of the company in 1960.

166.800 Praktica IV and V (6 models) were produced until January 1966. Praktica IV essentially incorporates a condenser focusing screen plus a pentaprism. Due to the Praktica FX architecture the Pentaprism looks protruding from the camera body with an unusual style. It fits lenses with M42x1 mount and the mirror has no automatic return. The shutter is made of two horizontal curtains of rubberized fabric giving 1/500s to 1/2s plus B in two registers of slow speeds (1/2s to 1/10s) and high speeds (1/25s to 1/500s). The film is advanced coupled to the shutter cocking using either the right upper button or the rapid lever underneath the body.

The Praktica IV handles the "Auto" M42 lenses with the lever for automatic iris closing upon the release. Sequentially, when pressing the shutter release button, the diaphragm closes to the indicated value, the mirror is lift-off and finally the shutter is erased at the given value. If a non-auto (manual closing) M42 is used the pushing lever could be cancelled (declutched) moving a small red button to the right in the mirror chamber.

The camera camera came without lens but with a body cap and the original ever-ready leather bag with et "Ernermann tower" Pentacon logo. This model is likely the second Praktica IV essentially the same as the initial KW one with a different front plate. The camera was likely art of a collection and is completely preserved without use marks.

The KDH Leipzig (Kurt-Dieter Huffziger Foto- und Kinozubehör) accessories set included:

-A panoramic tripod head
-A set of three extension tubes M42x1)
- A big aluminum shade hood (screw-on 49mm) for wide-angle lens.
- A M42x1 metal body cap in its original box.
- An accessory shoe fitting the the Praktica IV eye piece.

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Taken on: September 10, 2024

Tags:

Lyon

France

Pentacon

Dresden

Kamera

Werke

Niedersedlitz

Praktica

German

SLR

Years

1960's

M42

mount

Meyer-Optik

Görlitz

Oreston

normal

lens

1:1.8

f=50mm

Fomapan

100

Adox

Adonal

Agfa

Rodinal

développer

1+50

Sony

digitizing

Minolta

Auto

Bellows

Slide

Duplicator

Macro

Rokkor

50mm « less

Sets appears in: • Meyer-Optik Görlitz Oreston

Camera: vivo V2124, f/1.8, 1/50 sec, 4mm, ISO 1123 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	vivo V2124
Aperture:	f/1.8
Exposure Time:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Focal Length:	4mm
ISO:	1123
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Light Source:	D65
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Macintosh)
Show full info

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