DBAlex said:
I was wondering if I bought a Digital SLR, Is there any way i can use the lenses from my dads praktica 35mm slr? There the bayonet type screw in lenses, my dad said there totally obselete now and not supported?
Is he right?
Would it be expensive for more lenses? (im guessing yes, The ones i have now are a wide angle, some extension tubes (great for macro), and a nomal lense and a really large one? Maybe thats for zoom...)
Anyway please help! If I can't use them is there anywhere i can buy a more modern 35mm body that i can buy? the one i have now (Praktica Super TL 1000) is from the 80's... and the counter has broke! (I want one that can use the lenses just with more moden features...
Thanks for any help... As you can tell im not really up on all the photography stuff but im a beginner + learning!
First off "Praktica" of without question a top name brand. It is the parent of
"Zeiss Ikon, Exacta and Contax". Exacta was the design Nikon then later Canon copied when they built their firt SLRs. The Early Janpanees SLRs were copies of the German Exacta design but I think simplified and more robustly built. I own both a Nikon F2 and an Exacta. The F2 is built like a tank, the Exacta like a fine mechancial clock.
You say "bayonet type screw in" which is a contradiction of terms. Lens mount are _either_ "bayonet" or "screw". All modern SRLs use a bayonet system where you rotate the lens only about 1/4 turn to mount it. Screw mounts require you to rotate the lens three or so revolutions to mount it. I beleive Praktica invented the "screw mont". A screw mount lens will have 42mm threads with a 1mm thread pitch. Many other camera makers used the same mount system. The most common screw mount SLR in the US was the Pentax.
I think you may be in luck because the new Pentax DSLR, I think can still use screw mount lenses. Only two camera makers have made a public commitment to _never_ obsolte their lenses that would be Nikon and Pantax. Other makers seem to change lens monts every few decades.
So look at Pentax.
That said. These old lenses while they could be used have very little value. They sell for well under $100 each. So while Zies lenses were very good and still are optically very good they lack features people like to use today.. Basically if you want to use any of the "automatic" modes of the camera you will need a more modern lens. Also back if the 1950's and into the 1970's zooms were awful. The quality did not compare to primes. Good zooms had to wait for the advent of more sophisticated optical coatings, computer design and exotic glasses.
I'd suggest you keep the Praktica and use it. It's actually kind of fun to shoot with a real, mechanical camera that is powered with springs and gears rather them batteries and computers. One thing it will do that no DSLR can do is shoot slides. Nothing can beat the impact and image quality of projected slides. The people in the darkened rom see the actual film that was in the camera. Get a tripod and some Fuji Veliva or Kodak Kodachrome and shoot a few rolls
Then if you need digital then you can read all of the Canon Vs. Nikon debates all of the the various Internet forums. But before you do deside on a brand remember the lenses will be the larger and more important purchace. DSLR camera bodies are not that important or expensive compared to a set of quality lenses. So shop for lenses then pick a brand.
