Praktica BX20

So, my first camera in the 12 months of film project, ( see here for further details ) http://brettgardnerphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/12-months-of-film.html is the Praktica BX20. I received this camera from my dad who gave it to me when I took up photography seriously. I had used it on occasion, most notably when I went to Ethiopia in 1997 where I hadn't really got a clue what I was doing. When he finally gave it to me a year or so ago things had changed, I actually knew what the buttons and dials did so I was really looking forward to putting a film through it.

The angular Praktica BX20

The Praktica BX20 was produced in the German Democratic Republic between 1987 and 1990 and over 200,000 copies were produced. It's quite an angular looking little thing and you probably wouldn't describe it as sexy, not having the same graceful lines as a Nikon of the same era. But I kinda like it. It's boxy looks almost shout out at you, 'right, come on then, let's get on with it, i'm not gonna shoot all by myself now am I'. It's typical Eastern European, no frills, no glamour, just function. The body is a hard plastic, the sign of the times i'm afraid, where mass production and cheapness were more important than outright quality, something that has carried on until this day with the majority of manufacturers. If you have largish hands then the camera feels quite small, you have to almost contort your fingers to fit around the small grip and it's not the most comfortable to hold. You can either shoot it in semi auto aperture mode or manual, no full auto here I'm afraid. It is of course manual focus and this particular example came bundled with the Prakticar 35-70mm F3.5-F4.5 kit lens. Not the fastest, but it does the job. The shutter can be fired at a maximum of 1/1000 sec down to 1 sec as well as bulb mode. There is a dial to change exposure compensation and this can be set between +2 and -2 E.V. LED's light up to show the correct and selected exposure times through the viewfinder.

Shutter button, shutter speed dial and film advance lever.

Film rewind lever and asa/exposure dial.

Prakticar 35-70mm F3.5/F4.5 kit lens.

I tend to shoot in aperture priority mode most of the time and in this regard the camera suits me down to the ground. The thing I've found recently when shooting with film is that it slows me down and I study composition, light and camera settings in a bit more detail than I would normally with digital. I consider the overall look and feel of the image I'm trying to capture that much more carefully and I've found I now adopt this technique when shooting digital. This can only be a good thing, I shoot less but feel that the quality is of a higher standard.

Tide's out.

This is what happens if you don't tip. 

The Praktica performs well and takes nice images although I do notice that the shutter really does slap down when the shutter button is pressed fully, it sounds like a mini thunder clap and everyone around you takes note. So it's not really a stealthy street camera if you intend using it in relatively quiet places, and I think shutter speeds need to be kept reasonably high if you are to avoid soft images due to shutter slap.

Everyone gets into the spirit of things at the Wells Pirate Festival.

Overall I have enjoyed using this camera and I think it was a great choice to start with. This example is in mint condition and doing a search on eBay will reveal dozens for sale. A good clean body and kit lens shouldn't set you back any more than £50 at present. Bargain.

Pictures of the seaside wouldn't be the same without seagulls. They were eyeing up my fish and chips. Naughty.

I used a cheap Agfa Vista Plus ISO 200 film with the Praktica. It did the job and if you are on a budget like I am at present, then it's an affordable way to keep shooting film, priced at £1 for 24 exposures.