Hanimex Praktica Super TL
It seems that the world of Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras using the M42 mount is never quite full enough. These cameras are seemingly everywhere but, despite the similar lenses, the camera bodies themselves are as distinct from each other as is possible. No camera is more distinct from its contemporaries as the Hanimex Praktica Super TL.
Launched in 1968, from the VEB Pentacon AG company in Dresden, Germany, the Hanimex Praktica Super TL 35mm SLR camera incorporated much of the leading camera technology of its day. The Super TL had the capability to use automatic diaphragm lenses, an electronic CdS light meter, and two flash synchronization connections (one for flash bulbs, the other for electronic flashes). While the light meter is powered by the, once popular, mercury battery, the rest of the camera is manual and doesn't require an electronic power source.
The first thing a new user of the Hanimex Praktica Super TL is likely to notice is the placement of the shutter release button on the front of the camera. It is mounted at an angle, pointing up. While it may take some users a bit of time to get accustomed to this arrangement, it easily becomes second nature, making other shutter release buttons seem odd in short order.
The M42 lens mount allowed the Hanimex Praktica Super TL to accept lenses from other camera manufacturers such as Pentax/Takumar, Yashica, and even some Soviet era lenses. The ubiquity and wide variety of M42 mount lenses means that the Super TL will remain a useful camera for lots of different photography, well into the 21st century.
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