This is another post that was written before the covid restrictions. I got this camera at a vintage fair where I was trying to sell a few brownies. It was very cheap and one of the very few cameras I saw on another stall. At only £10 I thought it was a fair price given the lens on it. Everything seem to work when I picked it up, even the light meter. I had just sold another Praktica so didn’t mind getting this one.

I mainly bought this one for the strap, but it was attached to the camera so what can you do 🙂 Plus I could use the lens on the Zenit 11 I have and am keeping.

The LB was produced between 1972-77 and is completely manual, no battery required at all. It is a solid piece of kit, very sturdy. It has an uncoupled light meter, but the window placement means you have to be careful not to cover it with your left index finger. Like the Zenit 11 the meter is a needle match system, you then transfer the readings to the functions manually.

I decided to try the camera straight away as I had some slide film and chemicals to finish. Once a film is inside, this example became a little stiff to wind on. I also found the full metal wind on lever a bit slippery. The next version, the LB2, has a plastic cover which I feel must make this more comfortable to use. I prefer the shutter button to be on the top of the camera, but the placement of it wasn’t a major issue. You really do need a good strap on this cameras as it is quite heavy for an SLR.

Here are some sample photos from my local area, taken just as the social distancing directive was issued. I took a Dr Who toy out with me as I have photographed this area many times and because I could.

I found the results a bit under exposed, the worst ones I haven’t uploaded here. I am not sure if it is the camera, the film or the processing, so I am leaving them out.

I enjoyed using the camera, but not as much as the Zenit. I will sell this eventually, when I can or give it away to a worth cause.