Established in 1949

Praktica has been held by those who lead, perform and experience the unthinkable. This includes the first manned Soviet space program - shown above - though our story dates back to the 1830s when the first ever camera was developed in Dresden, East Germany.


1949 - 1990

8.5 million SLR cameras left the factories around Dresden between 1949 and 1990 from brands including Praktica, Pentacon, Zeiss Ikon and Leica.

"When photography was invented , it was thought to be an equivalent to truth. It was the truth with a capital T" - Vicki Goldberg

1830-1990
Dresden, Eastern Germany became an innovative hub for camera manufacturing. Famously known for the entrepreneurship of the Enzmann brothers, Richard Hüttig, Emil Wünsche and Heinrich Ernemann.
1926
The four largest German camera manufacturers merged to form Zeiss-Ikon, making Dresden the largest camera manufacturing region in Europe.
1935
The first 35mm twin-lens reflex camera with interchangeable lens and built-in exposure meter was invented in Dresden.
1939
The Praktiflex 35mm SLR was launched. The concept proved successful, and through continuous development the Praktica name became one of the most popular 35mm SLR brands for several decades.
1949
The first official Praktica single-lens reflex camera was manufactured with a M42 lens mount. New models followed FX, IV, V, Nova, L-Series which soared in popularity and finally gave Praktica the world wide acceptance of world-class camera manufacturing.
1959
Under the socialists' economic regime, Dresden's camera and lens manufacturers were all systematically merged founding the company Pentacon.
1978
Pentacon and Praktica SLR cameras were the first cameras used in a manned space program organised by the Russian Soviets.
1985
Pentacon merged with Carl Zeiss Jena and introduced a range of modern sports cameras and binoculars.
1989
With the collapse of communism and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Pentacon and Carl Zeiss partnership ended. Following this the Schneider lens group invested heavily in Pentacon, helping them to continue to manufacture Praktica cameras.
Today
Today Praktica is all about capturing and exploring, whether it’s shooting on film, going digital, printing photos or discovering the outdoors with our range of binoculars and optics.