The Hanimex Praktica 66 is a single lens reflex camera and a variant of the Pentacon Six. The cameras were built by VEB Pentacon Dresden in the GDR and sold by Hanimex in Australia. Hanimex is derived from the company name "Jack Hannes Import Export". The Sydney-based import/export company sold cameras and flashes from other companies under its own name in Australia and later in the Commonwealth.
The lenses of Hanimex Praktica 66 are interchangeable. Lenses with a Praktisix bayonet / Pentacon Six bayonet / P6 bayonet can be used. The Hanimex Praktica 66 has no autofocus. Therefore, you have to focus by hand.
The Hanimex Praktica 66 does not have an exposure meter for the correct exposure. However, there is a suitable attachment with built-in exposure meter and prismatic viewfinder. The aperture and exposure time can be selected by the photographer as desired.
The medium format camera has a bulb mode. The shutter is open for a variable time. An external flash unit can be used via the PC flash socket. The Hanimex Praktica 66 has a thread for a tripod and cable release. The camera also has a self-timer.
Films for the Hanimex Praktica 66
The Hanimex Praktica 66 uses 120 film. Although the film format was presented many decades ago, there are still some companies which make fresh films. Nice films for black-and-white or color images are the Ilford XP2 Super* and the Lomography Color Negative 400 120*. The film is exposed in 6x6 format. One roll of film has room for twelve shots with this picture format. The camera also can be used with 220-film.
