I'm here going to compare and contrast two very similar cameras that are both also similar to the Kiev 6C/60 range.
The Pentacon 6 is a 6x6 rollfilm SLR styled in a very similar way to 35mm Prakticas of the 60s and 70s - ugly, angular and with an angled, front-mounted shutter release to reduce camera shake. The earlier models weren't very reliable, but the 6TL has a fairly good reputation in all respects except film transport - although not as bad as earlier models, particularly in terms of spacing, you always have to take very great care not to let the windon lever spring back by itself, but to guide it back manually - otherwise, you can break it.
It's a fairly big and cumbersome-looking beast, with a fixed back and interchangeable viewfinders - I used both the waist level finder, and a TTL-metered prism finder with mine. The screen fitted gives a fairly murky viewfinder image whichever option is used, and the prism finder reduces viewinder coverage to about 80%. The prism is also rather heavy, so tends to make the camera feel a little unbalanced. Other than that, the camera is actually not too bad for handheld use - it's not excessively large and heavy, and balances pretty well with most lenses, although it's a bit of a handful with the 300mm f4 Sonnar. Mirror slap isn't too pronounced, nor really is the kick from the fairly large cloth focal plane shutter. It has a respectable range of shutter speeds (set on the left hand side of the topplate, viewed from the rear).
The body is covered in a material very familiar to anyone who has used a Praktica of similar vintage.
Lens mounting is via a breechlock, which is quick and positive, and gives access to the real delight of this system, the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses (made, like the camera, in the DDR). I used 50mm, 80mm, 180mm and 300mm multicoated lenses with mine, and also the Ukranian 30mm Arsat fisheye, which is terrific fun. Other CZJ lenses available include 65mm, 120mm and 500mm lenses, although not all are available multicoated, and I've also got some auto extension tubes.
So it's a decent enough platform for some truly excellent lenses, but concerns over its fragility led me to buy the Exakta and eventually sell the P6.
Exakta 66 - I'm not dealing with the pre-war version, simply the one produced after the fall of Communism. This is a pretty similar camera to the Pentacon 6TL, but it is improved in several areas. The windon seems more reliable, the viewfinder screen is vastly improved, and it has an all-over rubber covering. It actually feels much better made, and gives a lot more confidence in use.
By the time it was made, Carl Zeiss Jena had been re-integrated into Carl Zeiss (and closed down!), so lenses were made for it by Schneider. Two 80mm lenses were available, and the dearer one has a very fine reputation indeed. I've got the cheaper one, though, and that's no slouch, either. It uses the same breechlock mount as the Pentacon 6 and the Kievs, so there are a wide range of lenses available for it.
All in all, I much prefer the Exakta to the P6 as a working tool - I really should use it more.
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