Praktica's manual B-bayonet SLR — the BMS, TTL metering, electronic shutter, 1987.
The Praktica BMS is a 35mm film SLR produced by VEB Pentacon in Dresden, East Germany, in the late 1980s as part of the Praktica B bayonet system. It was a simpler, cost-focused model in the B range aimed at students and budget buyers, offered as an accessible entry into the bayonet Praktica line.
It is a Praktica B bayonet SLR with an electronically controlled vertical-travel metal focal-plane shutter. The BMS is a manual-exposure body with through-the-lens open-aperture metering, the photographer setting aperture and shutter speed to a metered indication in the pentaprism finder. Because the shutter is electronically timed, the camera relies on its battery to fire and meter correctly.
The BMS suits students, beginners and general users wanting a straightforward manual SLR with modern bayonet handling and open-aperture metering. It is lighter and simpler than the launch B bodies, well suited to learning exposure, with the lighter construction and the narrower B lens range being the trade-offs against the older all-metal M42 cameras.
On the used market, treat this as an electronic camera: test with a fresh battery, since a flat or failing cell can prevent it firing or metering. Inspect foam light seals and mirror-damper foam for perishing, confirm the meter reads sensibly across the range, and check the prism for desilvering. Verify the bayonet contacts are clean, and test film advance, rewind and focusing-screen condition.