Put a coin into the slot in the battery cover and turn it anti-clockwise (a British 5-pence coin or an American quarter works fine here). If the camera has not been used for a while, it might require some effort to get undone; be careful to not let the coin slip and round the sides of the slot. {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/0/07/01_Removing_battery_cover_165. JPG/460px-01_Removing_battery_cover_165. JPG”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/0/07/01_Removing_battery_cover_165. JPG/728px-01_Removing_battery_cover_165. JPG",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:305,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:482,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
<a href="/User:Caidoz" title="User:Caidoz">Caidoz</a> undoing the battery cover of a Praktica MTL3. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
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\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
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0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} A British 5-pence coin or American quarter is fine for removing the battery cover.
Remove the old battery, if one is present, and drop in a PX625 cell into the hole, with the + (positive) terminal facing towards you.
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<a href="/User:Caidoz" title="User:Caidoz">Caidoz</a> fitting the battery to a Praktica MTL3. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
Image by: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} Drop a PX625 cell into the hole.
Note the + terminal facing upwards.
Re-fit the battery cover.
You only need to tighten it just enough that it won’t come loose by itself.
Don’t over-tighten it; you risk the coin slipping and rounding the edges of the slot, which might mean you’re unable to remove it.
Remove the body cap, if present, by screwing it anti-clockwise (looking from the front). {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/6/6d/03_MTL3_sans_lens_803. JPG/460px-03_MTL3_sans_lens_803. JPG”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/6/6d/03_MTL3_sans_lens_803. JPG/728px-03_MTL3_sans_lens_803. JPG",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:305,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:482,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
<a href="/User:Caidoz" title="User:Caidoz">Caidoz</a> with an MTL3 and without a lens. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
Image by: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} An MTL3 with body cap removed.
Lay the camera on your lap, or on a flat surface, facing upwards, and align the thread of the lens with the thread in the lens mount.
Grip the lens gently by the aperture ring or focus ring and start turning gently.
Do not apply any downwards pressure; doing this can result in cross-threading the lens mount or the lens.
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<a href="/User:Caidoz" title="User:Caidoz">Caidoz</a> with an MTL3 and lens. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
Image by: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} Align the thread of the lens with the lens mount and start turning it gently A few turns after the thread has bitten you can start spinning it faster.
Continue turning the lens until it can turn no more, then apply a reasonable amount of force to ensure it has locked fully into place.
{“smallUrl”:“https://www.
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<a href="/User:Caidoz" title="User:Caidoz">Caidoz</a> with an MTL3 and lens. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
Image by: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} Continue turning until the lens is in place; the numbers on the aperture ring will be facing the top of the camera.
If your lens has a switch with an “A” and “M” position, set this to the “A” position.
This will allow you to focus and compose at the widest aperture and you’ll only need to stop the lens down briefly to meter.
{“smallUrl”:“https://www.
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<a href="/User:Caidoz" title="User:Caidoz">Caidoz</a> with an MTL3 and lens. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
Image by: Uploader
\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} The A/M switch on a Pentacon 50mm f/1.
8, set to “A” as it should be.
A triangle on the left hand side. This only appears in our photo above, or in your viewfinder, if you have not armed the shutter. A needle on the right hand side. This is a meter reading. Take note of the +, O and - markings on the scale; we’ll be referring to them later. Three circles in the centre of the image, which are your focusing aids.
The split-image in the centre. This will cause straight vertical lines to appear split in half if they are out of focus, and they will rejoin when they are in focus. Sometimes half of this image will be blacked out, for example with slow lenses (f/4 and slower). The microprism ring outside of that will shimmer when the subject in that area is out of focus, and will be clear when it is in focus. The ground glass of the circle around that will help you if the above focusing aids are not helpful in your shooting situation.
Press and hold the metering key on the front of the camera. The viewfinder might darken as you do this. This is normal; the MTL3 needs to stop down the lens to measure how much light will come through the lens at the given aperture (this is called “stopped-down metering”). {“smallUrl”:“https://www. wikihow. com/images/thumb/2/24/16-1_Metering_key_97. JPG/460px-16-1_Metering_key_97. JPG”,“bigUrl”:"/images/thumb/2/24/16-1_Metering_key_97. JPG/728px-16-1_Metering_key_97. JPG",“smallWidth”:460,“smallHeight”:345,“bigWidth”:728,“bigHeight”:546,“licensing”:"<div class="mw-parser-output">
<a href="/User:Caidoz" title="User:Caidoz">Caidoz</a> and the metering key of an MTL3. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
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\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} Press and hold the metering key.
This is the big black button near the shutter button, which turns on the camera’s meter.
Look at the needle.
If it is in the middle of the “O” mark, then you have a correct exposure.
If not, then adjust either your shutter speed or the aperture ring on your lens until it is correct.
A fuller explanation of the role of aperture and shutter speed is beyond the scope of this article, but you might want to take a look at How to understand camera exposure.
{“smallUrl”:“https://www.
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Through the viewfinder of an MTL3. \n</p>
use freely if you credit me: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external free" href="http://lewiscollard. com/">http://lewiscollard. com/</a>\n</p>
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\nLicense: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/3.
0/">Creative Commons</a>\n</p></div>"} The MTL’s metering needle in action.
Left-to-right: indicating under-exposure (towards the - mark), indicating over-exposure (needle towards the + mark), and indicating a roughly correct exposure (needle close to the O mark).
