Wikipedia
Praktica is a brand of camera manufactured by Pentacon in Dresden in eastern Germany, formerly within the GDR prior to German reunification in 1990. Pentacon is the modern-day successor to Dresden camera firms such as Zeiss Ikon; for many years Dresden was the world's largest producer of cameras. Currently Praktica is the only brand sold by the company; previous ones included Zeiss Ikon, Contax (now owned by the Carl Zeiss company), Exakta, Pentacon, and many more.
The firm collapsed after German reunification but was resurrected in partnership with Schneider Kreuznach. Praktica today produces many products under various brands such as auto industry products, 3D LCD screens, and still cameras and lenses under their own Praktica brand and also more known international brands.
One of the first inventions of the firm, which is still known today, was the roll film SLR camera in 1936. In the Eastern bloc countries, the firm's products were more known than in the western world. They currently produce both budget lenses (mostly small, not very durable, and having manual focus, but good in optical quality) and higher priced products (citation needed). They also produce optical equipment for the space programs of the US, Western Europe, and Russia. (citation needed)