was established 1919[1] in Dresden by Paul Guthe and Benno Thorsch, starting out manufacturing the Patent Etui plate camera.

By that time, Benno Thorsch, the surviving partner from 1919, decided to immigrate to the United States and arranged with the US citizen Charles Noble to swap enterprises.

Noble came to Germany and moved the factory to Niedersedlitz on the outskirts of Dresden, while Benno Thorsch in Detroit ran the acquired photo finishing business that was one of the largest in the USA.

The concept proved successful, and through continuous development, the Praktica name became one of the most popular 35mm SLR brands for several decades, beginning in the 1950s.

The highly regarded 35mm SLR Kine Exakta, by Ihagee in Dresden, that preceded it by some three years, is extremely complicated by comparison, and although it provides the same functions, is quite differently built.