Difference between revisions of "Penti"

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| image_text=Blue Penti with [[Meyer]] Trioplan 30mm f3.5 lens<br><small>by John Kratz</small>
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| image_text=Blue Penti with [[Meyer]] Trioplan 30mm f3.5 lens<br><small>by John Kratz {{creative commons}}</small>
 
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The '''Penti''' was made in East Germany by [[Welta]] from c.1959. It was available with a white, red , black or blue body.
 
The '''Penti''' was made in East Germany by [[Welta]] from c.1959. It was available with a white, red , black or blue body.
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| image_text=Red Penti, showing<br>the winding plunger<br><small>by John Kratz</small>
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| image_text=Red Penti, showing<br>the winding plunger<br><small>by John Kratz {{creative commons}}</small>
 
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| image_text=Grey (?) Penti<br><small>by Rick Soloway</small>
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| image_text=Grey (?) Penti<br><small>by Rick Soloway {{with permission}}</small>
 
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| image_text=SL film cartridges and black Penti's camera back opened<br>showing advance button pushed in on the left
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| image_text=SL film cartridges and black Penti's camera back opened<br>showing advance button pushed in on the left. {{with permission}}
 
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The '''Penti''' may have been the finest [[compact camera]] for this film load system, a viewfinder camera with a complete set of manual setting controls, all as rings around the lens: one for distance, one for aperture, and one for shutter speed. It could make 24 18&times;24mm exposures on one strip of 35mm film.  There was a 1:3.5/30 lens, a [[Meyer]] Domiplan or a Meyer Trioplan, and a [[flash sync]]hronized [[leaf shutter]]. Its speciality was the long film advance button. Once pushed into the camera the film was advanced to the next frame. After exposure the button appeared again in full length so that forgetting film advance was never an issue with this camera. The button can be seen pushed in, in the photo of the back, above.
 
The '''Penti''' may have been the finest [[compact camera]] for this film load system, a viewfinder camera with a complete set of manual setting controls, all as rings around the lens: one for distance, one for aperture, and one for shutter speed. It could make 24 18&times;24mm exposures on one strip of 35mm film.  There was a 1:3.5/30 lens, a [[Meyer]] Domiplan or a Meyer Trioplan, and a [[flash sync]]hronized [[leaf shutter]]. Its speciality was the long film advance button. Once pushed into the camera the film was advanced to the next frame. After exposure the button appeared again in full length so that forgetting film advance was never an issue with this camera. The button can be seen pushed in, in the photo of the back, above.
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| image_text=Penti II with selenium match-needle meter
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| image_text=Penti II with selenium match-needle meter. {{with permission}}
 
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In 1961 the '''Penti II''' was introduced by [[Pentacon]]'s predecessor ''VEB Kinowerke''. This version made it a real classic, combining the uniquely designed full featured viewfinder camera with viewfinder-controlled coupled match-needle [[selenium meter]]. It was produced until 1977.
 
In 1961 the '''Penti II''' was introduced by [[Pentacon]]'s predecessor ''VEB Kinowerke''. This version made it a real classic, combining the uniquely designed full featured viewfinder camera with viewfinder-controlled coupled match-needle [[selenium meter]]. It was produced until 1977.

Revision as of 21:46, 8 November 2008

The Penti was made in East Germany by Welta from c.1959. It was available with a white, red , black or blue body.



Once the East German optical industry introduced a 35mm film load system concurrent to Agfa's West German Rapid film. This SL-System (SL-System=Schnell-Lade-System : Fast Load System) used two equal cartridges, one loaded, the other empty. The film advance system shifted the film via the image plane from one cartridge into the other, image by image.


The Penti may have been the finest compact camera for this film load system, a viewfinder camera with a complete set of manual setting controls, all as rings around the lens: one for distance, one for aperture, and one for shutter speed. It could make 24 18×24mm exposures on one strip of 35mm film. There was a 1:3.5/30 lens, a Meyer Domiplan or a Meyer Trioplan, and a flash synchronized leaf shutter. Its speciality was the long film advance button. Once pushed into the camera the film was advanced to the next frame. After exposure the button appeared again in full length so that forgetting film advance was never an issue with this camera. The button can be seen pushed in, in the photo of the back, above. Voigtländer's Vitessa had a similar feature.


In 1961 the Penti II was introduced by Pentacon's predecessor VEB Kinowerke. This version made it a real classic, combining the uniquely designed full featured viewfinder camera with viewfinder-controlled coupled match-needle selenium meter. It was produced until 1977. The Penti I was similar to the II, but without the meter.

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Classic Compact Cameras
Canon IXUS | Minox 35 | Olympus XA | Penti