Petri 7s
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| Petri 7s image by Christopher Robin Roberts (Image rights) |
The Petri 7s is a 35mm fixed-lens rangefinder camera made by Petri in 1962[1] as an improved replacement for the Petri 7 of 1961. Like that camera, it has an around-the-lens selenium cell light meter, which reads Exposure Values 7 to 17.[2] This is improved in the 7s by the addition of a second match-needle display on the top plate; the original model has the meter display only in the viewfinder. This top-plate display was retained in later models.
Other differences from the previous model include an improved film advance lever (pictured below right) and an automatic resetting frame counter. The two lens options are the same as in the previous model: either a coated 45mm f/2.8 or a 6-element 45mm f/1.8. A clamp-on hood was supplied, and the lens accepts 52mm screw-in filters; these will cover the meter sensor, so exposure will be corrected for the filter. The Citizen leaf shutter gives speeds from 1 to 1/500 second, plus 'B', and is synchronised, switchable between X- and M-synch with a small lever on the lens barrel. There is also a self-timer. The brightline frame in the viewfinder is also slightly improved, having extra marks for parallax error correction when focused close up.
On the first version of the 7S there is a narrow translucent strip on the front of the top housing, in front of the shutter release button. This strip is purely decorative and serves no functional purpose[3], and was deleted later in the production run. Early versions of the 7S included a silver and black aperture ring, while later versions used an all-black aperture ring.
Petri also produced an auxiliary lens set for both versions, which includes a wide angle attachment lens, a telephoto attachment lens, a cold shoe-mounted viewfinder, along with a case and instructions. The auxiliary lenses are screwed into the front of the fixed lens and block the use of the light meter; consequently, the instructions state that meter readings must be taken prior to installing the auxiliary lenses.
Production ended in 1973, and the 7s was superseded by the Petri 7s II in 1974.
Notes
- ↑ According to McKeown; other sources say '63; perhaps the delay between announcement by Petri in Japan and availability in foreign markets. McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). p579.
- ↑ User's manual at Mike Butkus' Orphan Cameras.
- ↑ The Petri parts list for the camera labels this strip as a "decorative nylon filling"
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| Top view, showing the match-needle meter display image by AWCam (Image rights) |
Links
- Petri 7s manual at Mike Butkus Orphan Cameras
- Petri 7s at Karen Nakamura's Photoethnography.com
- Petri 7, Petri 7S, Petri 7 S II on www.collection-appareils.fr (in French)
