Mystery Speed Dial - Any Clues ?

<p>Folks, I have this orphaned speed dial that was on one of my Petri FTs'. It obviously has no 1,000 top speed, only 500, whereas all the FTs' I've had anything to do with have the 12 notches in the mechanism under the top cover below the speed dial, 12 notches includes the 1,000 speed, I've never seen or known of an eleven notch FT<br>

I've googled extensively searching for a Petri with only 500 top speed and with a dial like this one but came up way short. Others are either all black or have different coloured numbers or are a different design altogether<br>

Anyone into Petris', anyone have any clues? My question doesn't require an urgent answer but I'm interested in solving this mystery. Perhaps the very first run of FTs' were only 500 top speed ? I really have no idea <br>

Thanks, Ken</p><div></div>

<p>I think around 1976 there were two models, one with a top speed of 1000th and the other with 500th. So you can get the Petri FT1000 and the Petri FT500.</p>

<p>It's difficult to say, all my research so far points to the earlier period of late 60s' early 70s'. The camera model this dial was on may be quite rare, if one can be found at all. The dial being exactly the same in every respect as an FT but minus the "1000" stamped on it<br>

I'm taking a wild stab in the dark and say that Petri may have made a commercial decision to block off the 1,000 speed in the FT and sell it in a certain market somewhere in the world or maybe it was sold just in Japan itself, and this one I have here escaping the home country ... I'm only guessing at this stage. Another clue could be the 1,000 speed giving trouble and they blocked it off, again, as a commercial decision. Two of the FTs' I have here have that problem, including the minty "never" used one, it's 500 speed was lagging also but came good with just 10 winds of the handle, not so the 1,000 speed unfortunately, but hoping it will eventually<br>

I'll keep the dial as a souvenir <br>

thanks, Ken</p>

<p>"escaping the home country" ... only the dial I meant ... not the camera, I don't have that, someone else possibly imported it</p>

<p>Ken,</p>

<p>Petri came out with the original Petri FT in 1967. It had a top speed of 1/1000. It is labeled FT on the front.</p>

<p>In 1969 Petri came out with the Petri FT EE. It had a top speed of 1/500.</p>

<p>In 1973 Petri came out with the Petri FTE. It had a top speed of 1/500.</p>

<p>Around 1975 Petri came out with both the Petri FT 500 and the Petri FT 1000. They are labeled the same on the front. The picture I have of the FT 500 shows an all black dial.</p>

<p>Other possibilities:</p>

<p>1959 Petri Penta - Top speed 1/500</p>

<p>1961 Petri Penta V2 - Top speed 1/500</p>

<p>1962 Petri Flex V - Top speed 1/500</p>

<p>I don't know if giving you all these options will be a help or not. The pictures I have of these camera are generally very small and it is hard to tell the difference in the speed dials.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Yes, it's those black dials that had me back pedalling to the late 60s'. Later dials are black or different design, some dials have the X flash speed marking in between the 60 and 30 speeds<br>

I'll double check the FT EE and FTE again just in case I missed one or both ... I know what you mean about not being able to see them in pictures, not all internet photos show the top of the dial, it's a bummer but most I can see the edge whether it's black or with silver <br>

Thanks<br>

Ken</p>

<p >Checked FT EE and FTE again - Both are 500 top speed ok but with pull-up ring for ASA change ... the search goes on !</p>

<p > </p>

<p >The Petri with the name just "Petri 500" is different to the 500 dial I have</p>

<p > </p>

<p >The Petri FT 500 dial, (which I haven't found a pic of yet), if it is anything like the Petri FT 1000, it will probably be the same ... and different to the 500 dial I have. I've yet the view an FT 500</p>

<p > </p>

<p >PS I was looking at a pic of my minty FT while searching the elusive 500 dial. This pic plus a few more were in the description and the text described the camera as being in excellent condition, untested ... yes well, how much trouble to check the the handle movement? Locked up ! but I resisted sending it back and decided to have a go at fixing it ... got that done, and replaced the two light cell unit because of a broken wire, and replaced one circuit board at the same time ... funny thing, that broken wire on one cell didn't stop the light meter from working. The camera was cheap so bought it for parts. It's fixed now and looking a million dollars after cleaning as much as an FT can look that way, pretty soon I'll put a film though it. Another consumer camera saved ! The Petri FT was ok, I took many transparencies with my original second hand FT, I was camera naive then but the pics were always well exposed, the lens seemed good as well, I had no complaints. A little knowhow and lubrication gets old ones going again </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Ninth row down, fourth from the left next to advertising brochure .... the seller's pic, don't ya just need Xray vision sometimes on the "Bay" ?</p>

<p >http://www.google.com.au/search?q=petri+ft&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=w0RPU9mjOYSJkwW4zYDgCQ&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1450&bih=1090</p>

<p>There is a completed auction on the unnamed auction site for a Petri FT 500 with a photo of the top of the camera (e*ay item no. 201059025025). Unlike the FT EE, the X-sync marking points to 1/60 and not between 1/30 and 1/60. The shutter speed dial differs from yours only in that the slow speeds (1/15 through 1 sec.) are in green and "B" is in orange. However, I believe that Petri change the color schemes over the years. I have seen FT 1000s with both color schemes so it's reasonable to assume that FT 500s were made in both color schemes.</p>

<p><em>"I have seen FT 1000s with both color schemes</em>"<br>

That's interesting, I'll keep an eye out for that, thanks<br>

The latest piece of golden information I have is that there was, apparently, a Petri F ... just "F", - The first link has a list of Petri's' starting from "Petri F" to "Petri GX-4. The Petri F starts the list, followed by the Petri FT and so on. The list seems to be the order in which the SLR's were made. This "F" could possibly be the camera that has this mystery dial but until a photo of it shows up I'll probably never know. Finding out about this camera may necessitate searching for an expert familiar with Petri makes and models and consulting them, but who would be an expert on Petri's'? ... the mind goes into stress!<br>

Ken</p>

<p>http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Kuribayashi-(Petri)/</p>

<p>http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Kuribayashi-(Petri)/Petri-F.html</p>

<p> </p>

Check out e*ay auction item no. 380888582283. It's an FT 1000 with the slow shutter speeds in green and "B" in orange. Unusually, it's also marked "FT 1000" rather than simply "FT" as most were identified. I'm not all that familiar with Petri SLRs, but my guess is that your shutter speed dial is from an FT 500. I'd also hazard a guess that the first production models had the slow speeds in green. The relative rarity of the FT 500 may indicate that it was only sold on the home market.

<p>Mystery solved! well almost, I only have photographic proof so far. It seems there were two versions of the same Petri FT, one with a top speed of only 1/500 sec, and one with 1/1000 sec, going by their speed dials. These were early Petri SLRs' and quite distinct from the later model FTs' which were designated "FT500" and "FT1000", stamped on the front of the top cover. All these Petris' are cheap to buy but the early version with 1/500 sec top speed is apparently a very rare camera <br>

Picture of the early 1/500 version<br>

http://www.kijiji.it/annunci/fotografia/bolzano-annunci-bolzano/rollei-sl35-staffa-porta-flash-originale/45196897</p>