Not Quite a Masterpiece : the Petri Color 35

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>When Stephen Gandy of "Cameraquest" fame described this little camera as a "design masterpiece" the prices on the Big Auction elevated sharply, though they've slipped back to more realistic levels, recently. It's the Petri Color 35.</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Stephen described the Color 35 as being "...the camera that the Rollei 35 should have been". Strong stuff, indeed. Launched in 1968, the Color 35 is very small, not quite as compact as the Rollei 35 but close to it with the lens retracted back into the body for transit. It's a design that came out of left field, created by the Petri Camera Company, a manufacturer that produced a rather average collection of 35mm cameras, both SLRs and rangefinders, some with attractive and unusual design features but nothing quite like this little thing.</p>

<p> For a start, it's built to much higher standards than most Petri products, and the design is very innovative; thumbwheels on the top deck to set aperture and shutter speeds, along with a vertically-mounted thumbwheel peeping up from the back to adjust focus. A coupled CDS meter displays a center-the-pointer system in the viewfinder, and though designed for the defunct 1.35v mercury cells, seems accurate on a 1.5v alkaline.. The meter switches on when the shutter is cocked, and switches off after an exposure has been made, the film speed being set on a ring around the lens. The camera is otherwise completely mechanical in operation.</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Shutter speeds run from 1/15 to 1/250 plus B and the aperture of the 40mm CC Petri lens run from f/2.8 - f/22. It's seems to be a sharp little performer, apparently a four-element design though I'm unable to determine the formula. The base comes off for film loading, revealing a well-finished interior ; the baseplate itself is very nicely constructed with a stud on each corner so the base doesn't come into contact with the surface it's sitting on.</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Focusing is really rather inadequate. No rangefinder, just the usual series of "face to mountains" icons in the viewfinder, with the addition of distances in meters and feet. Nowhere on the body is there a distance scale; in some lights the viewfinder display is almost invisible and a distance scale around the focusing wheel such as Fuji used on their similar system would have been a great improvement. To make matters worse, the focus wheel is also used to retract the lens right back into the body; there's supposed to be a click-stop that the movement seats into at the infinity setting, but it's very imprecise. Perhaps the mechanism in my copy is worn, but it's quite easy to accidentally move the focus back beyond infinity, without this small variation being noticeable in the viewfinder. A more definite infinity stop would have been nice. The rewind handle is cunningly set into the top deck, though the actual machining and finishing of the components leave a little to be desired.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

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[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Overall, the camera is pleasant enough to use, once one gets used to the placement of the controls. Certainly, much can be done without removing one's eye from the nice bright viewfinder with it's floating frame lines, but I find it a little small for large hands. It comes with a quality leather pouch with velvet lining, and one strap lug for the wrist strap. I don't think I want to enter into the Rollei v. Color 35 debate; the camera is interesting and innovative, but a curious mix of varying qualities. Competent it is, but a masterpiece it ain't. However, it takes quite good photographs, and I'll post a few below. The colour is from Fuji Superia 200 and the monochrome from Kentmere 100 developed in PMY Pyro, both scanned on the EpsonV 700 Photo.</p><div></div>

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[lex_jenkins]

<p>I've seen several of those in local pawn shops over the years but never bought one. Kinda wish I had now. Hardly any pawn shops bother with older film cameras now. The Petri Color 35 seemed fairly well made, comparable to the usual Yashicas, Minoltas, etc., but I never looked closely.</p>

[grey_rogacion]

<p>I had a couple of Petri color 35 come my way but it's too small for my big hands and I doubt repairs if ever. It's pricey for an oldie, other than that, the design of the cam is quite unique enough to start a good conversation just like the Fujica 35se. As always Rick, you take very nice pics with whatever camera you have your hands on, thanks for sharing the pics..................</p>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>Petri made some interesting cameras. Apparently, they were not sturdy or long lasting. Perhaps, it is unfair to compare them with my Dresden made Exaktas and Prakticas, [or even the Soviet made Zorkis and Feds] that don't seem to age. Nice pictures though, as you said. Thanks for the post. sp.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Good post with a nice series of images. Thank you, Rick! I had the Petri and still have a couple of Rollei's. I'm not a fan of the handling of these tiny scale focusing cameras. The Petri <em>is</em> a solid little guy and at least it had a hot shoe on top of the camera. </p>

[chuck_foreman1]

You do take great pictures . This looks like one I might now pass on. I do like quirky innovative cameras

and I think this fits the bill but focus problems I even have with fixed focus and if there's no infinity lock..

better be careful!! I liked the size an have been tempted but as you said their size is attractive and keeps

the price above what I might pay ... if one fell my way I'd be interested !

[Robin Smith]

<p>I agree with Gandy: this looks a much better effort than the Rollei 35s to accomplish the same goal.</p>

[CoryAmmerman]

<p>Rick- I've become convinced that either people in NZ take better care of their cameras than people here in the US, or you're much more discriminating than I am in your choice of cameras to buy. I have very few cameras in as good shape as the ones that you constantly seem to find.</p>

<p>I had come across Gandy's review of this camera when looking for info on my Petri 1.9. I looked around on eBay a couple of times to see if I could pick one up cheap. Your excellent series of images shows that it's a decent picture taker. But, the less than glowing review of the handling of the camera makes me think that I'll give it a pass as well. I'm not a big fan of zone focusing and the infinity stop issue is a concern as well.</p>

[John Seaman]

<p>An interesting if flawed little camera, and as always, super results. I've got a Petri Racer rangefinder which looks to be from the same era, with a nice 1.8 lens. It seemed to be working properly without film but alas, it won't pull a film through, something must be adrift in the take up mechanism.<br>

Thanks for posting.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I'll still stick with my Rollei 35, but talk about the triumph of the Antipodeans in making images!<br>

Bravo.<br>

I always like your color shots best, since you have such a good eye for color composition and contrasts. :)</p>

[Argenticien]

<p>Nice composition and light as usual, Rick, but these photos do seem less slightly less sharp than some others of yours, so I'm wondering about the quality of that lens. Intriguing camera design, anyway, if only the execution had been better. I generally like top-deck thumb-wheel controls, such as the focus on my Vitessa or pre-war Bessa 6x9 rangefinder. Having the aperture control up there too seems convenient, and the front-and-back dials setup presaged the control layout of DSLRs. The better comparison here may be not to the Rollei 35 but to the Oly 35 RC, of which I've just picked up one. It is tiny, but has a rangefinder, and incredibly offers a full-information viewfinder. But the aperture ring on its slim lens is right fiddly, underscoring the appeal of the Petri's thumb-wheel. Same range of shutter speeds as your Petri, by the way: nothing slower than 1/15th.<br>

<em>--Dave</em></p><div></div>