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Not Quite a Masterpiece : the Petri Color 35


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<p>Great job as always Rick!<br>

I must confess that the hubbub over these little scale-focus cameras has always eluded me. It would have been so easy to add a rangefinder...my Olympus 35 ECR is virtually identical in size to either the Petri or the Rollei, with a rangefinder to boot. And the Petri's lack of a distance scale is unforgivable. Bravo!</p>

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<p>Rick,</p>

<p>Another informative post. Just to be a contrarian let me say how much I like your B&W images. You have shown an ability to capture a full range of tones while showing interesting texture in your B&W work. </p>

<p>It wasn't hard to find some reference material for this camera. The April 1969 issue of Modern Photography had a camera test and I found some ads in Popular Photography. Here is a link to this information.</p>

<p> Color-35-Test-1-sm

<p>I did find a test of the Rollei 35 and the lens test show it to be sharper than the Petri.</p>

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<blockquote>

<p>It would have been so easy to add a rangefinder...my Olympus 35 ECR is virtually identical in size to either the Petri or the Rollei, with a rangefinder to boot</p>

</blockquote>

<p>One problem with rangefinder mechanisms are that they are pretty easy to knock out of alignment (unless it's a Leica M which is pretty robust), so sometimes I think that for these cheaper cameras there is some logic in not pretending that a rangefinder will actually be accurate after a few years. Likewise, the baselength of many of these smaller cheaper rangefinders is so short that it may be only as accurate as scale focusing in reality. I had a Contax T and I certainly felt that this was the case with that camera. Its focusing accuracy was really no better than the Minox 35 with scale focusing. So, it may make sense to have scale focusing only in many of these cameras.</p>

Robin Smith
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<p>Excellent photos Rick, I love that tea kettle shot, and the pair of chairs. They are gallery material.</p>

<p>As far as the camera, well, I got two of them, because I got them cheaply at swap meets, and while they seem interesting and small, I am not crazy about them. I find the lens just average, and am at awe that someone would rate Rollei 35 below this. Rollei rules.</p>

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<p>Great responses, many thanks. Yes, <strong>Ralf</strong>, I tend to share your sentiments regarding these small cameras. I'd also agree with <strong>Robin</strong>; while acknowledging the inherent inadequacies of these compact 35mm cameras in terms of precision photography, I think I'm just as happy to guesstimate distance, but a decent indication of distant settings is an essential feature. Thanks <strong>Marc</strong>, and the results of the lens test is hardly a surprise... As <strong>Dave</strong> noted, the images do lack that "edge" that top lenses produce.</p>

<p>Yes,<strong> Greg</strong>, I too have difficulty with small cameras. In rangefinders, something like a Minolta Hi-Matic is about my ideal handling size, though I acknowledge that one can't really stuff it into a jacket pocket. And thank you <strong>JDM</strong>, <strong>SP</strong>, <strong>Louis</strong>, <strong>Donnie</strong>, <strong>Steve</strong>, <strong>Lex</strong>, <strong>Grey</strong>, <strong>John</strong>, <strong>Cory</strong> and <strong>Chuck</strong> for your input..</p>

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<p>Sharp little performer. The Petri Color 35's I've seen listed for sale over the last few years were either non-functional or very pricey so it's great to see some results from one. I remember seeing ads for them in old photo magazines. While top shutter is only 1/250 sec. compared to 1/500 for the Rollei, its minimum aperture of f22 vs. f16 for the Rollei gives it the same minimum exposure capability for bright light. Thanks for posting.</p>
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<p>Yeah, the fiddly small rangefinders and hard-to-reach aperture ring are why I usually set the Olympus 35 RC and similar compact cameras to f/8 and just zone focus. The shutter speed dial is easier to reach so I'll use that for minor exposure adjustments. Usually everything is within a one stop range in either direction, so whether I'm outside during the day or indoors I don't often need to adjust the shutter speed or aperture anyway if the lighting is consistent.</p>
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<p>Never seem that one Rick, but I do have a Petri Racer, so I know that Petri could build a very pretty camera. Yours looks even nicer than the Racer, and your sample pics show your usual flair for composition.<br>

Hard to tell about sharpness on the monitor, but they look plenty crisp to me. As for the Rollei debate, the 35S is a wonderful bit of kit with that great Sonnar lens, but I find it a bit of a pain to use...and guesstimate focusing on such a pricey camera is a little hard to swallow.<br>

Thanks for highlighting this little Petri...now where did I put my Racer!</p>

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<p>Hope you get around to posting some Racer pics, <strong>Tony</strong>, and thanks for the compliments. The camera seemed to get a sort of cult following, <strong>Mike</strong>, which inflated the price, possibly beyond it's true worth. Sensible procedure, <strong>Lex</strong>, pretty much like my own. I hate it when a camera gets in the way of the photographs...</p>
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  • 7 years later...
<p>I agree with Gandy: this looks a much better effort than the Rollei 35s to accomplish the same goal.</p>

 

I feel like my Olympus 35RC is a superior camera in normal daily use. Better more elegant ergonomics, and has a proper rangefinder. A good street shooter.

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  • 4 weeks later...

My parents were pros, I always had access to Nikons and Nikkormats, but my personal camera 1969-1983 was a Petri Color 35. I took hundreds of great shots with it, mainly on Tri-X. I carried a two-stop neutral density filter to use when it was too bright for 1/250 at f/16... but I rarely put it on, instead depending on TX's legendary exposure latitude.

 

Calling it a masterpiece is a bit much, but it was definitely a great design. A crazy small, very capable camera with a surprisingly decent lens for its modest price. I still shoot small cameras - Pen F, Stylus Epic, assorted rangefinders (and Minox subminiatures on and off for 50+ years) - but a part of me misses my Petri Color 35.

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18358470_Chinon35EE.thumb.jpg.54179dd5593d3956a4ebeb9e207a9fd7.jpg

Apart from the lack of chrome, I'm not seeing a heap of design difference between the above and that Petri.

But if you want truly pocketable, Chinon's tiny (full-frame) 'Bellami' folder takes some beating.

988348814_Bellamiandflash.thumb.jpg.eb1dd1d0d660729ad1dc373615010a24.jpg

The flash adds about 50% more its size, and it still fits in a shirt pocket.

 

Here it is with doors closed and flash removed.

Bellami-closed.thumb.jpg.6ef17215f2fbcca310b1ae82334d53ce.jpg

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rodeo-joe|1 said :

But if you want truly pocketable, Chinon's tiny (full-frame) 'Bellami' folder takes some beating.

 

Agreed, though the similar Minox 35's leave them for dead in terms of build quality and durability. I have a couple of Bellamis, both of which died soon after I acquired them, one of which disassembled it's lens in the process of taking a photograph. Pretty, but very light construction; there's a Special Edition finished in red leather with a gold leaf illustration of a horse and carriage on the front doors. These are highly sought-after, and consequently very expensive. Strangely enough, I'm not tempted...

 

1470492263_ChinonBellamicopy.thumb.jpg.4c91b49ab53cf498e2e3ccb8a4be08d6.jpg

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[ATTACH=full]1400124[/ATTACH]

Apart from the lack of chrome, I'm not seeing a heap of design difference between the above and that Petri.

But if you want truly pocketable, Chinon's tiny (full-frame) 'Bellami' folder takes some beating.

[ATTACH]1400125[/ATTACH]

The flash adds about 50% more its size, and it still fits in a shirt pocket.

 

Here it is with doors closed and flash removed.

[ATTACH=full]1400126[/ATTACH]

 

I have a feeling the Bellami would be too delicate for my needs. Cerebral Palsy people sometimes wind up doing unplanned improvised stunt work (we fall a lot sometimes). And wheelchair life can be rough on street photographer, and his gear.

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