I seem to be a magnet for old film SLR's

[Indigo November]

Over Christmas I acquired my (long deceased) great-grandfather's Minolta SLR and a few of his lenses and filters.
A bit before that, I picked up some old Canon lenses (adapter in the mail!) for $10 each.

And to top all that off, I just got a very intriguing Petri SLR and lens, in perfect condition, for $15 at Goodwill!
I feel well endowed in the old film SLR area.
I have discovered a great love for old manual lenses (and the bodies of course).
I might even like them better than my D90 and auto lenses (shhh, don't tell ).

So, what is the story with Petri? I could find very little about them on the net...

[RichardTaylor]

Did you see this post?

http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00FJZW

[Hayward Taylor]

Also check out the No Metering Lenses on Nikon DSLR group on flickr...I bet they'll answer a lot of your questions

[BryanC]

Wow...brings back memories. My first 'real camera' was a Petri 7s Rangefinder, given to me by my father. He had bought it new while in the Army and stationed in Germany in the early '60's. There are countless trays of slides that the family still have from this period.

I used that camera for years until the shutter jammed and was beyond repair. Replacement was too costly at the time, so it went into a box. Sometime during one of a few moves to new homes, it disappeared.

Petri 7s - Photoethnography.com's Classic Camera DB

I just recently began playing around with film again, using a couple of old Minolta's I held onto. Are you going to try them out, Indigo?

[rosserx]

Have you checked out Collectible Cameras? A good place to acquire stuff. There's a Petri section.

I was looking at a Leica M9. Used, they're still over $6000!

[Indigo November]

Thanks all for your replies!

Brian, yup, as soon as I can! Can't wait to play with them!
You might know, what is that switch on the front of the camera? It seems to keep the shutter open longer...
Is it supposed to make a clicking, whirring noise?
My only hesitation to work with film, is the developing end of things. Reason tells me that wal-mart is not the place to get film developed, but I don't have a darkroom...
Where would you get film developed in a small town without a good print lab?

[rosserx]

Originally Posted by Indigo November

Where would you get film developed in a small town without a good print lab?

Mail order. I use this lab for my film processing because they're within walking distance. They do mail order. Philadelphia Photographics - Film Processing and Contact Proofs They have an international reputation. But there's many other top notch labs online that do mail order too.

[BryanC]

Originally Posted by Indigo November

Thanks all for your replies!

Brian, yup, as soon as I can! Can't wait to play with them!
You might know, what is that switch on the front of the camera? It seems to keep the shutter open longer...
Is it supposed to make a clicking, whirring noise?
My only hesitation to work with film, is the developing end of things. Reason tells me that wal-mart is not the place to get film developed, but I don't have a darkroom...
Where would you get film developed in a small town without a good print lab?

I'm not sure what particular camera you are talking about, but it sounds like it could be the self timer. On the older cameras, it's mechanical, so it makes that sound and then trips the shutter.

Originally Posted by rosserx

Mail order. I use this lab for my film processing because they're within walking distance. They do mail order. Philadelphia Photographics - Film Processing and Contact Proofs They have an international reputation. But there's many other top notch labs online that do mail order too.

This...^...or, another option for now is to get it developed locally. You will have the negatives (your raw file) that you can then scan onto your computer and do what PP you want. They will also put the images on a disc for you as a digital file, but they are normally at a lower resolution.

[Indigo November]

Originally Posted by BryanC

I'm not sure what particular camera you are talking about, but it sounds like it could be the self timer. On the older cameras, it's mechanical, so it makes that sound and then trips the shutter.



This...^...or, another option for now is to get it developed locally. You will have the negatives (your raw file) that you can then scan onto your computer and do what PP you want. They will also put the images on a disc for you as a digital file, but they are normally at a lower resolution.

Thanks, I might end up doing this. Mail order sounds like a good option too, thanks rosserx.

The camera is the Petri gx-1. When I pull the switch back, it holds end then when the shutter is tripped, it slowly goes back into position, keeping the shutter open during its journey.
Self-timer was my first thought too, but I tested it with the lens off, and it definitely opens right away and stays open longer...

[Aegea]

Originally Posted by BryanC

Wow...brings back memories. My first 'real camera' was a Petri 7s Rangefinder, given to me by my father.

That was my first "real" camera as well! Very nostalgic to look at that site. I used it for several years until I got a Russian Zenit.