TaraLL27
Newbie
Hi~
I hope I am not repeating a thread...
I've recently acquired a Petri 7s from yes, Ebay.
I am new at this whole photography thing but I am a very dedicated and determined student. So....I've so far thrown away two rolls of film which for one reason or another didnt work out as planned as I've been learning about the quirks of this old camera.
I think I've got the thing pretty well figured out now (ASA=ISO, which yes effects the sensitivity of the light meter when set wrong...discarded roll number two) (There are very subtle yet important noises of the film that happen while winding...I opened the back when I thought the roll was finished and low and behold, exposed the film...discarded roll number one)
Also, my camera came with the film rewind lever not working, which I "fixed" by opening the bottom cover which must have disloged something that was making it stick. Now I've found, through trial an error of course, that if the case is screwed into the bottom, it makes the bottom too tight against the gears and the advance lever then does not work properly. I'll push the advance lever and push the trigger to take the photo and it wont do anything, then I tried to advance again and it wouldnt move and my camera finally shot a photo of the ground while i had it turned upside down looking at it.
This happened a few times, At a loss I'd unscrew the bottom part of the case from the camera to inspect it and in the middle of this unscrewing "snap!" it takes the picture that I tried to take 3 minutes ago.
SO no more shooting while the camera is screwed into the case.
Anyway, there is one thing related to the problem that resulted in the discarding of film roll number one that I still havent quite figured out.
And I might be able to try again and see if it just works but for the sake of my sanity and for the life of film roll number three im hoping someone can tell me some pointers or affirm that this is correct...
The frame counter has yet to move at the appropriate time.
Hence why I was trying to guess on roll number one at when it was completed. It has just stayed on "S" except for the time that I was forwarding it to try to see and make sure I was at the end of the roll when it started making the noise that made me think it was done. It started working then. Dont have a clue why. When I loaded roll number two this was a thing of the past.
Now, upon my extensive search to find an answer I have found that the camera should show "S" upon the start of the new roll....
My question Finally! :angel:
Did the frame counter not work properly because at the time of roll number one and two I did not have the ASA set for the 200 film that I have but rather it was set at I believe 25?
OR Is there a secret button or gem stone or pass code like open seseme that I should know about to reset the frame counter?
Please help if you can!!
I hope I am not repeating a thread...
I've recently acquired a Petri 7s from yes, Ebay.
I am new at this whole photography thing but I am a very dedicated and determined student. So....I've so far thrown away two rolls of film which for one reason or another didnt work out as planned as I've been learning about the quirks of this old camera.
I think I've got the thing pretty well figured out now (ASA=ISO, which yes effects the sensitivity of the light meter when set wrong...discarded roll number two) (There are very subtle yet important noises of the film that happen while winding...I opened the back when I thought the roll was finished and low and behold, exposed the film...discarded roll number one)
Also, my camera came with the film rewind lever not working, which I "fixed" by opening the bottom cover which must have disloged something that was making it stick. Now I've found, through trial an error of course, that if the case is screwed into the bottom, it makes the bottom too tight against the gears and the advance lever then does not work properly. I'll push the advance lever and push the trigger to take the photo and it wont do anything, then I tried to advance again and it wouldnt move and my camera finally shot a photo of the ground while i had it turned upside down looking at it.
This happened a few times, At a loss I'd unscrew the bottom part of the case from the camera to inspect it and in the middle of this unscrewing "snap!" it takes the picture that I tried to take 3 minutes ago.
SO no more shooting while the camera is screwed into the case.
Anyway, there is one thing related to the problem that resulted in the discarding of film roll number one that I still havent quite figured out.
And I might be able to try again and see if it just works but for the sake of my sanity and for the life of film roll number three im hoping someone can tell me some pointers or affirm that this is correct...
The frame counter has yet to move at the appropriate time.
Hence why I was trying to guess on roll number one at when it was completed. It has just stayed on "S" except for the time that I was forwarding it to try to see and make sure I was at the end of the roll when it started making the noise that made me think it was done. It started working then. Dont have a clue why. When I loaded roll number two this was a thing of the past.
Now, upon my extensive search to find an answer I have found that the camera should show "S" upon the start of the new roll....
My question Finally! :angel:
Did the frame counter not work properly because at the time of roll number one and two I did not have the ASA set for the 200 film that I have but rather it was set at I believe 25?
OR Is there a secret button or gem stone or pass code like open seseme that I should know about to reset the frame counter?
Please help if you can!!
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batterytypehah!
Lord of the Dings
Welcome, Tara!
I don't have a Petri but Camerapedia to the rescue: http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Petri_7s
There are links to manuals at the bottom of the article.
The issue definitely has nothing to do with your film speed setting, that much I am sure of.
I don't have a Petri but Camerapedia to the rescue: http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Petri_7s
There are links to manuals at the bottom of the article.
The issue definitely has nothing to do with your film speed setting, that much I am sure of.
btgc
Veteran
Hi, and no, frame counter is not related to ISO/ASA control. If counter doesn't move on, there's mechanical cause for this, and you'll need to remove top cover. There on kyphoto.com is available service manual for Petri 7S.
While it has great lens (45/1.8 at least) (just scanned a roll from this camera), mechanically it is not standard of durability and reliability. If you'll make it working, you will like it.
While it has great lens (45/1.8 at least) (just scanned a roll from this camera), mechanically it is not standard of durability and reliability. If you'll make it working, you will like it.
oftheherd
Veteran
Are you sure you had the film set in the wind spool correctly? That might be why the counter didn't move. Many, myself included, when loading any film camera, will use the rewind knob (without pusing the rewind button of course) to tension the film, by winding and tightening what is aready there in the cassette. Then when you wind the film, you will see the rewind crank move.
As mentioned above, there is no linkage between the ASA/ISO setting and the film counter. They are totally independent.
I'm not sure what you are describing about the bottom plate and what I think you mean by the rewind release button. Maybe if you can describe that a little better, someone can help you more.
The Petri cameras were on a par with say the Canonets or Yashicas, but were nonetheless a good brand of camera, and held up pretty well. However, any camera of that age may have problems, no matter how well built.
Good luck with it. Don't hesitate to ask more questions.
As mentioned above, there is no linkage between the ASA/ISO setting and the film counter. They are totally independent.
I'm not sure what you are describing about the bottom plate and what I think you mean by the rewind release button. Maybe if you can describe that a little better, someone can help you more.
The Petri cameras were on a par with say the Canonets or Yashicas, but were nonetheless a good brand of camera, and held up pretty well. However, any camera of that age may have problems, no matter how well built.
Good luck with it. Don't hesitate to ask more questions.
TaraLL27
Newbie
To batterytypehah! :
This is very handy, thank you.
I've got a couple more cameras these will help with too.
The only thing that worries me is that the instructions say that after loading the film, shut the back cover, the counter will say "S" for start and wind until the counter is at "1". It doesnt really specify if this may take one wind, or 12 winds.
What if your frame counter is really just broken? Do you wind through the whole roll of film hoping for that "1" to finally surface? Yikes.
This is very handy, thank you.
I've got a couple more cameras these will help with too.
The only thing that worries me is that the instructions say that after loading the film, shut the back cover, the counter will say "S" for start and wind until the counter is at "1". It doesnt really specify if this may take one wind, or 12 winds.
What if your frame counter is really just broken? Do you wind through the whole roll of film hoping for that "1" to finally surface? Yikes.
TaraLL27
Newbie
Thanks Btgc.
I will try popping the top off and take a look at this manual. I think you are right about it being a mechanical issue.
Hmm, however kyphoto.com seems to be a persons graphic design page.
I will try popping the top off and take a look at this manual. I think you are right about it being a mechanical issue.
Hmm, however kyphoto.com seems to be a persons graphic design page.
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oftheherd
Veteran
TaraLL27
Newbie
oftheherd:
Great tip, that will help undoubtedly. If I get past three winds and the counter doesnt go to one by then i'll know the counter must still not be working.
Also, I added more to my description of the bottom plate issue.
Great tip, that will help undoubtedly. If I get past three winds and the counter doesnt go to one by then i'll know the counter must still not be working.
Also, I added more to my description of the bottom plate issue.
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xwhatsit
Well-known
It actually doesn't matter too much how many frames you fire (it is normally two or three shots). The purpose of this is when you load the camera, you of course expose the beginning of the film to the light. The theory is, by the time you fire those three shots, the film should be advanced past that light-fogged start of the film. Of course, it doesn't matter if you take photos on the light-fogged part of the film, it's just those ones won't turn out.
So you don't need a frame counter, just start taking photos right from the beginning. Be gentle when advancing the film, and at the end of the roll, the advance lever will stop moving halfway through the stroke -- don't force it, just hit the rewind button on the bottom of the camera and rewind the film with the crank like normal.
The film counter might come right at some stage, often it's just lack of use, I've got into buying old wrecked cameras from the local auction site over the last few months, mostly they just need using to get most functions working again. Over a few nights in front of the TV, with the camera empty of film, just wind and fire and wind and fire a few dozen imaginary rolls of film. If it still doesn't come right, it probably needs opening and cleaning, the most recent film counter that needed doing this was a Taron VL, there was old decomposed foam gumming up the works.
karoron
Newbie
The Petri 7s was made in it's millions.
Like any forty to fifty year old camera, it doesn't need to meet all of the expectations we would have of a new camera. It's retired now.
You need to learn to take these old cameras apart and fix them if you want to use them. They are all repairable an it's unlikely they have broken parts. Kyphoto could be a start but the forum is basically a crap shoot today- no moderation and all of the nutcases who have been kicked off of this and other boards congregate there today. The archives are pretty good. I'd recommend that you start there and avoid the "forum".
The Petri 7 lenses were all good and have been rarely called into question.
Like any forty to fifty year old camera, it doesn't need to meet all of the expectations we would have of a new camera. It's retired now.
You need to learn to take these old cameras apart and fix them if you want to use them. They are all repairable an it's unlikely they have broken parts. Kyphoto could be a start but the forum is basically a crap shoot today- no moderation and all of the nutcases who have been kicked off of this and other boards congregate there today. The archives are pretty good. I'd recommend that you start there and avoid the "forum".
The Petri 7 lenses were all good and have been rarely called into question.
charjohncarter
Veteran
I have this model and use it once or twice a year. After you figure things out PM me and maybe I can help you with fine tuning. This camera is great for a rangefinder as it has a leaf shutter like many other fixed lens RFs. This is of great use with flash. The 7s also has a very good lens, it was not very expensive in it's day, but still a good lens. Cocking the shutter sounds like a gun going off, but actually pushing the shutter release is very, very quiet.
From a Petri 7s:
with flash:
From a Petri 7s:
with flash:
I have my dad's old Petri 7S with f/1.8 lens; the less-expensive option was f/2.8. Either lens is excellent, better than the build quality of the camera. It still works fine though! Bit of deja vue, since my earliest "good" cameras in about 1962 were a Petriflex V SLR and a half-frame Petri Half-7.
Here's an example with the 7S, showing a bit of barrel distortion, but doing pretty well...
Here's an example with the 7S, showing a bit of barrel distortion, but doing pretty well...
btgc
Veteran
karoron
Newbie
If you like the lens but want better build quality, go back one step to the Petri Color Super series. Get a General Electric DW-68 light meter.
These were also covered at kyphoto, including the famous tartar control toothpaste fix on the 45mm f2.8 lens.
Doing a good job of cleaning the viewfinder components, without going too far, can provide an amazing improvement in usability.
These were also covered at kyphoto, including the famous tartar control toothpaste fix on the 45mm f2.8 lens.
Doing a good job of cleaning the viewfinder components, without going too far, can provide an amazing improvement in usability.
btgc
Veteran
Thanks, I have noticed camera you mention, but after I have sworn not to get more cameras. That thing looks like a real stuff. In this department I'm using Ricoh F-O-N and Konica III.
Thank you for hint on polishing with toothpaste. When kid, we used to make sheriff stars and toothpaste polish as last step gave it perfect shine - I already forgot this, until now.