subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 23 November 2019 61
John Wade looks at a lesser known
Japanese SLR from the 1960s
Petri Flex V
Kuribayashi Camera Works is not a
name that springs readily to mind
when considering usable classic
cameras. Yet , from 1919 onwards
the company made a vast range of
plate cameras, fi lm cameras, twin
lens refl exes, folding and
rangefi nder models. Few, if any, of
these were seen outside Japan
prior to the Second World War.
After the war, Kuribayashi
changed its name to the Petri
Camera Company and its cameras
began to be seen for the fi rst time
in the West. In 1959 the fi rst
35mm single lens refl ex (SLR), the
Petri Penta, was introduced. Two
years later this was updated as the
Petri Flex V.
There is no built-in meter or
rangefi nder. In place of the latter,
the camera offers what Petri
BLAST FROM THE PAST
LAUNCHED 1961
PRICE AT LAUNCH £58
GUIDE PRICE NOW £15-£20
Tech Talk
called ‘micromic-lens-focusing’.
This consists of a microgrid in the
centre of a Fresnel focusing
screen. When the image is out of
focus it breaks up into dots which
come together to form a more
solid image when the subject is
correctly focused.
An attachment that slides over
the viewfi nder eyepiece adds an
accessory shoe, into which a
separate exposure meter can be
slotted. Exposures measured by
the meter must then be
transferred manually to the
lens and shutter speed
dial. The standard lens
is a seven-element
interchangeable Petri
55mm f/2, attached to
the body via a breachlock
of the type more usuallyassociated with Canon. The
shutter release is angled on the
front of the body beside the lens.
Delayed action and a focal plane
shutter speeded 1/2-1/500sec
complete the specifi cation.
The Peter Flex V will appeal to the
fi lm photographer on a budget who
wants to get back to basics with
everything necessary and nothing
superfl uous for taking pictures. It is
also a very attractive camera, which
probably accounted for many of
its sales back in the 1960s.What’s good Solid construction,
comfortable in the hand,
quick-change breachlock.What’s bad Unique Petri
mount restricts availability of
accessory lenses.The breachlock mount on
the lens and body
View from the
top shows a
conventional
35mm SLR
layout of
controlsPetri Flex V with a
Petri meter added
via the add-on
accessory shoe
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