Petri FTE

Petri FTE with Petri C.C auto EE 2.8/35

 

SLR for 35mm film with shutter priority automatic exposure and manual mode, bayonet lens mount with breech lock. It was introduced in 1973 as follower of the Petri FT EE (1969-1973) and forerunner of the FA-1 (1975-1977), which are basically the same cameras. The dedicated lenses which are required for the automatic exposure are bearing the designation "EE". Lenses without "EE", e.g. from the Petri FT or FT II which were offered parallel, can be used, but only with stop-down metering.

 

Undoubtedly Petri can be called a "small" manufacturer and its products had a lower price level, so it is understandable, that the cameras aren't high-end products. In this case the mirror is somewhat small and the viewfinder is not really brilliant. On the other hand the camera feels solid, the chrome finish is excellent and the shutter sound is impressively strong. In addition Petri offers an exclusive design: in the bottom of the body works a camshaft instead a mess of levers to tension the shutter, mirror, etc.

 

Operating the film advance lever switches on the exposure meter, after the exposure it will be off again. In the viewfinder is a f-stop scale with red under/over-exposure areas at its ends, a needle indicates the f-stop for the correct exposure. If the aperture ring on the lens is set to EE, the indicated f-stop will be used automatically. If a certain f-stop is chosen, this will be used, independent from the position of the needle.

 

You can use every lens you can mount to the camera with stop-down-metering: EE-lenses, not-EE-lenses and lenses with M42-thread, which can be mounted with an adapter Petri provided. The only requirement is, that the aperture can be closed manually. Petri bayonet lenses have an A/M-switch, which has to be set to M. Then you can select shutter speed and f-stop until the needle in the viewfinder matches the red dot beside the "2.8".

The A/M switch also allows you a depth-of-field preview.

 

As many other Petri cameras my exemplar has a characteristic quirk. On longer shutter speeds the shutter acts like in "B"-mode: it remains open as long the shutter button is pressed down. If the shutter button is released, the set shutter speed runs and the shutter closes. This will not happen, if the self-timer is used.

Another note: if you are cleaning the eyepiece, don't use too much force, you can easily push the glass into the camera.

 

Some specs:

* Shutter speeds: 1/2 to 1/500 s and B

* Focal plane shutter, traveling horizontally

* ISO range: 25 to 800

* Hot shoe and PC-socket

* X-sync 1/45 s, between 1/30 and 1/60

* TTL-metering with 2 CdS-cells, one on each side of the eyepiece

* Size: 142 x 93 x 88 mm

* Weight: 690 g (body)

* Required battery: 1.3 V mercury 675

 

As a camera with shutter priority AE the FTE needs to set the f-stop of the lens. Most camera manufactures use the lever for the automatic aperture for that, a defined movement of the lever sets the f-stop to the desired value. So the lens must react exactly to the movement and sometimes such prepared lenses have a special name, like Nikon Ai/S (instead of Ai) or Minolta MD (instead of MC). Petri found another solution: there is a smaller, second pin which controls the aperture in EE-mode. The further it is pushed in, the smaller the aperture will be during the exposure. My idea is, that the camera uses the trapped-needle method for automatic exposure, and that the design with the second pin was much easier to realize.

To prevent underexposure the maximum aperture has to be displayed in the viewfinder. Therefor a little cam on the inner bayonet ring shifts the red "underexposure warning area" along the f-stop scale. If the needle is in that red area, the lens is not fast enough for the desired aperture.

 

My instruction manual lists the following available EE-lenses:

3.5/28, 2.8/35, 1.7/55, 3.8/135, 4/200 and 4.5/85-210

Those lenses were also sold by Photo Porst under the label "Carenar EEB".

 

Done