The Petri Penta (1959) is the original 35mm single-lens reflex camera produced by Petri Camera Co., Ltd. of Tokyo. It marked Petri's entry into the SLR market following the company's established reputation in fixed-lens rangefinders and viewfinder cameras. The Penta used a proprietary breech-lock lens mount -- a design unique to Petri and incompatible with other Japanese SLR systems of the era, including the dominant M42 screw mount in wide use at Asahi Pentax, Yashica, and other manufacturers.
Reference
Find film for your Petri Penta
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
**Shutter curtain condition** -- cloth focal-plane shutters of this age are prone to pinholes, especially where the curtain folds; inspect against a bright light source before purchasing. Curtain replacement is possible but expensive.
**Mirror operation** -- check that the mirror returns promptly and fully after exposure; a sluggish or sticky mirror causes viewfinder blackout and can cause focus error.
**Shutter speeds** -- test across the full range; horizontal-travel cloth shutters slow with age at longer speeds. A light meter or smartphone app helps verify accuracy.
**Lens availability** -- the Petri breech-lock ecosystem is closed and small. Verify that the lens(es) you want or have are compatible; there were minor mount variations across Petri SLR generations.
**Fungus and haze in Petri lenses** -- the C.C. Auto glass, like most lenses of this era, is prone to internal fungus if stored poorly; inspect at wide aperture and against backlight.
**Price context** -- Petri SLR bodies are among the more affordable Japanese SLRs of their era; scarcity of lenses in the proprietary mount is a practical limitation that depresses prices somewhat.
About this camera
Petri's first SLR: a 1959 all-mechanical 35mm camera introducing the proprietary breech-lock lens mount that would define the brand for a decade.
Key Specs
Frequently asked questions
What film does the Petri Penta use?
The Petri Penta shoots 35mm film.
What lens mount does the Petri Penta have?
The Petri Penta uses the Petri breech-lock mount.
What shutter speeds does the Petri Penta offer?
The Petri Penta's shutter speeds range from 1s to 1/500s.
Petri Camera Co. (operating as Kuribayashi Camera Industry until a rebrand in the early 1960s) had built a reputation through the 1950s with fixed-lens 35mm cameras. The shift to an SLR design in 1959 aligned with a broader movement in the Japanese camera industry: by the late 1950s, the Nikon F (1959) and the Asahi Pentax had established that the SLR was the format of serious photography, and second-tier manufacturers followed.
The decision to use a proprietary breech-lock mount rather than the common M42 screw mount was commercially consequential. On the positive side, it allowed Petri to sell the entire system -- body and lenses -- without competing on glass with Asahi, Zeiss, and the established M42 lens ecosystem. On the negative side, it permanently constrained the available lens selection to what Petri itself could manufacture and distribute, limiting the camera's appeal to photographers who cared about lens variety.
The Penta was succeeded by the Petri Penta V (also called the Petri V series), which added a through-the-lens metering system and other refinements. The breech-lock mount persisted through the Petri Flex V, Flex 7, and V6 models into the late 1960s and early 1970s, by which point Petri was in financial difficulty. The company declared bankruptcy in 1977.
Why It Matters
The Petri Penta is historically significant as the origin of the Petri SLR system and the breech-lock mount that would define the brand's interchangeable-lens cameras for roughly fifteen years. It represents the wave of second-tier Japanese manufacturers that entered the SLR market in the late 1950s and early 1960s -- companies that could not match the engineering resources of Nikon, Canon, or Asahi but could build functional, affordable systems for the amateur market.
The breech-lock mount itself is an interesting engineering choice: unlike the M42 screw mount (which requires rotating the lens body to mount and dismount) or the Nikon F bayonet, the Petri system used a locking ring to secure the lens -- an approach that offers some advantages in alignment consistency. It never achieved interoperability with other systems, however, and today represents a closed ecosystem of modest size.
For historians of Japanese camera manufacturing, the Petri Penta illustrates the competitive pressure that drove even minor manufacturers to commit to SLR development within months of the Nikon F's launch. For collectors, it is the foundational model of a now-closed system from a company that no longer exists.
Lenses & Accessories
The Petri breech-lock mount is proprietary and was not adopted by any other manufacturer. Lenses available in the Petri system include:
Petri C.C. Auto 55mm f/2 -- the standard kit lens, a six-element double-Gauss construction; competent for general photography.
Petri C.C. Auto 55mm f/1.8 -- faster standard lens, available as an upgrade option.
Petri C.C. Auto 135mm f/3.5 -- the typical telephoto option for the system.
Petri C.C. Auto 28mm f/3.5 -- wide-angle option.
M42 and other modern mount adapters for Petri breech-lock exist but are uncommon. Adapting Petri lenses to modern mirrorless bodies (via breech-lock to M42 or breech-lock to Canon EF/Sony E) is possible with appropriate adapters.
Sample Photographers / Notable Use
Used primarily by the Japanese domestic amateur market and price-conscious export buyers in the early 1960s.
Of interest today to collectors of early Japanese SLR history and to photographers building Petri system collections.
Fujifilm Superia X-TRA 400 (marketed as Superia 400 in some regions) is an ISO 400 C-41 consumer color negative film in 135 format, one of Fujifilm's most popular consumer films. It delivers warm, vibrant colors with moderate grain and remains in production in some markets.