The hunt for a working Pro 7 started earlier this year when I came across one on Buyee. It appealed for it’s really cool look, and how good the Petri 7s was to use. I already have the 7s and Racer of the same era, and both are really good Sixties rangefinder cameras.

Not knowing what the Pro stood for in the name, it wasn’t until it arrived I discovered it is no different from the 7s other than styling!

The Pro 7 has a 45mm f1.8 lens, which was an option on the 7s - mine is the f2.8 though. The only thing that I am not sure about is the plastic shutter button - why did they not use a metal one like on the Racer, which would not have felt as cheap?

Produced in 1964 by Petri Camera K.K. it features a coupled rangefinder, Petri MVE leaf shutter with speeds 1s-1/500th + B, and selenium cell around the coated lens.

This first example is in excellent condition, but has a fault - the shutter only fires if you apply pressure to the front of the lens! All rings are tight inside the lens, so unsure why there is still a small amount of movement between the lens and body. Taking the easiest option - I bought another one! Unfortunately the second was in a sorry state, and beyond hope. Then came the third one, which works, but not as nice condition as the one pictured above. At least I could shoot with it.

Loaded with HP5 - the obvious choice for the grey months at the tail end of the year, I took a wander around the city. It is a really easy camera to use, and has that Petri feel. Controls are intuitive, rangefinder is easy to focus with the lever on the side of the lens, and generally a good experience. There is nice sharpness and contrast from the images and everything worked perfectly.

These wider city images were shot at 1/250 f11, so probably the optimum settings for good images.

The clarity of the details on this building really show off the quality of the 45mm f1.8 lens, although there is a little bit of softness at the edges.

I really enjoyed this camera, and will use it again in the future. It is a keeper for it’s looks though. That black & silver top plate looks the business, and the gold detailing on the nameplate and light meter add a bit of ‘special’ to it, even if it is just a tarted up 7s!

Petri Pro 7 - Ilford HP5

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