By Petri

[Randy]

This Focal TLR was made by Petri for the SS Kresge Comany, better known as K-mart. The camera is very capable, and has a bright viewfinder.

[Randy]

Here's another camera in my collection made by Petri. It's the ARGUS/PETRI STL 1000. I had all of the ARGUS/COSINA SLRs, and this one completes my collection. It's pretty much the same camera as the FOCAL TLR above.



EDIT: Both cameras are M42 Screw Mounts.

[Berndt]

The both look like the Petri TTL to me: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petri_TTL

[Stephen]

Because it was a basic sound design Petri sold it in many forms to be badge engineered, Dixons Ltd, (Stanley Kalms), in the UK took it as Prinz, and Porst in Germany used it as an own named brand. It was sold in France under another name.

The biggest badge engineering was in the United States, all the main suppliers at one point or another used Petri models, they were standard M42, could supply their own lens, and took all other makes of M42, the mount often being referred to as the Petri Mount.

A lot of bigger makers regretted having proprietary bayonet mounts for the camera bodies, it meant re-tooling to make an M42 body, and they would have to re-design their own lens range to fit, a costly move.

They lost out to Petri and Cosina who both made for many brand names. Badge engineering remains in Digital to an even greater extent, open up say an older Pentax S40, and it is all Casio inside.

Petri themselves had started making reflexes with M42, and then, to go up market had changed to a Petri Bayonet mount, with adaptors for M42, but later on returned again, in their own brand name, to the same mount as the badge engineered models with M42 thread.

Petri had a very good reputation for reliability, few were sent for repair for the shop, the lenses were average to good, the standard lenses were excellent.