C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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The Petri Flex V (1965) is a 35mm manual-focus SLR produced by Petri Camera Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, bridging the original Flex 7 (1963) and the TTL-metered FT series that arrived later in the 1960s. Like its predecessor it uses the Petri breech-lock lens mount and pairs with the CC Auto Petri 55mm f/1.8 as the standard lens. The shutter is a horizontal-travel rubberised cloth focal-plane unit running from 1s to 1/1000s. The camera retains the uncoupled selenium meter of the Flex 7 but introduces a rotating collar ring around the lens mount that serves as the lens release mechanism -- a detail that separates the Flex V from the Flex 7 externally and became a minor identifying characteristic of the model.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
A refined mid-decade Petri SLR -- the Flex V introduced a rotating lens-release ring that distinguished it from its Flex 7 predecessor.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Mount | Petri breech-lock bayonet |
| Year | 1965 |
| Shutter | 1s -- 1/1000s + B, horizontal rubberised cloth |
| Flash sync | X: 1/60s; FP: all speeds |
| Meter | External uncoupled selenium |
| Modes | Manual |
| Viewfinder | Pentaprism, split-prism focusing aid |
| Battery | None (selenium meter is self-powered) |
The Petri Flex V appeared two years after the Flex 7 as a mid-cycle update rather than a clean-sheet redesign. By 1965, Petri's SLR line was gaining traction in export markets -- particularly in the United States, where the camera was sold through importers as a budget alternative to the Miranda, Topcon, and entry-level Nikon offerings. The Petri breech-lock mount was retained unchanged, meaning the Flex V was fully lens-compatible with the Flex 7 -- owners upgrading bodies could carry over their CC Auto Petri glass.
The FT series (beginning ~1966--1967) introduced coupled TTL metering and represented the next significant design step; the Flex V sits between those two generations. The breech-lock mount continued through the FT series but was eventually abandoned as Petri moved toward the bayonet mount used on later models. Petri Camera went bankrupt in 1977.
Within the Petri SLR family, the Flex V is the intermediate generation: more refined than the initial Flex 7 but predating the TTL metering that made the FT series more competitive. The rotating lens-release ring -- one of its more distinctive mechanical details -- is a small ergonomic revision that indicates Petri was actively iterating on the design between models rather than simply re-badging.
For photographers, the camera offers the same practical proposition as the Flex 7: a closed-ecosystem breech-lock mount, a reliable horizontal cloth shutter, a selenium meter that requires no battery, and the CC Auto Petri 55/1.8 as the primary working lens. Prices are very low. The appeal is mechanical simplicity and self-contained operation: no battery required for any function, no electronics to fail, and a reasonably bright pentaprism finder.
The Flex V uses the Petri breech-lock mount, fully compatible with lenses made for the Flex 7, FT, FT II, and other breech-lock Petri bodies. Native CC Auto Petri lenses available for this mount: 28mm f/3.5 wide, 35mm f/2.8 wide, 55mm f/1.8 standard, 55mm f/2 standard, 100mm f/3.5 short telephoto, 135mm f/2.8 short telephoto, 200mm f/4 telephoto. Some Spiratone and Soligor lenses were produced in Petri breech-lock mount in limited quantities. Adaptation from other mounts is not practical due to the flange distance geometry of the breech-lock collar. Accessories: dedicated Petri flash units, PC sync cables, close-up extension tubes.
BW
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
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Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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