The Petri 2.8 Color Super is a rangefinder camera introduced in 1958, which came onto the market as the direct successor to the original Petri 2.8. In collector circles and specialist literature (such as the well-known standard work by McKeown), the designation "Color Super" has become established, although the name "Petri 2.8 Color Corrected Super" is still engraved on the front of the body. The model brought significant optical and mechanical improvements and remained in production until 1961.
The "Green-O-Matic" Viewfinder System
The most important innovation of the Petri 2.8 Color Super concerns the optical viewfinder system. The camera was equipped with a modern bright-line viewfinder with automatic parallax compensation. When focusing at close range, the reflected frame line shifts diagonally to compensate for the changed angle between the viewfinder and the lens.
The illumination of this frame is achieved through a striking, green-tinted glass window on the front of the body cap, which also covers the rangefinder window. Due to this construction, the viewfinder image and the measuring spot in the center receive a characteristic green tint. This strong color contrast makes focusing much easier under difficult lighting conditions and earned the camera the popular nickname "Green-O-Matic".
Technical Upgrades and Shutter Variants
While the optical design of the proven Petri Orikkor 45 mm f/2.8 was retained, the shutter system underwent an important development during the four-year production period. The early models of the Color Super series from 1958 were still equipped with the proven Carper-MX shutter, which offered exposure times from 1 second to 1/300 second.
Around mid-1960, however, the manufacturer upgraded the camera with a more powerful leaf shutter, the Carper MXV. This improved shutter increased the shortest exposure time to 1/500 second and also added a mechanical self-timer (delayed action) to the camera, indicated by the abbreviation "V".
The Commemorative Plaque and Historical Classification
A special optical feature concerns cameras produced between late 1959 and early 1960. To celebrate reaching a production milestone of over 1.2 million cameras since the restart of camera production after World War II in 1948, the company mounted an embossed metal plaque on the top of the body with the inscription "COMMEMORATION Productions EXCEEDED 1200000". Examples with this plaque are sought-after collector's items today.
The Petri 2.8 Color Super was flanked within the model family by the faster sister models with apertures of f/1.8 and f/1.9. In 1960, the Petri E.Bn followed, in which the body of the Color Super was extended with an uncoupled selenium exposure meter. Shortly thereafter, the manufacturer introduced a new era of rangefinder cameras with the Petri 7 series, where the exposure metering was arranged directly around the lens.
Films for the Petri 2.8 Color Corrected Super
Without photographic film, nothing works with the Petri 2.8 Color Corrected Super. More precisely, the camera requires 35mm film. Even today, there is still a large amount of film material for color and black-and-white images in this format.
Possible films for the Petri 2.8 Color Corrected Super that can still be purchased today are the Kodak Portra 160* and the Ilford Delta 400*. There are numerous other manufacturers that also produce films for this format.
