Half frame cameras

[HFAISTIO]

Hello this is my first post here.
I had been reading this forum for a few days and iam very lucky i find this website.
Grat job and very helpfull.
I allready have a small Rollei B35 and and my favorite olympus 35RC.After reading the threads here i order 1 Canon QL17 III 😱

What iam looking now is a good Pen style camera like Olympous Pen series.
So i want some advise from someone who know these cameras.

I dont mind if is olympus,canon or any other.

Must have:
1.Full manual control of aperture and shutter speed.
2.Bright Viefinder.
3.To feel good in hand


Mike.P

 

[kbg32]

Olympus was the pinacle of half frame cameras - the F series. Interchanageable lenses and full metered manual control. A more modern version was the Yashica Samurai series. Looked like a small camcorder, noninterchangeable lens, with a very sharp zoom lens, and auto control.

 

[filmgoerjuan]

The Pen F is a great camera, although maybe a little pricey. If you're looking for a compact, fully manual half-frame camera, you'd probably be best going with one of the Pen D series. The only downside is that it's not a coupled rangefinder, so you have to zone focus (or just guess!).

 

[surlysimon]

The Canon Demi 17 is a good compramise, not as expensive as the olympus but every bit as useable.

 

[Dougg]

The Canon Demi 17 is a good compramise, not as expensive as the olympus but every bit as useable.

I formerly had a Pen D2 for some years and thought it was excellent. My choice for minimal-baggage motorcycle touring. I eventually replaced it with a 35RC. 🙂

 

[Andrew McPhee]

I think the model that best meets your criteria is any of the early Pen or Pen S series. They are wonderful to handle and the controls have a really nice mechanical and precise feel. I recently got a Pen S via eBay and it sits here by my computer and every couple of days I pick it up and fire off a couple of frames just to feel the winder and hear the shutter's almost-silent click. Bide your time and wait for a low-mileage one in good condition, you'll love it!

 

[pshinkaw]

Everyone has offered good advice on what to buy. Let me suggest what to avoid.

Very few Canon/Bell and Howell Dial 35's still work. I would avoid those unless you are going to collect half-frames. The Demi's are great, but if you get a Demi EE17 (CdS meter), remember that it uses a PX-13 mercury battery.

The Canon Demi-C has interchangeable lenses. It is hard to find and usually very expensive when you do find one.

The Konica Auto Reflex (non TTL meter w/switchable half-frame) is also very pricey and hard to find.

Yashica Samurai's are hard to find in working condition. Almost all that I have seen are broken.

The Konica AA-35 is also hard to find and I think it is fully automatic with auto-focus. It's the one that looks like a big Disc camera but is actually half-frame 35mm.

The Pen FT is a great camera, but it requires a PX-13 mercury battery for the meter. Unless you want to use a Wein cell or do a conversion, be prepared to forgo the TTL metering. I have heard that you can buy a Pen FT and have a shop replace the semi-silvered TTL mirror for a full silvered one like the Pen FV. That gives up the TTL metering, but gives a brighter viewfinder.

-Paul

 

[dexdog]

The Konica Auto Reflex (non TTL meter w/switchable half-frame) is also very pricey and hard to find.

I had no idea that these were expensive- I got one as part of an eBay miscellaneous sale because it was paired with a Canon 28mm lens in FD mount and some junky everyready cases. Paid $35. The Autoreflex came with a 50/1.4 Hexanon, and looks to be very well-made. I have not used it in half-frame mode.

 

[Dougg]

Good comments, Paul! I haven't experience with any of those "stay away" half-frames, maybe for the better! On the Pen FT, I inherited one from my father and bought another, both with working meters.

But the TTL meter system in the FT is awkward to use; the later series of lenses made for this model have aperture rings that can be repositioned to display f/stops on top or "meter numbers" on top instead. These meter numbers correspond to numbers the meter needle may point to in the viewfinder, and so the lens or shutter dial is moved until the numbers agree. So I think it's scarcely worth the trouble to fiddle with the battery issue, and just choose to use a hand-held meter as I do with my Pen FV as well.

As to finder brightness, I think at this late date the condition of individual cameras may be a more important factor. One of my FTs is brighter than the other, and about the same as the FV. All three have had CLA attention.

Fun cameras to use but I am consciously gentle in advancing the film as I understand this is a weak point and new parts aren't available. The film transport of my dad's camera was repaired in 1984... Perhaps as a different matter, the horizontal axis of the rotary shutter means there is a right-angle gear drive from the wind lever to the cocking mechanism lending a naturally gritty feel to the lever. Local repair tech opines this is not a good design.

 

[RayPA]

I've got a 'F' with a meter, a very well made camera, a blast to shoot with. If you want 1/2 frame this camera won't disappoint.

click!


🙂

 

[Dougg]

I'd trade the self-timer for that elegant "F" inscription anytime!

 

[fgianni]

And if you have the money, the Ducati Sogno looks really good.

 

[DougK]

I'm kind of partial to my Yashica Samurai. Fun camera to shoot with and it takes great photos. No manual controls though.

 

[dll927]

Slightly off the subject, but I've heard stories that there was a half-frame version of the Leica M4-2, of which I have a "whole-frame" version. There must have been about three made. I don't remember if it was on Evil-Bay, Pacific Rim Camera, or someplace I saw one for sale, and the price was somewhat above my bank account. Has anyone heard of this?

I have a friend who has (think he still does) an Olympus Pen F. My recollection is that you hold it "vertical" for horizontal and vice-versa.

 

[Lee Hamiel]

There is also the Leica Post camera which I believe has a frame counter that goes only up to 60 but it is a half-frame camera

 

[RayPA]

I'd trade the self-timer for that elegant "F" inscription anytime!

Yeah, I don't use self-timers very often. The fancy 'F' is kind of cool. Even though the image is dark and cropped tightly a sliver of the meter attachment can be seen on the left, and it's fairly accurate, as long as the light is decent.

🙂