Info about Olympus EE Auto Eye 2

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I am lucky enough to acquire a used Olympus EE Auto Eye 2 camera recently. The lense is D-Zuiko 43mm f/2.5. Seems like is not battery driven. Unfortunately the rangefinder is not accurate (cannot coincide at infinity) but lense is good.
Just wonder if any of you can share their experience using this camera?
Many thanks.
Cheers,
Dennis
 
Hi, I have four of these cameras, and I'm trying to learn what I can about them, since there is little information out there and I haven't found a manual yet. The metering system is not working properly on any of them, and I imagine yours has the same problem. But... you can easily use it in manual, by setting the shutter speed and rotating the big ribbed barrel on the lens back from A toward 2.5 and the f-stop will appear in the viewfinder. If you have a very early example, it will also show the f-stop on the barrel itself, but I've only found that on one, one of the first 200 made.

I think the rangefinder can be adjusted by removing the little cap screw inside the camera on the top film rail, underneath there should be a small adjusting screw inside. I have not had to adjust mine since all seem to be accurate. I have an Olympus Auto Eye original that has a sluggish rangefinder that I may try to fix. It seems to be accurate but it takes awhile for it to "catch up" when moving it.

I really like these Auto-Eye cameras, and plan to put film through one very soon. Would enjoy hearing about your experiences too, and will share mine.

Gzuiko
 
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Thanks gzuiko for the precious info as I can't find out much from the net.
From what you said, mine should be an early model with aperture markings.
The lens has been cleaned before and it may affect the rangefinder coupling as the images can't coincide at infinity. Will need further work to find out.
This is a special camera IMHO as you can set AUTO without the need of battery (whether it's accurate enough is another story). Also it's lovely to have a battery independent camera.
Will share more info and pictures once I get a break thro'.
 
I'm just lucky to know a friend of mine who is a camera enthusiast and he did an overhaul for my camera in a few hours' time. Now the viewfinder is clean and clear, lens is almost haze free, rangefinder alignment spot on even though slow shutter speed a bit sluggish (hey but it's consistent). Shot a roll with Kodak 400 CN (not scanned) and is impressive with the amount of details shown in low light areas as well as very little flare against strong light source. Will see how it performs with color film.
 
I'm in the process of shooting a roll of ISO 100 color print film with my best one right now. I'm impressed with the clarity of the rangefinder image. VERY easy to focus and probably the largest and clearest rangefinder spot I've ever seen! I'm not using it in auto, but setting the camera manually using a handheld light meter. Will let you know how it turns out.

Anyone seen a manual for this camera? They don't seem to exist. I have a manual in tatters for the original auto-eye but it's not the same camera at all.
 
Color prints came back from the EE Auto Eye2 and is surprisingly good (consider it's age and what it costs). Will post some samples once the scan CD comes.
 
Scans are back, just post a few as demo, nothing spectacular. Pictures were only re-sized with PS.
 

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Thanks Bill58 and Gzuiko. Unfortunately the shutter got a problem, it can only be fired at one speed (except B). Probably needs some lubrication :-(
 
bankcheck said:
Thanks gzuiko for the precious info as I can't find out much from the net.
From what you said, mine should be an early model with aperture markings.
The lens has been cleaned before and it may affect the rangefinder coupling as the images can't coincide at infinity. Will need further work to find out.
This is a special camera IMHO as you can set AUTO without the need of battery (whether it's accurate enough is another story). Also it's lovely to have a battery independent camera.
Will share more info and pictures once I get a break thro'.
Click to expand...

Hey - have I just bought your Auto Eye II? 😀

Mine also doesn't coincide at infinity, though the distances seem pretty good other than that. I'll try the adjustment gzuiko suggests.

I rather like it in use. I've got my first roll in today, and have only been able to shoot in some very flat morning light on the way to work. Still managed 13 exposures, but some of those are of views I've taken before, which is pretty inevitable on a commute.

I checked the light with my Master IV as I left London Bridge station, and the camera agreed, so I set it to 1/125, and it gave me f/5.6 for most shots, going down to f/11 for a backlit shot of the Shard (must find a less fiddly way to compensate than changing the film speed, which is awkward - might just take the readings and set manually for that).

It's a bit bigger in all dimensions (and heavier!) than my beloved 35SP, and less instinctive to use, but I got used to it. In fact, at one point, I forgot I wasn't using the SP, and reached for the focussing lever (and missed, of course). I got caught out by the widest collar on the barrel being the aperture ring (why?), and the focussing being the very front, but it worked out OK.

I'm looking forward to leaving work this evening and getting more shooting in on the way home.

I've found that older cameras tend to be less suspiciously regarded on the street, so I'm hoping to get a few candids in. Must find a busier route to walk.

I still don't know why I bought it, as it's not on my target list at all. It just looked nice (despite the odd, greenish-grey covering), and I wanted a batteryless metered rangefinder.

I'll take some photos of the camera itself, and with it, of course, and try to get them posted up asap.
 
manual

manual

If anyone needs an manual, I have the manual from the first Auto-eye, basically its the same camera but the Auto-eye II its simpler. Just send me an message.
 
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