Let's see your Olympus Pen

[Frontman]

It seems there is no "Let us see" thread for the mighty Pen, which was quite popular, and began another chapter in film photography.

I have owned many of these little buggers, and was especially fond of the half-frame SLR cameras, like the F and FT. But there is something special about the design of the early Pen. It was very much a product of the 1950's, but with the Pen, form seems to follow function very well.

My favorite of the series is the Pen W. Olympus was good enough to build black-paint versions of many of their cameras, and the Pen W of 1964 received this treatment. I like the slightly wider 25mm lens, which also has an extra element over the 28mm D Zuiko found in the standard Pen and the Pen S.

The only weakness of the Pen W seems to be it's rather fragile paint, which wears quite easily.

I love shooting with the Pen, and usually keep one in my pocket at all times.

 

[zuiko85]

You've got Pen W's !? I am pea green with envy.😀

Seriously, I have several of the viewfinder Pens and will try to get my son over here to show me how to post pictures on this machine. Since 1972, when I bought a Pen used, the early one with one lug, I've never been without one. It was my introduction to Olympus cameras. I've never cared for the EE models, although some folks take fine photographs with them. Just cannot wrap my head around not having full manual control of shutter speed and aperture and focus.

 

[OlympusRF]

some of my half-frame PEN Collection

some of my half-frame PEN Collection

Well, I will put some photos of my PEN Collection, if interested see the others in my Flickr page. I hope you'll enjoy.


Olympus PEN D half-frame camera + original flash & hood DSCF7535 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN D half-frame camera + original hood & cap & UV filter & Pen flash DSCF7560 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus Pen Half-frame cameras DSCF3311 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN EE3 half-frame camera boxed-7499 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN W half-frame camera E Zuiko-W 25mm f2.8 DSCF6294 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus Pen black half-frame cameras - PEN FT & EF & W-6336 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN FT black half-frame SLR camera + original PEN Flash -7083 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN FT black half-frame SLR camera-7061 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN FT black half-frame SLR camera + original PEN Flash -7089 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr



Olympus PEN EF PEN FT PEN W black half-frame cameras-5361-2 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN EE half frame camera boxed-6368 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/olympusrf/7186963082/" title="Olympus PEN EES-2 half-frame camera boxed-7408 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5280/7186963082_1046bc4670_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Olympus PEN EES-2 half-frame camera boxed-7408"></a>


Olympus PEN EE3 half-frame camera boxed-7506 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr



Olympus PEN EE half frame camera boxed-6379 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN D with original ERC case & hood SAM_0412 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr


Olympus PEN D half-frame camera + original cap, UV filter & hood DSCF7547 por THE OLYMPUS CAMERAS COLLECTOR, no Flickr

 

[Rodchenko]

I've got just the one Pen Original. It's really cool. Sadly, the framelines are slipping away. I must dig out a photo of it.

I must say, though, that I am deeply envious of Frontman's collection. The W is my ideal Pen, followed by the D3, but my chances of buying a usable example of either of those is a bit slim.

 

[mkvrnn]

Pen FT Scientific

Pen FT Scientific

This is my Pen FT Scientific model which came with this strange looking adaptor for a microscope or an endoscope.

It is almost identical to the FT but without the delayed action mechanism, and it has a circular mask with crosshairs in the viewfinder.

The strange thing about my example is that it has a normal ground glass focussing screen, so with a conventional lens fitted it can be used to take photos in the normal way. Has anybody else come across one like this?

I did consider having the mask removed but it looks like a complicated business, and it's not too much of a handicap anyway. Besides which, the FT Scientific seems to be the rarest camera in the range so it would be a shame to modify it.

 

[ampguy]

 

[biomed]

Here are some photos of a medical model and two lenses I ran across when I worked in a hospital. They had been used in an endoscopy clinic and hadn't been used for many years when I acquired the lot. I sold them some months back. I hope the new owner is getting some use out of the lenses at least.

 

[ampguy]

What's the difference between the plain and the goth logo medical models? They might be desired by street photographers who use external vfs or just snap. The lens, if clean, or cleanable, are desired by m43 and other mirrorless users.

 

[kaiwasoyokaze]

What's the difference between the plain and the goth logo medical models? They might be desired by street photographers who use external vfs or just snap. The lens, if clean, or cleanable, are desired by m43 and other mirrorless users.

the plastic eyepiece surround where you clip on the coldshoe attachment is a weak point of the camera and most 2nd hand pen's have chipped or broken off surrounds on them.

also the coldshoe attachment is hard to find by itself sometimes.

otherwise i totally agree that the medical model could be used for this purpose for snap shooting.

 

[biomed]

What's the difference between the plain and the goth logo medical models? They might be desired by street photographers who use external vfs or just snap. The lens, if clean, or cleanable, are desired by m43 and other mirrorless users.

The medical model has a mask that only exposes a circular image on the film. These were used with endoscopes, microscopes, etc. The focusing screen was clear flat finish which made it very difficult to focus. I checked about getting the body converted for general photographic use. I was told by several sources that it is possible to convert the body, but it would be cheaper to find another body. I had no use for the lenses. I have very similar lenses that I use with my u4/3 cameras.

Mike

 

[mkvrnn]

"The medical model has a mask that only exposes a circular image on the film"

- Sorry Mike but that's incorrect. The viewfinder has a circular mask but the film frame is the normal 18 x 24 mm rectangle so it will take normal photos. The difficulty is that this model is generally fitted with an aerial viewfinder without a ground glass screen for focussing the image.

However, as I mentioned earlier, my FT Scientific has the circular mask but also a ground glass screen so it can be focussed normally. I thought this was possibly unique, but there's an F Scientific currently listed on fleabay which claims to also have a focussing screen.

More details can be found in Peter Dechert's excellent publication on the Pen F range.

 

[twopointeight]

Any recommendations for good a repairman for Olympus half-frames in the U.S?

 

[kaiwasoyokaze]

Any recommendations for good a repairman for Olympus half-frames in the U.S?

John Hermanson still does repairs on the Olympus Pen F models and is highly recommended and regarded here on the boards.

however last time it took 6+ months before I got my OM1 back, he's been pretty busy at that time I guess.

 

[zuiko85]

John Hermanson still does repairs on the Olympus Pen F models and is highly recommended and regarded here on the boards.

however last time it took 6+ months before I got my OM1 back, he's been pretty busy at that time I guess.

John will now only work on the Pen F. He has discontinued working on the other leaf shutter, fixed lens Pens. He has stopped working on all the classic fixed lens Olympus RF cameras too. Now he just does the OM models.

 

[Dana B.]

Alex, Great looking Pen F, same as mine but with the clunky accessory meter attached. And great to know about Bill at Steve's, thanks.

 

[ampguy]

 

[Montag006]

I could resist no longer and this week an Olympus Pen D arrived on friday.

Unfortunately it came without a lens cap.

Could any of you "Pen Pals" out there let me know the filter size and hopefully
a lens cap source?

Thank you all very much...
First for introducing me to such an incredible little camera
Second in advance

 

[OlympusRF]

Olympus Pen D filter size

Olympus Pen D filter size

It´s 43mm.
Regards,
Denny

 

[02Pilot]

 

[Montag006]

Denny,

thanks for letting me know the Pen D filter size.

David