Olympus Ace E test result

[xayraa33]

Even on the Olympus Ace there is something special about how the Zuiko lens draw, great colour , nice bokeh and still plenty sharp.

 

[Pál_K]

Totally impressive results! I love the subject matter as well!

 

[hilltime]

Brett,

I have an Ace and Ace E with all the lenses even the much rarer 8cm/F4.
Haven't shot it in yrs and loved the 3.5 and 8cm lenses but wasn't impressed with the standard 4.5cm/F2.8.

The intriguing part was like you say, Olympus's only changeable lens RF camera, unfortunately built in the time of the heyday from all the "Big" manufacturers, so it probably didn't get much traction. Especially if the standard lens wasn't that super (maybe it's just mine). Again, I loved it for it's compactness, another Olympus trademark, finally coming to the front with the OM1 or even M1 if you are lucky enough to have.

Haven't thought much about this either in a number of yrs. Too many toys...

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Another image on Pan F Plus using the Olympus Ace & Olympus 4.5cm E. Zuiko f/2.8. Developed in ID-11 1 + 3 dilution. Subject is an Australian-made Holden LJ Torana 4 door fitted with a Holden six cylinder 202 cubic inch red motor.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Even on the Olympus Ace there is something special about how the Zuiko lens draw, great colour , nice bokeh and still plenty sharp.

Yes I agree, the results are appealing. I'm not sure the lenses are the sharpest I have ever used (they're not bad at all though). But having cleaned every air/glass surface in the viewfinder/rangefinder system and carefully calibrated the latter, the Ace is a sheer delight to use with its built in, parallax-compensated frame lines, contrasty RF patch and very bright view.
Cheers,
Brett

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Brett,

I have an Ace and Ace E with all the lenses even the much rarer 8cm/F4.
Haven't shot it in yrs and loved the 3.5 and 8cm lenses but wasn't impressed with the standard 4.5cm/F2.8.

The intriguing part was like you say, Olympus's only changeable lens RF camera, unfortunately built in the time of the heyday from all the "Big" manufacturers, so it probably didn't get much traction. Especially if the standard lens wasn't that super (maybe it's just mine). Again, I loved it for it's compactness, another Olympus trademark, finally coming to the front with the OM1 or even M1 if you are lucky enough to have.

Haven't thought much about this either in a number of yrs. Too many toys...

I do have an OM-1 here. The thing that impressed me about that particular camera is how accurate its shutter was after being unused for some years. I had to clean the escapement to get the slow speeds working, but the times were then virtually perfect. Once I'd given a curtain spring a single ratchet click of extra tension, the 1/1000 time was bang on right across the gate (as checked with a professional Kyoritsu tester). I can assure you that any number of much-vaunted competitors from Japan or Germany would be hard pressed to match that, decades after manufacture. (Including Olympus's own FTL SLR, another lovely camera, but mine needed some work to correct a tapering shutter when I found it locally some years back.)

Tasmania is a base for expeditions to the Antarctic used by Australia and a few other nations such as France. A friend with a great knowledge of film cameras, who spent a year on the continent pre-digital, decades ago, informed me that Olympus OM was a popular make of camera down south. They had a reputation for being able to handle the extremes of temperature on the ice without giving many problems. High praise, I thought.

I do not think I have tested critical sharpness of the Ace 4.5cm lens wide open yet. I'll have to make a point of doing a few images with the lens at f/2.8, because you've piqued my curiosity.
Cheers
Brett

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Another classic Holden Special, this one a late 1960s HR.

Lens: Olympus 4.5cm E. Zuiko 4.5cm f/2.8.
Film: Ilford Pan F Plus ISO 50 35mm black & white negative.
Development: ID-11 1 + 3 20C/16 minutes.