Olympus pen as a cinema camera

[svinao]

I've been thinking about this idea for a long time, and then someone on RFF suggested this in a different thread of mine, and I've decided to try it.

The premise goes as follows: I service cine lenses and I like film photography. I want to use those lenses on film, but due to short flanges and small image circles it's not possible with conventional SLRs.

Enter olympus pen f. Some info online says hollywood lens technicians used these to test cine lenses, fitting them with PL mounts. Quick google search shows a guy that fitted lomo squarefront anamorphic on one of these.

So I'd like to do the same. I've checked flange distances on every specific lens I have (not mount flange, but rear element flange) and they all clear the mirror on Pen F. Also I've sorted out the mounting as well. I plan to load kodak vision 3 into them and shoot away, only question remains – which body to choose?

I've read this forum's threads related to Pen F series and it seems that:
Original 'gothic' F can tear your film, and double stroke is not for everyone. Later cameras like FT and FV have better mechanics, so I guess the choice is between the two.

I am an aperture-priority guy. Getting an unmetered FV body somewhat scares me. I know there is an option for the external meter, native Pen F or 3rd party, but they all add bulk, and feel like they would take away some of the appeal of small SLR body.

But again, getting the FT scares me as well, since if the meter works, it's uncoupled, and with no aperture pre-set for 3rd party lenses it's going to be about setting the lens to desired aperture, fiddling with shutter speed to get a 0 EV value, and releasing shutter. Not sure this is a nice shooting experience.

Cine lenses I own are all slow-ish, they start with T2 and perform best at T4. I've heard FV had a darker viewfinder anyways, and I'm worried that if I shoot and meter at T4 (around f 3.8) it will be very dim and hard to focus.

I currently use those lenses on my Fujifilm bodies. It's an astonishing shooting experience, and I mostly get quick snaps with this setup, got used to focusing it very quick. I'm worried Olympus would be a slower experience.

Can anyone share their similar experience please? Or suggest which body will suit me best?

Thank you!

 

[Orthogonal]

I'm not experienced with the Pen series but I suspect you'll be correct in thinking that it will be a slower shooting experience; metering, focussing, stopping down. That said, you'll also find shortcuts and workarounds for faster shooting if necessary - e.g. metering by eye, hyperfocal shooting etc., and regular 35mm C41 film (let alone Vision 3) can give a lot of room for error. A few months ago I was working on some footage for a large budget upcoming feature and it must have been underexposed by at least 5 stops, I'm not sure what stock it was but it still looked great with a digital push.

Probably what would give me more pause in your shoes would be the usability of larger cine lenses on a tiny body like the olympus. I'd also not worry about trying to find a Pen with a meter, your smartphone probably has a better meter in it and has exposure preview to boot, plus as I mentioned before metering might not be as important as you're anticipating.

 

[aizan]

You can shoot quickly with an uncoupled meter. Take several readings to map out the lighting in an environment beforehand.

Or wear a handheld meter on a strap for easy access and bypass the Pen’s metering system entirely.

I would get the FT or F in that order for the slightly brighter viewfinder.

 

[vagab0nd]

I would get the FT or F in that order for the slightly brighter viewfinder.

Do you mean FV or F for the brighter viewfinder? Those are the two non-metered variants of the Pen F. The FT has the slightly dimmer mirror to allow for TTL metering.

 

[aizan]

Brain fart!

 

[lonemantis]

I actually know the guy who owns that modified Pen F that you saw with Lomo Squarefronts. Very cool results, though a bit clunky to use. It'll definitely be a slower shooting experience, given the longer focus throw and geared rings of most cine lenses. T4 should be no problem with the microprism screen in later models - they're fine for focusing the Pen 25mm F4 as well.

As far as Pen models go, I'd highly recommend the FV, if you don't mind the higher cost. To me, it has the best parts of the series (brighter finder, stronger single-stroke winding mechanism, microprism screen), with none of the downsides. I don't consider the meter on the FT to be an asset - older meters are less reliable in general, and since it's uncoupled, you may as well use an external one. I have an meter app on my phone that works great!

 

[goamules]

The Pen FV is a nice camera. The bright finder is well worth it, and not having a 50 year old archaic meter is not going to hurt you. Use and external.