Olympus Pen F Medical - Conversion?

[HanSolex]

Hoping to get a little advice about how to proceed. The situation: I bought a Pen F Medical (with the unusual lens adapter and shutter lever) thinking it might be kind of fun to have an unusual variant to use as a normal camera. Also, it was inexpensive relative to regular Pen Fs in similar condition (probably a clue I should have picked up on). Normally I do more research so I know what I'm getting into, but it didn't occur to me that there might be internal differences between the regular and medical versions. Now I know ... but I'm not clear on the exact issues I'm facing.

Not too much online about this—the stuff I found, a few threads, everyone involved seems to already have a working knowledge of the issues. It seems that the focusing screen may be different than a normal Pen F, but I'm not clear on how. Unfortunately the mirror is stuck—the camera will need a CLA, and I knew this going in—so I can't put a regular lens on (which I have) to verify the differences. Would someone be willing to run me through what I've gotten myself into?

Perhaps there's a repair shop that can do the CLA and install a correct focusing screen? Is there anything else I need to do to get this to work properly as a regular SPR?

Basically, compared to a similar non-op Pen F, how much additional work is needed here? Is it worthwhile or should I bail and try to find a different body? Thanks a ton in advance for any opinions/advice/dose of reality. At least cosmetically it's in very nice shape, and the film chamber is very clean. I doubt this was used much.

(Excuse the terrible iPhone picture, I was in a hurry, but there's not much to see anyways.)

 

[HanSolex]

I should add that while I've got a bit invested in the lenses now and would definitely like a working Pen F body at some point, I spent a modest amount on this Medical body and feel confident I could recoup my investment by reselling it. So while fixing this body would be nice, there's no sunk cost fallacy issue here.

 

[HanSolex]

Lastly, here's a video of what's going on.

 

[R_a_feldman]

The Medical/Scientific models of the Pen F and FT have a clear focusing screen, which is used for paralax focusing on the aerial image. As Dechert wrote in his book on the Pen F’s, it is “essentially useless to a generalist photographer.”

This shop in Japan advertises (advertised?) that they can replace Pen F/FT focusing screens with split-image screens: Kanto Camera (Link). For the Pen F, the screen is bonded to the pentaprism, so both need to be replaced.

Replacing a focusing screen requires major disassembly, so it is not for the inexperienced or faint of heart.

 

[R_a_feldman]

Looking at your video, I note that the shutter is stuck in the middle of its rotation — not a good sign. You can see part of the shutter in the corner of the frame opening.

 

[HanSolex]

Couple notes here for anyone else in my situation:

1. John Hermanson doesn't do Pen repairs anymore.
2. Viewfinder conversions aren't simple or economical (it's not like a OM-series SLR, where the viewfinder screens simply pop out), so avoid the Medical Types.

I'm still going to be fine as I paid near enough to the eBay comps for this body to simply sell it off. I've already bought a supposedly good Pen-FV, which unfortunately doesn't have the gothic-script F which looks cool but seems to be the best compromise for use of all the F models. And the lenses I already had for the body I bought will of course work. So, we'll see if the Pen-FV proves out, and I'll probably recoup my Medical Type money.

Not too painful lesson learned.