Olympus Pen F

[MiniMoke]

I saw a nice Pen F with 38mm 1.8 at a camera dealer's around here and the GAS kicked in again.... :bang:

But first I have some questions:

What about that half frame thing - I can certainly get it developed, but won't they cut the frames when cutting the neg strips?

When scanning the negatives, will they fit into a standard negative holder (Epson V600)? Will I get 2 pics in one frame?

What to check out when taking a look at the camera. Guess the viewfinder system is prone to fogging up but the shutter is said to be quite sturdy.

Optically it's very much OK.

 

[btgc]

You can ask to return film uncut, at least, locally. When shipped out flat form simplifies things and costs less. And you will get scans with 2 images in one file.

Can say nothing specific about Pen F, though. Seems to be nice mechanics and optics for a lot of money, usually 🙂

 

[MiniMoke]

Yes, the price is a bit steep.......

 

[Godfrey]

Great little cameras, the finest half-frame cameras ever made. The Pen F lenses are all remarkable, super performance for lenses that are nearly 40 years old.

I've owned Pen Fs several times over the years. They make great photographs if you know how to work the small film format. Great for travel with 72 exposures on a roll of film.

G

 

[splitimageview]

I found it hard to finish a roll of 72, and actually got more like 78!

 

[Dwig]

...
What about that half frame thing - I can certainly get it developed, but won't they cut the frames when cutting the neg strips?

If they pay attention to the cutting there will be no problem. Half-frame negs are exactly that. If the lab usually cuts 4 frame strips for their sleeves, half frame negs will cut to an 8 frame strip of exactly the same length.

When scanning the negatives, will they fit into a standard negative holder (Epson V600)? Will I get 2 pics in one frame?

I'm not sure what EPSON's auto thumbnail mode will do, but you can easily turn off thumbnails and manually marquee select each frame after doing the preview scan.

What to check out when taking a look at the camera. Guess the viewfinder system is prone to fogging up but the shutter is said to be quite sturdy.

Like almost all low to mid priced dSLRs the Pen F series uses mirrors in the VF rather than a solid glass prism. The reflective surfaces are thus exposed to the atmosphere and can collect dust and grime. Also, 1960s tech didn't allow for overcoating the front surface mirrors so cleaning is all but impossible..

 

[Godfrey]

The Olympus Pen F uses a 'side-winder porrofinder' prism system similar to the reflex tunnel in the Panasonic L1, Leica Digilux 3 and Olympus 330 (?) DSLRs. That's why it's a bit dimmer than the more typical pentaprism finder. It keeps the camera small and the top flat: the Pen F is no bigger than a Leica M4 overall, extremely compact for an SLR. The Pen FV model has the brightest finder but no light meter.

A rather special thing about the Pen F series SLRs is the fact that they use a rotating disk shutter rather than a pair of curtains. This means that you can sync with electronic flash at all shutter speeds.

A black Pen FV with 25, 38 and 70 mm lenses fits in a tiny case and is a great travel system if you're not looking to make enormous prints.

G

 

[goamules]

I've had several, an FT I just sold, and an FV with the brighter viewfinder. These are very high quality cameras, and take very good pictures. Very easy to use and straightforward controls. Ant their lenses are so good, they're pretty much what I keep on my m4/3 camera now.

 

[shadowfox]

The 38mm/1.8 is a darling of a lens, but don't stop there, the 100mm/3.5 is my other favorite:

 

[Dana B.]

I've had a series of Pen Fs, my first love in SLRs. I sold the FTs, and kept my original double-wind, non-TTL Pen F, with attached light meter. Great camera. My fave.

If you live in the US and belong to a Costco that still develops film, I discovered they will process and scan each roll -- and separate each half-frame image. Simply request they set the Fuji developer to "135H." After that, you're good to go (don't let the clerk tell you he/she can't do it, as I've been to many Costcos and have developed *many* rolls of half-frame film. You'll get a CD of fully independent scans. Other labs may also do the same.

I now develop my own film, and have a V500 Epson scanner. The trick is to scan each strip on normal auto. Create a copy of each double 36X24 135 frame. Crop the first image (I use Picasa) for the left pic. Then crop the second image for the right. And you're good go.

This system also works fine if you have the pics developed in a lab, and scan them at home.

The Pen F series are great cameras -- and cult machines to the shrine of Olympus designer Yoshihisa Maitani; may he rest in peace. The 38/1.8 is a fabulous lens (55mm equivalent). Other lenses are great, too (though they can be expensive). Good luck. And above everything, have fun.

Here's a fun one with the 38:

 

[jwc57]

For those interested in Pen F, check this out

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=12458203

 

[nikon_sam]

There is one at a local thrift store that I got to check out one day, the price wasn't too bad but the film advance was a bit gritty...wasn't all that smooth...
I've read that would need fixing...don't know all that much but they are sweet looking little machines...

 

[rhl-oregon]

There's a half-frame thread where you can see what some of us do with the uncut frame-pairs. It's fine to ask for single half-frame scans, but I find it interesting to shoot dynamic pairings. Requires note-taking, or shooting a roll all at once in the proper setting for visual paradoxes, conundrums, contradictions--or simply paired portraits a la Dutch bourgeois paintings of the man and woman of the house, the one on the left facing right and vice versa. SHooting color and selectively PP B/W is another way to exploit the divided whole frame. I also have a Konica AutoRex SLR that shoots whole/half frames with a lens comparable to the Pen 40 1.4 (57 1.4 AR).