Olympus Pen FT

[Erik van Straten]

Olympus Pen FT, Zuiko 40mm f/1.4, Tmax100.

Erik.

 

[lueej]

Thank you all.

Olympus Pen FT, Zuiko 40mm f/1.4, Tmax100.

Erik.

fantastic! makes me feel bad about not exercising my FT more often.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Thank you, lueej.

Olympus Pen FT, Zuiko 40mm f/1.4, Tmax100.

Erik.

 

[zuiko85]

Fine work Erik, both technical and aesthetic.

I notice a thin black line around the prints. Did you clearance the negative holder to be able to print out to the edge of the frame?

 

[Erik van Straten]

Did you clearance the negative holder to be able to print out to the edge of the frame?

Thank you, zuiko.
I do not use a negative holder. I just lay the negative on the glass plate of the scanner (emulsion side down) and cover it with a piece of AN-glass.

Erik.

 

[RichL]

Bah and humbug.

Got my film back and it looks okay but the Pen F is just not my cup of tea. It simply isn't a natural (?) fit for me. With my Lecia 1 and Minox III I just grab, shoot, and sto. I guess it just feels fiddly to me. But damn, it's a nice camera. Perhaps I'll use it a bit more and see if it becomes a more natural fit, if not I'll simply continue to enjoy Erik's and Sonnar2's and everyone else's photographs.

 

[HuubL]

Just checked this thread for the first time. Erik, you are absolutely among the best photographers here on RFF. What you get out of these half frames is stunning!
I have an Agfa half frame somewhere and you made me want to dig it up and try shooting it again.

 

[Godfrey]

Lovely photos, Erik! Your photos show the Pen F remains a camera capable of producing excellent work.

I've had a couple of them over the years, always intrigued to acquire another but I resist—I have too many cameras already.

G

 

[goamules]

I still enjoy shooting a roll through my Pen-FV once in a while. To me it's an extremely intuitive camera. I even chose it to shoot while flying, not easy as we were doing aerobatics.

 

[Erik van Straten]

What you get out of these half frames is stunning!
I have an Agfa half frame somewhere and you made me want to dig it up and try shooting it again.

Thank you, Huub.

Some links were broken on the first pages of this thread. I repaired them.

Erik.

 

[Tom A]

Eric, great series with the Pen F's! Today the modern films more than off sets the problem with obtrusive grain etc. Your shots could have ben taken with full frame. I also like the vertical orientation of the images. I suspect that it is a bit of laziness that one doesn't "flip" the M's or Nikon Rf's more often.

 

[zuiko85]

Pen FT bodies seem a bargain these days. But the lenses, yikes. I think I've completed my set with a 25mm f4, not fast but very compact. The guy selling it said the aperture was 'sticky', thus a low price. I took a chance and when the lens arrived I removed the mount and reattached the spring that had come loose. Took all of ten minutes.

I really prefer the original F over the FT or FV. I cannot stand the microprism focusing aids used in later cameras and much like the plain matte screen in the F.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Today the modern films more than off sets the problem with obtrusive grain etc. Your shots could have ben taken with full frame. I also like the vertical orientation of the images. I suspect that it is a bit of laziness that one doesn't "flip" the M's or Nikon Rf's more often.

Thank you, Tom!
I think that half frame photography became possible with the arrival of the great Tmax100 film in combination with the Microdol X developer, that is twenty years after the Pen F series was discontinued!

Erik.

 

[goamules]

Pen FT bodies seem a bargain these days. But the lenses, yikes. I think I've completed my set with a 25mm f4, not fast but very compact. The guy selling it said the aperture was 'sticky', thus a low price. I took a chance and when the lens arrived I removed the mount and reattached the spring that had come loose. Took all of ten minutes.

I really prefer the original F over the FT or FV. I cannot stand the microprism focusing aids used in later cameras and much like the plain matte screen in the F.

The Pen-F lenses are about all I use on my Fuji XE-1, especially the 25/4, which I shot the above with (on film).

I don't know about the original F, but the FV has a much brighter finder than the FT, because there is no meter. I've compared them both in hand, and it's a big difference.

 

[zuiko85]

...I don't know about the original F, but the FV has a much brighter finder than the FT, because there is no meter. I've compared them both in hand, and it's a big difference.

Yeah, if I do get an FT as a backup the first thing I'm going to do remove the top and discard the meter with it's half mirror and replace it with a full first surface mirror. At the same time I'll remove the self timer mech. and lever and stick a plug in the hole. The whole camera becomes much cleaner and the self timer lever don't get caught on stuff.

 

[goamules]

Or just get an FV model?

 

[Doug]

This is my FV, which had been in scientific use. I assumed the self-timer had been lopped of for that purpose... or is this normal for the FV?

My FV viewfinder isn't as bright as that of one of my FTs... at this point when they're several decades old, I think individual variations in the cameras plays a significant role in condition.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Yeah, if I do get an FT as a backup the first thing I'm going to do remove the top and discard the meter.

I know that most meters of the FT's do not work anymore, but I really liked this metering system. It is aquired taste, though.

I never bothered with the lack of brightness of the finder. I loved the precision of the finder for framing, almost like a Nikon F.

Olympus Pen FT, Zuiko 40mm f/1.4, Tmax100.

Erik.

 

[zuiko85]

Except in light too dim to hand hold anyway the Pen F plain matte focusing screen is perfect for me. After all, you focus on contrast, not brightness. The self timer removal is just for sleekness. According to Peter Dechert's excellent 'Pen Monograph' the whole mechanism can be removed, bagged, and saved for later reinstallation if so desired.

Now that I have my lens line I think it's time for a backup body.

My Pen F lenses;

20mm f3.5, 25mm f4, 38mm f1.8, 100mm f3.5, 150mm f4, 50~90 f3.5 zoom
Olympus adapter for OM mount and M42 mount, and a couple of 'T' mount adapters.
A third party monorail bellows adapted to take the 90mm f4 Elmar lens head, focus from infinity to 1:1

 

[rbelyell]

looks like the 60/1.5 is conspicuosly absent in your lens lineup, though i guess it is a non standard FOV...