OT: Half Frame

[Goodyear]

Funny, I was looking at a Pen EE today...

Had to walk away, though, for financial reasons.

 

[kbg32]

I have about a dozen half frame cameras that I have acquired through the years. My favorites are the Olympus Pens and Yashica Samurais. The later being the last half frame cameras to be marketed to my knowledge. I believe they were discontinued in the early 90's. Many of my RFF gallery images were taken with half frames. I get t"hem processed by my local lab - uncut, and scan them myself. Many have been blown up to 13x19". They look great!

 

[Will]

Ain't the Pen F nice?

Other than the processing issue, they are nice, small, solid. I been playing one in a camera shop a long time ago, and can't keep it out of my head. That set have a EXA adapter, 38mm f/1.4. The EXA adapter is bonus, I can source the CZJ and Meyer lenses cheap. Best, it is still unsold, that camera shop is in the wrong area anyway! 😀

I guess this would be nice and cheap telephoto set up if you accept the small negative size.

Thanks for the sharing guys, just made a new purchase, the Pen F have to wait!

Cheers




Will

 

[Jon Goodman]

My vote for the best overall half-frame goes to the Yashica Samurai...definitely from the standpoint of usability. That little camera will take some excellent pictures, and it is versatile. One of the more interesting benefits is the continuous mode feature. In sunlight, it will run through film crazy fast--almost like a movie camera. If you have kids in sports, this is a great way to catch them in action. A roll of 36 will usually yield about 80 shots, and the lens is both handy and very sharp. A super camera for a young parent who wants lots of true film pictures but doesn't have an unlimited budget. For developing, I use Sam's Wholesale Club's mail in service, and I simply write "half frame" on the envelope. Sometimes they charge an extra dollar, and sometimes they don't. They print them as separate 4 x 6 pics for me.
Jon

 

[mus]

I have Canon Demi S........30mm (f1.7-22) six elements in four groups...
Nice little camera....

fomapan 100

 

[mus]

more pictures.........

 

[clarence]

I love the shot with the reflections, Mus. Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I use an Agat-18K I got from Jon Goodman as my daily camera. So far I've only done monochrome because of fears that the local lab might not accept it, but I might try C41 sometime, since it is a Fuji lab.

Clarence

 

[DougK]

I've got two half-frame cameras, a Yashica Samurai 3.0X and a Pen EE-S which needs a shutter repair.

I haven't tried black and white in my Samurai yet, but I posted some slide scans from it in this thread. Tack sharp lens on that bad boy. I wish it had manual controls but given how good the autoexposure system is I can't complain too much. I'll probably start using it more to help keep film costs down; someday I may even get around to tracking down a hot shoe accessory for it.

 

[delible]

Processing Half Frame

Processing Half Frame

I have had good luck with the half frame developing, prints and scans from Photo Express in Bismarck, North Dakota. You can get more information from their website:

http://thephotoexpress.com/Lab_FIlm_half_frame.htm

delible