Who likes Olympus Pen F half frame SLRs?

[Pál_K]

Excellent photos in this thread.

A few years ago I bought an Olympus Pen FT that was shown to me by a friend simply because I liked the sound of its rotary shutter. Since then, I’ve loved using this camera.

Prior to all this, I avoided half-frame because I didn’t want anything smaller than 35mm unless it was a very small camera like a Minox 8x11 or Pentax 110. Also, I didn’t want to feel forced to use 48 or 72 exposures - especially in portrait orientation.

However, once I started using the camera, on a walk one autumn afternoon, suddenly all sorts of new ways of looking at scenes appeared to me. Using the camera was so much fun! In under two hours I went through two rolls of film - I’d never done that before. The prints I got back were amazing.

 

[largedrink]

I enjoy my Pen FT and lenses a lot. I originally purchased it purely for the design aesthetic! I was lucky to acquire a mint 60mm/1.5 lens for a very low price a few years ago, it is great to shoot with and balances the camera in the hand nicely. Here are some photos taken with it.


Seashore Cabaret cafe by Hugh B, on Flickr

Woman by Hugh B, on Flickr

Out of focus by Hugh B, on Flickr

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Maybe I do, Maybe I don't, like Pen F/FT/FVs

 

[Ricoh]

I'm going to enjoy this....



The 60mm/f1.5 is equivalent to an 85mm on a full frame camera.

Beautiful lens, enough to whet anyone’s appetite, but a quick look on the auction site opened my eyes as wide as wide can be.

Several up for for sale but all topping £500. Maybe Santa will be kind to me.

 

[chrism]

Yes, as I wrote above "shockingly expensive". But if it fails to impress it ought to be saleable at a similar shocking price to someone else as the demand is there!


Cheaper lens - 38/1.8, XP2 Super:

 

[splitimageview]

These are such fun cameras!

I've had quite a few of them, I used to paint them black. As part of the effort, I'd repair meters and mirrors.

Many of the FTs have semi-silvered mirrors that have deteriorated quite a bit, making them quite dim. If they also had meters that were not able to be resurrected, I'd simply pull the meter out of the camera and replace the mirror with a new first-surface mirror. Instant brightness!

This converts an FT into an FV, which always used a first-surface mirror as it didn't have a meter.

If one is lucky enough to acquire an FT with a semi-silvered mirror that is not deteriorated, I find them brighter than the original F and easier to focus since there is a microprism in the center, not just a matte focusing screen.

As for lenses, they're all excellent, except the zoom, but no surprise there. My favorite is the macro, and the other 38s and 40s.

This is my current FT with some custom black flourishes. This one has a very bright view with fully working meter. I don't have any lenses at the moment, just the OM adapter, so I use several OM lenses. The 28/3.5 is now gone in favor of a 28/2.8 which is 40mm in usual context.

 

[chrism]

Sadly, the FV body above has to go all the way back to Japan. The sprockets don't turn when there is a film in the camera, but turn most of the time when no film present. The seller could well have checked and seen no problem. That little bit of drag is enough to stop the film winding on. (Yes, the rewind button on the baseplate is out!) So now I have to retake the shots with the 60mm/f1.5 using the old Pen-F, as the first film was developed with no exposed frames (or rather with all exposures in the same spot right at the start). And I'd set up a backdrop, lights and strobe this morning, all for nothing. I'll try again tomorrow.

 

[Pál_K]

That’s one of the many things I do when checking out any camera: with the back open I wind the lever while gently applying resistance to the sprocket cylinder to ensure it moves. I also check that it doesn’t move on its own (slipping) and that it moves freely when the rewind button is engaged. One of many reasons I rarely buy online, since I can’t check the camera.

 

[zuiko85]

My preference in Pen F is the original F. I really like the plain matte screen and my F is much easier to see and focus through than my FV that has a micro prism focusing aid in the center of the screen. I’m fortunate to have the Olympus made OM and M42 lens adapters plus 3 or 4 ‘T’ adapters. Have a selection of OM Zuikos but the only M42 lens I own is a 55mm f2.8 Vivitar macro. Great thing about the Pen Zuikos is they work quite well on micro 4:3 bodies also, always nice when a lens can do double duty.

 

[Ricoh]

My first attempt at purchasing a Pen F from an on-line dealer resulted in it being returned for the same sprocket issue chrism reported. Not too dispirited, I found a black Pen FT from a Japanese dealer on eBay, complete with a 40mm f1.4. The camera was fine (and continues that way) but the lens on arrival had a lot of focussing backlash. After contacting the Japanese dealer he agreed to pay for the repairs to be done in the U.K., where I live. Seven or eight weeks later I emailed the receipt for repairs and he refunded me via PayPal. I wish I’d kept his or her details in case of further potential GAS attacks.

 

[chrism]

Having gotten accustomed to working with Polaroid (8 shots per pack) and 6x6 (12 shots per roll), there are times when even a roll of 135-24 in a full frame camera seems to take forever to work through! 😀 😉

G

I try to roll 12-shot films (~16 turns of the handle on a Lloyd-style daylight loader) so as to have 24 frames in the Pen F. In truth, I often do that anyway for full-frame cameras, as I'd rather develop and see what I've got at the end of the day, rather than wait and forget the details.
The Japanese camera shop apologised and offered either a full refund upon return, or a half-refund and I keep the FV. The body cost $154USD + $26USD shipping, and then I paid duty and taxes to import it. I shan't get them back from the CRA no matter what. If I send it back there will be about $40CDN postage, leaving me out of pocket for the duties, taxes and return postage. I think I'll keep it, and maybe see if the FT or the F could be a donor for the sprocket/clutch and make one good camera. Currently have gone back to the F, which is perfect save for a dirty viewfinder. If I could have the FV viewfinder in the F body I would be very happy. There is a place in Montreal that might manage to do it. I know John Hermanson likely could, but my last experience there put me off - NOT HIS FAULT! Just the bloody CRA wouldn't let me have a pair of CLA'd OM-2ns back until I paid duty and tax not only on the work done by him, but also on the increase in value of the cameras that resulted from them now being 'as new' in their opinion. Added $382CDN to the costs already incurred. Friggin' piracy!

On a happier note, I spent the AM with a backdrop, a couple of lights, my two long-suffering models and the sublime-to-the-ridiculous contrast of a 503cx with a Sonnar 250, and the Pen F with 60.1.5. It's a weird experience to go from the bright and colourful magnified waistlevel viewfinder of one to the tiny, dim and dirty viewfinder of the other. At least after running through a lot of half-frame exposures they had become relaxed and blasé by the time the Hasselblad came out. So the 120 film is drying now, and there's still a few left in the Pen F. But that's alright, as if Fedex deign to actually deliver a couple of items that have been sitting at their closest depot 50 miles away for five days, I'll have a 42mm/f1.2 and a 20mm/f3.5 to try out, in place of the 38mm/f1.8 and 25mm/f4 I already have. 20mm will be like a 28mm on full frame (and I seem to get on better with 28mm over 35mm). The 42mm will be like a 58mm, whereas the 38mm standard lens was like a 53mm. I'm hoping the 1.2 will give me restricted DoF that will outweigh the slight increase in focal length over the 1.8.

Having spent far too much money on Leicas in the past, it's a peculiar thing to be coming back to tiny cameras that are smaller, lighter, and quieter than Leicas, and doing it with the SLR experience I far prefer over the viewfinder experience.

 

[Ricoh]

I think it’s a no brainer to do as you say; in similar circumstances I would do exactly the same.
Although I have a good camera tech I could recommend, it’s unlikely to be of practical use to you as he’s based in Devon.

Effecting a repair is obviously predicated on finding a tech, but once you do I would look for a donor body on eBay, possibly unserviceable for another reason, and get the sprocket drive switched over.

Based on my experience with the 40mm f1.4, I think you’re going to enjoy 42mm f1.2. The 40mm f1.4 has a lot of character and a joy to use when I can manage to pry the 70mm f2 off the camera.

 

[Pál_K]

…Just the bloody CRA wouldn't let me have a pair of CLA'd OM-2ns back until I paid duty and tax not only on the work done by him, but also on the increase in value of the cameras that resulted from them now being 'as new' in their opinion. Added $382CDN to the costs already incurred. Friggin' piracy!
…

A person would almost think - almost - that the CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency) feels entitled to getting money from you for no work or value they contributed to.

 

[chrism]

A person would almost think - almost - that the CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency) feels entitled to getting money from you for no work or value they contributed to.

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that you could (almost) think such a thing!

 

[chrism]

I've enquired at Service Camera Pro in Quebec City about fixing the FV with the old FT as a donor. They say they repair Olympus, but probably don't see many half-frames!

In the interim, my refreshed lens line-up is sitting on the Pen-F:

 

[philslizzy]

I think it’s a no brainer to do as you say; in similar circumstances I would do exactly the same.
Although I have a good camera tech I could recommend, it’s unlikely to be of practical use to you as he’s based in Devon.

Effecting a repair is obviously predicated on finding a tech, but once you do I would look for a donor body on eBay, possibly unserviceable for another reason, and get the sprocket drive switched over.

Based on my experience with the 40mm f1.4, I think you’re going to enjoy 42mm f1.2. The 40mm f1.4 has a lot of character and a joy to use when I can manage to pry the 70mm f2 off the camera.

Who is this guy? I'm in uk and would like my FT focusing screen replaced

 

[Ricoh]

Who is this guy? I'm in uk and would like my FT focusing screen replaced

https://londiniumcameras.com/

 

[splitimageview]

FWIW, I have a few parts bodies, message me if you're looking for something, I may have it.

 

[splitimageview]

I've enquired at Service Camera Pro in Quebec City about fixing the FV with the old FT as a donor. They say they repair Olympus, but probably don't see many half-frames!

In the interim, my refreshed lens line-up is sitting on the Pen-F:

That is a beautiful set of lenses!

 

[chrism]

Olympus Pen-F, 60mm/f1.5, XP2 @200, Diafine: