Olympus Pen F Series

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Classic SLRs:
Olympus Pen-F

by Karen Nakamura

Overview and Personal Comments

Olympus Optical Corporation has produced several camera series which have what can only be described as fanatical followings. Most were designed by a Yoshihisa Maitani. The Olympus Pen series of half-frame SLRs is one of his classic designs. Also check my page on the Olympus XA. Using the text, charts, or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

Various companies had been trying to make SLRs as compact as the rangefinders that they were replacing. But most of their efforts were ineffective. The problem was the big, heavy pentaprism that defined the contemporary SLR. With it, you could focus and meter through the taking lens, but it was large and bulky.

The Olympus Pen turned that thinking on its head. It used a complex series of internal prisms rather than a pentaprism. It used a rotating focal plane shutter instead of the complex cloth or metal curtain shutters. And it was half-frame, which gave the user twice as many photos (48~72 shots/roll) and allowed for the lenses to be smaller and more compact. Except that photos were just a bit more grainy, the entire system only had positives. Using the text, charts, or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting quirks

The Pen F is a complex camera because of its miniaturization. My unit was apparently used in a university setting, where it saw plenty of action. The film wind lever was no longer single-wind, but took one and a quarter wind strokes. I sent it off to Oleg Khalyavin to fix.

The Pen F is famous for its advertisement featuring famed photographer W. Eugene Smith. In fact, one of the ads showed the entire system fitting into his shoes!

 

Olympus Pen F ad

In March of 2009, I decided to sell my Pen-FT on ebay as I wasn't using it anymore. Using the text, charts, or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

 

 


Technical Details

Camera Name
Pen F Pen FT
Manufacturer
Olympus Olympus
Place of Manufacture

Body: Japan
Lens: Japan

Body: Japan
Lens: Japan

Date of Manufacture
1963~ 1966~
Focusing System

Single lens reflex

Single lens reflex

Lens Mount

Pen bayonet mount

Pen bayonet mount

Shutter
 

Olympus rotating focal plane shutter
1/2 sec - 1/500 sec +B

Metering System
 

Through the lens silicone diode

Flash
 

External PC socket with X + M switch

Film type / speeds

Type 135 (35mm standard) film
24x18mm half frame
ASA 25-400

Type 135 (35mm standard) film
24x18mm half frame
ASA 25-400

Battery type
 

1x PX625 mercury cell

Dimensions and weight
   
Copyright © 2005 Karen Nakamura / Photoethnography.com. Use of this chart, text, or any photographs in an eBay auction without permission will result in an immediate IP violation claim with eBay VeRO. Violators may have their eBay account cancelled.

 

 

Lens 38mm F. Zuiko 50-90mm
Manufacturer Olympus Olympus
Place of Manufacture Japan Japan
Date of Manufacture    
Lens Construction    
Lens Mount

Olympus Pen SLR mount

 

Focusing range

0.45 meters - infinity
1.5 ' - infinity
(right focusing, infinity on right)

 

Apertures

f/1.8, 2.0 ~ f/16 (1 stop steps)
6 aperture blades

Filter Mount

xx mm.

 

Dimensions and weight    
Copyright © 2005 Karen Nakamura / Photoethnography.com. Use of this chart, text, or any photographs in an eBay auction without permission will result in an immediate IP violation claim with eBay VeRO. Violators may have their eBay account cancelled.

 


About Olympus

Although people think that Olympus must be a recent company, it actually has very old roots. It was founded in 1919 as "Takachiho Seisakusho" as a manufacturer of optical goods, with its first product being a microscope. In 1921, they released their first "Olympus" brand product. Their first camera came out in 1936, the Semi-Olympus with 75mm f/4.5 Zuiko lens. In 1949, the company changed their name to "Olympus Optical Co." after their main brand. One of their designers Yoshihisa Maitani, is famed for some classic designs:

 


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