Olympus Pen EF
The Olympus Pen EF is bit of an unusual camera. I originally saw this little guy covered in dust at a market last weekend. It stood out form the other cameras with its compact size, selenium light meter and flash. When i picked it up i noticed another interesting aspect. It’s a half frame camera. So i rescued it for $5.
As it turns out, the Pen EF is the last half frame camera released by Olympus. This is quite interesting, as it was the early 80′s at the time, and demand for the half frame format was essentially dead. Why Olympus chose to release a new model when the market was almost gone is a mystery, but im glad they did.
The Pen EF isnt exactly a “pretty” camera. It looks like bit of a Frankenstein with a mixture of two eras of camera technology crammed into a very compact body. The camera epitomizes simplicity. All you need to do is set the ASA (ranges from 25-400), wind the film on, then press the shutter. Thats pretty much it.
The flash is powered by a common AA battery (the camera still functions perfectly without a battery), and to activate the flash you pull a little latch down which engages it.
Besides the metering and flash, the Pen EF is lucky to benefit from a superb little 28mm D.Zuiko lens. Olympus had earnt a great reputation from their Zuiko glass for their half frame and full frame cameras, and the lens in the EF is no different. It still amazes me how manufacturers like Olympus could fit terrific little lenses in compact cameras (within a budget) that are still superior to many modern lenses that supposedly benefit from the latest and greatest technology.
Anyway, i shot a roll with this little beast the day after i got it, and it was alot of fun. It’s quite a strange experience having 72 shots on a roll of film. I hope to create some interesting Diptychs, and also see how large i can enlarge the half frames.
If you see a little Olympus Pen EF around, dont let it end up in the bin. It may not be the most attractive camera out there, but its certainly one of the most unique!
EDIT: Some recent shots from the little Pen EF.
4 Responses to “Olympus Pen EF”
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great find!
Sorry I have not gotten back to you about that email- – I need to do another darkroom blog post.. any suggestions?
Hey, a friend of mine picked me up one of these at a thrift store for a $1.50 and it works great. i love it. Anyways im wanting to use the flash and i put a rechargable AA in. I can hear a tiny ring from the charge but it never fully charges. Should i use a normal AA? Also is that a flash ready light on the back behind the flash?
Hi Trevor, good job getting one of these for $1.50!
So the flash doesnt fire, but it sounds like its chraging up?
Have you tried a non rechargeable battery? I’ve had unpredictable experiences with rechargeable batteries, but they’re generally of the cheaper variety.
How long do you wait for the flash to charge? There is a little light near the film rewind lever on the top of the camera that should light up when the flash is ready. Does the battery terminal connector look ok? If it’s a little corroded, try and clean it up, or even put some aluminium foil in there to try and increase the contact area. It’s worked for me in the past.
The flashes on these obviously arent amazing, but still surprisingly usefull and effective if used within its limits. I hope you get yours figured out.
Cheers
Oh and John.. I’m looking forward to more darkroom details.