Olympus Pen F Series Half-Frame 35mm SLRs, Classic Collectibles
Ranked #1,122 in Tech & Geek, #26,880 overall
Olympus Pen F, FT, FV Half-Frame 35mm SLR Film Camera
The Olympus Pen F was the world's first and only half-frame system single-lens reflex camera, released in 1963. The camera featured a porro-prism finder and was the first to have a rotary titanium shutter. It could be used with a highly versatile range of 20 exchangeable lenses. The Olympus Pen F was a revolutionary camera packed with innovative features. The rotary shutter, which combined speed with durability, was reportedly perfected only after long and hard effort by Olympus engineers.
The Pen F was the first 35 SLR to be almost identical in size to the classic Leica RF screw mounts, the "Barnack" cameras. Leica photogs were attracted to it in droves and the strange thing about it was the Pen F and FT had no competition. There were no competing half-frame SLR systems from other companies, then or now!
Trying to get one for your collection today means that you are not only willing to pay quiet a high price for this much sought after collectible but also acceptable to the condition they are in.
Contents at a Glance
The Olympus History
The Pen F series was designed by the famous designer Yoshihisa Maitani, who had also created the Olympus Pen point-and-shoot series, and who would later created the much vouched OM-1.
The following is a lead Special Lecture by Yoshihisa Maitani
From a seminar presented at the JCII Camera Museum on Saturday, October 29, 2005
The Olympus Story - From the Olympus OM-1 to the XA Series
The following is a lead Special Lecture by Yoshihisa Maitani
From a seminar presented at the JCII Camera Museum on Saturday, October 29, 2005
The Olympus Story - From the Olympus OM-1 to the XA Series
- Developing the Pen F - the only half-size SLR camera
- With the Pen selling so well, I no longer faced the barrier of accepted wisdom in my work. Instead I was told to make new cameras more quickly. However, the technology barrier was still there. I couldn't handle the design work alone any more, and for the first time I was given an assistant. My assistant was the leading theoretician in the development department,.. [read on]
Resource Links
- Olympus Pen F
- It was late 1963. JFK would be President for a few more months. Martin Luther King was still alive, The US Military was on its way out of Vietnam per JFK's order. Olympus designer Maitani introduced his ground breaking Olympus Pen F,...
- Olympus Pen F FT FV
- The Olympus Pen FT is a camera that proved Maitani's evil genius. Breaking from traditions of full-frame, pentaprisms, bladed focal-plane shutters limited to synchronization at 1/125 sec. and prism-mounted meter cells, the Pen FV ...
- Favorite Classics / Olympus Pen
- In this section we are highlighting two totally different half-frame camera concepts. The two ends of the spectrum... Inexpensive to pricey, from near point and shoot to a complete SLR system.
- Olympus Pen F - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The Olympus Pen F, Pen FT and Pen FV were very similar half-frame 35 mm single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras with interchangeable lenses produced by Olympus of Japan between 1963-1966 (Pen F), 1966-1972 (Pen FT) and...
Collectibles
Olympus Pen F
Olympus designers brilliantly used a mirror system rather than the pentaprism. to keep the size small. The down side of this is that the mirror systems are very susceptible to haze and dirt. No Pen F/FT/FV finder is bright, but they are made worse by this. If you have your camera serviced, be sure to have its finder cleaned.The shutter is a focal plane rotary titanium shutter which allows flash sync all the way up to 1/500th of a second. Rather than the typical horizontal finder in virtually all 35 SLRs, the Pen F and FT have VERTICAL finders. It may surprise at first, but you soon get used to it.
Auctions on eBay
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Olympus PEN FT
The Pen F was replaced in 1966 by the Pen FT. Though identical to the Pen F in external appearance, it had a built-in TTL exposure meter. In use, when the camera was pointed at a subject, the TTL number exposure control system displayed an aperture number in the view-finder according to the shutter speed setting.There were many other enhancements made over the Pen F, including a single-action film advance system (as compared to the two-stroke advance on the Pen F - the first to activate the shutter mechanism while the second advances the film), and a built-in self-timer.
More sought after by collectors are, of course, the all-black model.
Auctions on eBay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byOlympus PEN FV
The Pen FV was introduced in 1967 and is a Pen FT without the light meter, but with the single stroke lever and the self-timer. It is the rarest of the three models, with about 45,000 made.As mentioned, these are rare and only one or two will appear in eBay's listing over a period of time. All the best if you have one or is able to get one for your collection.
Microphotography Models
Olympus Pen F's are also available in special models for microphotography and medical use (endoscopy, etc.). These models are sometimes found for sale, but the viewfinder image is different (round image) and converting the finder to a normal, usable one is said to be difficult and to require thorough disassembly. The medical models do not have the self-timer nor the gothic F letter on the front plate. All the normal models have either one of them. Olympus Pen F, FT Lenses
The Olympus Pen F series was introduced with an extensive range of lenses including:- Wide Angles: 20/3.5, 25/4, 25/2.8
- Normals: 38/1.8, 40/1.4, 42/1.2 and 38/2.8 "pancake," 38/3.5 Macro
- Portrait Lenses: 60/1.5 on the left, 70/2 below, and the 100/3.5
- Zooms 50-90/3.5, 100-200/5
- Telephotos 150/4, 250/5, 400/6.3
- Mirror, 800/8 Mirror
One of the hardest to find Pen F lenses, and one of the most sought after, is the compact 38/2.8. It is prized because it reduces the already small camera to its smallest size. Introduced late in Pen FT production, the compact "pancake" 38/2.8 is very difficult to find today.
Auctions on eBay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byAccessories and Essentials
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by50 Years on...
- Not a Point and Shoot. Not an SLR. It's a PEN. What will you create?
- The Olympus E-P1 marks an innovative new era in digital imaging. Our new Micro Four Thirds camera upholds the legacy of the celebrated PEN family of cameras, with the photographic optics of an SLR and the size and simplicity of a point and shoot. Combining the still image quality of a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) with the A/V quality of both a High Definition camcorder and high-end audio recorder, the E-P1 is a virtual full-service imaging studio in one ultra-portable and stylishly retro body. With dozens of advanced features, the E-P1 makes documenting and sharing your everyday life easier and more creative than ever before... [Read on]
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Where to shop
- Olympus Micro Four Thirds @ maxBLITZ Electronics
- Shop maxBLITZ Electronics for the latest and best priced consumer electronics products including audio and video, camera and photo, car electronics, cell phones and services, computers and add-ons, GPS and navigation, home automation and security, MP3 players, office electronics and more.
Featured Lens
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Olympus Pen E-P2, The Digital Pen Upgraded
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Just five months after the launch of its first Micro Four-Thirds camera, the E-P1, Olympus has now announced the E-P2, which will start selling in January 2010. This upgrade takes to actually fills a few rough spots regularly mentioned by reviews and...
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Olympus E-P1 - The Olympus 'Digital Pen' Camera System
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Olympus has been notable for producing cameras that are smaller than their competitors without sacrificing quality or functionality, starting with the half-frame Pen EE series, the Pen F, and later with their professional OM series. And they haven&#...
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Olympus Pen User on the Blogs
- New Olympus Pen ads in Hong Kong
- Spotted in Hong Kong. Thanks SC for sending the images! Related Posts:Olympus E-P1 advertising in Hong Kong...Pictures from the Hong Kong E-P1 event (from Benjamin Kwok)Still missing...Olympus Hongkong(FT5) UPDATED -> Olympus Hong Kong ...
- Olympus PEN E-P1 Studded with Swarovski Crystals | Technology ...
- UK company Crystal Roc has created this Swarovski-zed Olympus Pen E-P1 camera. The crystallized camera is now covered in hundred of Swarovski crystals and.
- Olympus Pen E-P1 Swarovski Edition » EMOIZ
- The famous Olympus Pen E-P1 digital camera has been redesign with hundreds of Swarovski crystals. Priced at a hefty £1999.99 or about $3342, the camera comes packaged with a special limited edition wooden box, which contains two lenses ...
- Brian in Jeollanam-do: That German song in the Olympus Pen commercial.
- That German song in the Olympus Pen commercial. A reader asked me what the German song is used in this Korean Olympus Pen commercial: You'll find a longer version on the camera's site, as well as an an explanation of the commercial, ...
The Digital Pen in the News
- The Olympus EP-1: Modern features, retro look
- Inspired by the mid-1960s Olympus Pen, the $800 EP-1 hearkens back to the glory days of film cameras by offering removable lenses, a fast (1/4000) shutter, ...
- Micro Four-Thirds offer sweet spot in digital photography
- ... m4/3 cameras to anyone wanting top quality in a portable camera system. Olympus has two 12.3 megapixel m4/3 offerings, the Digital PEN E-P1 and E-P2. ...
- Olympus E-P2 boasts improved performance, same retro style
- The new "Digital Pen" promised a marriage of DSLR-quality images with the old-school style of Olympus's original half frame Pen cameras. ...
- Olympus E-P2
- The good people at Olympus handed me a pre-production model for this preview. The story so far: the Pen 2 is the fifth and latest camera on the market based ...
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