Olympus Pen F
John Wade reviews the world’s first 35mm half-frame SLR
Half-frame photography, offering 72 exposures on a normal 36- exposure cassette of film, began with the non-reflex Olympus Pen in 1959. Four years later, the company turned that camera into a neat little single lens reflex (SLR). For today’s film enthusiast it makes an interesting and different approach to 35mm SLR photography.
The camera reviewed here is fitted with a Zuiko 38mm f/1.8 lens, interchangeable with a wide range of auxiliary lenses from 20mm wideangle to 800mm catadioptric telephoto. Most of the accessories that you expect to go with a full-frame SLR can also be found for the Pen F.
The shutter is a rotary type with speeds of 1-1/500sec. The control for that is by a knob on the front of the body, to which a meter can be attached. The shutter speed is then set by a thumbwheel on the side of the meter, which links to the actual speed control beneath, as a needle swings across a scale to indicate the appropriate aperture.
Unlike most conventional SLRs, there is no pentarism hump on the top of the body. Instead, the camera uses mirrors and an unusual light path that reflects light sideways from the reflex mirror behind the lens to a Fresnel focusing screen, both mounted vertically, and onwards to the viewfinder. That means the reflex mirror flips from side to side rather than up and down in the usual way.
In 1966, the Pen F was replaced by the Pen- FT with a built-in CdS meter. But the name lives on. If you ask your friendly photo dealer for an Olympus Pen F today, he’ll hand you a 20-megapixel Micro Four Thirds camera whose retro styling is strongly reminiscent of the original.
What’s good
Double the exposures on standard 35mm film, small size, quality lenses.
What’s bad
Small negatives require greater enlargement, auto aperture stop- down prone to jamming.