Lomopedia: Olympus Pen

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The first-generation Olympus Pen was a half-frame 35mm film camera designed by Maitani Yoshihisa and was introduced in Japan in October 1959. It was the camera that popularized half-frame photography during the 1960s and became an instant hit in Japan.

Olympus Pen © Ashley Pomeroy

One of the key considerations that propelled Maitani's design was the projected price of ¥6,000 per camera. The Pen boasted of a compact size -- thought to be as handy as a pen, hence the name — and superb performance of its 28 mm f/3.5 D-Zuiko Lens. It had fully manual settings and no light meter, with shutter speeds of 25, 50, 100, 200, and bulb, and an aperture range of f/3.5 to f/22.

The Olympus Pen was succeeded by an almost similar model called Pen S, which had shutter speeds of 8, 15, 30, 60, 125, 250, and B, and came with either a 30mm f/2.8 lens or a 28mm f/3.5 lens. Many other models with improved features were introduced until the early 1980s, and the family of these half-frame cameras came to be known as the Olympus Pen Series.

Photos Taken by Our Community Members

Credits: nobuhito3, spookydirt, tanono & makny

Technical Specifications

Lens: f/3.5 D. Zuiko, 4 elements f/3.5, 28 mm focal length
Shutter: Copal with Bulb, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/200
Aperture: f/3.5, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22
Finder: Luminous bright frame finder 0.5 magnification
Focusing: Helical focusing with markings at 2 ft, 2.25, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15, 30, and infinity
Winding: Round roll wind at camera rear designed to roll quickly right along your thumb. One thumb motion winds film for next shot cocks the shutter, counts the exposure, and prevents double exposure.
Rewind: Fold-down crank type rewind lever
Loading: Entire back cover unlocks, slips down and out
Dimensions: 2.7 inches high, 4.2 inches wide, 1.6 inches deep overall outer dimensions
Weight: 350 grams


All information for this article was sourced from Olympus Global Official Website, Olympus Pen on Wikipedia, and Olympus Pen on Camerapedia.

écrit par plasticpopsicle le 2013-07-24 dans #équipement #lomopedia #review #olympus #lomography #half-frame-camera #half-frame #olympus-pen #1959 #lomopedia

2 commentaires

  1. aldana
    aldana ·

    I have this olympus, it's awesome !

  2. aldana
    aldana ·

    I have this olympus, it's awesome !

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