Olympus 35

Olympus 35-I image by yalluflex (Image rights)

1948 ad for Takatiho's Olympus 35 with fast shutter scanned by rebollo_fr  (Image rights)

1950 ad shows Olympus 35 IV with flash scanned by rebollo_fr  (Image rights)

The original Olympus 35 was the company's first 35mm film model built and sold in Japan. It was put into production in 1948 and went through several evolutionary model changes until 1955. The first was the move from 24×32mm frame size to the world standard 24×36mm, with the version II which was only made as the prototype which gave the model for the Olympus 35 III.

Olympus 35 I

1948 Olympus 35 marked "Takatiho Tokyo", frame size 24×32mm, with Zuiko 1:3.5 f=4.0cm lens. Images by yalluflex.(Image rights)

1949 Olympus 35, Zuiko Coated 1:3.5 f=4.0cm lens. No more badge "Takatiho Tokyo" since company named Olympus that year, still 24×32mm. Images by yalluflex. (Image rights)

Olympus 35 III

The model III followed in 1949. It got a more modern flash connector.

1949 Takatiho Kogaku (Olympus) Olympus 35 III, Zuiko Coated 1:3.5 F=4.0cm lens. Images by yalluflex. (Image rights)

Olympus 35 IV

Model IV of 1949 had a Copal shutter with speeds up to 1/200 sec. instead of the Seikosha-Rapid shutter, and it had a Zuiko C. 1:3.5 f=4.0cm lens. It had no more protruding mechanical connection from camera front to lens.

1953 The Olympus 35 IVa followed. Its faster Copal shutter allowed speed up to 1/300 sec., its lens was the Zuiko F.C. 1:3.5 f=4.0cm.

In 1955 model IVb followed, again with the fast Seikosha shutter, this time also without protruding mechanical connectors. Models IVa and IVb both got lens barrels with flash standard connector instead of the former flash connector in the camera front plate.

1950s illustration in Japanese source scanned by rebollo_fr  (Image rights)

Olympus 35 model IV, with Copal shutter image by Philip Krayna (Image rights)

model IVa, flash sync setting lever image by Richard Wrede (Image rights)

Olympus 35 model IVa images by Denny Narciso (Image rights)

Olympus 35 V

The conception of having two versions, one with Copal shutter, the other with the faster Seikosha shutter, was kept up whilst the corresponding 1955 models Va and Vb were a complete redesign with finder in body and two large film advance knobs instead a large and a small one.

Bibliography

• Francesch, Dominique and Jean-Paul. Histoire de l'appareil photographique Olympus de 1936 à 1983. Paris: Dessain et Tolra, 1985. ISBN 2-249-27679-X.
• Matsuzaki Sōichirō (松崎惣一郎). "'Orinpasu kurōmu shikkusu' to sono koto domo" (「オリンパスクロームシックス」とその周辺のことども, "About the 'Olympus Chrome Six'"). Kamera Rebyū: Kurashikku Kamera Senka (カメラレビュー クラシックカメラ専科) / Camera Review: All about Historical Cameras no.76, June 2005. ISBN 4-257-13078-4. Kurashikku kamera katachi to kinō 'supuringu kamera hen' (クラシックカメラ形と機能「スプリングカメラ編」, special issue on spring cameras). Pp.28–31. (The author worked for the Olympus company from July 1949.)

Links

• Olympus 35 model IV user manual at Butkus.org
• History of Olympus on lens-club.ru [1]
• Olympus 35 I on Olympus Global History (archived).
• Olympus 35IVa on Olympus Global History (archived).
• Olympus 35Va on Olympus Global History (archived).
• Olympus 35 IVa in Sylvain Halgand's collection (in French).
• Olympus 35 family Model List at cameracollector.net