Olympus Pen F

Picture by Mech_for_I. (Image rights)

The Pen F is a half-frame single lens reflex camera introduced in 1963 by Olympus. It is designed by the highly respected and quite famous engineer Yoshihisa Maitani, who also has created the Olympus Pen point-and-shoot series, as well as the OM-1 and the Olympus XA. It is easily recognized by its big golden gothic letter F engraved to the right on the front plate.

The Pen F is a quite compact camera with an unusual viewfinder, which completely avoids the traditional SLR prism bulge because the reflex mirror flips sideways, which results in a compact viewfinder arrangement. The Pen F has a bayonet mount for interchangeable lenses. There is a release button at the top of the lens, and next to it, is a depth of field preview button.

The focal plane shutter, which uses a rotating metal disc, has synchronisation at all speeds right up to 1/500 sec. The wind lever must be wound twice before each exposure to fully transport the film one frame. The camera has no built-in light meter, but a separately available one can be placed on the shutter-speed dial, attached to a two-pronged bayonet mount by a 90-degree twist. A small narrow button on the side releases the meter. The shutter speed dial is operated by a serrated ring at the lower side of the meter. Some 190,000 cameras of this first model were made.

The Pen FT with a built-in TTL exposure meter replaced the Pen F in 1966, but the finder image is slightly dimmer since some light is directed to the meter cell. The meter is not coupled to the diaphragm ring though, which makes using it a bit slow. The Pen FT also introduced a single-stroke advance with a longer wind lever, and self-timer. The latter has a large lever at the front where the gothic F on the first model was placed. The release button is at the hub of the self-timer lever. This model was available in chrome and black. Some 275,000 Pen FT cameras were made.

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, only about 45,000 cameras were made.

There was a significant range of Pen F lenses and an extensive range of Pen F accessories. Several lens adaptors is available to mount other brands of lenses on the Pen F cameras.

Special models for microphotography and medical use, sometimes found for sale, has a round viewfinder image and is not well suited for normal use. Converting the finder is complex and not considered practical. The medical models are never market with the gothic F, and were not available with a self-timer.

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.

Links

General links

In English:

• Pen F, Pen FT, Pen FV and special models by Claus Marin (at Wayback: some links may not work, and some graphics may be missing)
• Manual available on the Favorite Classics section of .kyphoto.com
• Pages at .kyphoto.com Favorite Classics:
  • Olympus Pen FT repair tips by Henry Taber
  • Olympus Pen F Nostalgia by Russell Hamilton
  • Olympus Pen F Technical Exploration by Stuart Willis
  • How to make an Olympus Pen F/FT/FV to Nikon lens adapter
• Olympus Pen F, FT, FV at Cameraquest

In French:

• Pen F, FT, FV on www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand
• Lionel's Olympus Pen F, Pen FT, Pen FV at 35mm-compact.com

In Japanese:

• Half-moon, a website fully devoted to the Pen and Pen F series
• Olympus Pen F series at the Olympus Photo Club website
• Pen FT Black at Nagoya's Camera Club
• Olympus Pen FT at Hayata Camera Laboratory

Documentation

In English:

• Instruction manual of the Pen F and Pen FT at .kyphoto.com Favorite Classics, contributed by Henry Taber
• US patents:
  • "Drive for rotary shutter used in camera," 1966
  • "Shutter device for single-lens reflex camera," 1966
  • "Viewfinder for single-lens reflex camera," 1966