Olympus Pen FT

[eurekaiv]

I got a Pen FT w/ 38 1.8 a few weeks ago and have since added a 25mm 2.8 and 50-90 zoom. I've managed to push one 36 roll through (72 shots takes awhile ) and I absolutely adore it. Here's a couple of my favorites... shot with expired but cold stored Fuji Pro 160S.


Fiberglass Opposites by eurekaiv, on Flickr


Man vs. Hose by eurekaiv, on Flickr

[Doug]

I see you are already having fun with your Pen! And congratulations on finding the faster 25mm; it's much less common than the f/4 25mm. Should be a very useful lens, and the 38 is excellent! It looks like "Man" is underexposed; I usually set my meter for ISO 100 with that film.

[eurekaiv]

Yeah, I was kinda lucky on the 25mm. I found it a camera show and paid about what one might expect for the f4 variety.

As for the metering, thanks for the tip. I've only shot one other roll of that film and it exposed well at 160 (in a Nikon FG IIRC) so it's possible I didn't meter at all for that shot—just took the picture with whatever the previous settings were so I didn't miss it. I'm running a fresh roll of Solaris through it right now and I'm much more familiar with that film so I'll get a good idea of wether or not the meter is accurate.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

hi...i am waiting for my Pen F to arrive.

one question for Pen F owners, what is the slowest hand-held speed that is reasonable ? Is this same like any SLR .... about 1/30 - 1/60 ?

thanks, i can't wait.

[eurekaiv]

I shot a few pics at 1/30th with my 25 and 38 that came out fine. The thing is just so light and well balanced—it really feels steady in the hand at slower speeds. I recently tried a few shots at 1/15th and slower (though for the latter I was using some wall or post support) but I'm still away on xmas vacation and won't have a chance to process everything until I get back home this weekend.

[Zorkiiglaza]

I inherited a Ft from my late father-in-law. This camera has been stored in a box with other ignored cameras for 2 decades. I came upon this camera a few weeks ago and put a battery from my SP 35 in it and the meter sprang to life after 30 plus years. The meter is right on and its a great camera to play around with. My first roll of color print film was fantastic and the negatives sharp and contrasty. I thought it would be nice to have a wider angle than the 38 but am dismayed at the cost of the 20 and 25mm lenses. But still it is not really that much smaller than my M2.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Since Pen lens are quite expensive, I wonder if using a OM->Pen adapter, what lens are highly recommended ? I was checking out the 35/f2.8 and even the 28/f3.5. Are these lens much larger than the average pen lenses ?

thanks !

raytoei

[eurekaiv]

I don't have any OM gear but maybe this helps...

Here's a pic of the Pen 25/2.8 (which is one of the larger pen primes—the 38/1.8 is about 2/3 its size) next to a Super-Takumar 50/1.4 which is a rather small 50/1.4.

[Sonnar2]

..but with an M42 adapter the Takumar looks huge!

[Tessar.]

The 25/2.8 pics from the one I had were really nice. Lovely rendering.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

here is my pen FT...



here are some images from the first roll



But I must say, this camera is very very hard to focus indoors / evenings..

raytoei

[zuiko85]

raytoe@, last month you asked about adapted OM mount lenses. I use them on my Pen F and they work fine. Of course the aperture operation is full manual, view at full aperture and then stop the lens down to the shooting aperture. The problem is finding a Pen F to OM adapter. They are not common and quite expensive, well north of $100. If you can get past that hurtle, you could be all set.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

thanks zuiko85, i snagged one plus a 28/f2.8 om... here are some random shots...




ps. actually, i found that if i didn't mount the lens all the way,
the lens would still show the image at the widest aperture
instead of the shooting aperture.

pps. any comments on the m42 screwmount to Pen adapter ?

raytoei

[Doug]

Originally Posted by raytoei@gmail.com

pps. any comments on the m42 screwmount to Pen adapter ?

raytoei

Ray congrats on your Pen FT; looks clean, hope it's as nice inside too! I have the Pentax M42 mount adapter. It has a flat front surface like most screw-mount Pentax bodies, without the annular groove found on the Spotmatic F and ES. So along with other earlier Pentax screw lenses the later SMCT lens's Auto/Manual switch will work properly for convenient switching from wide open for focus/compose, to stopped down for the exposure.

These adapters were more common than many other mounts, but still can be pricy and hard to find. I think mine came from KevinCameras, not the least expensive source for sure but he often has the stuff that others don't.

[OlympusRF]

Here's some photos of my kit, and some pictures taken with the 25mm f4 & the 100mm f3.5.).

[flip]

In Japan, the most common adapters to source at the OM at around $120. The Nikon F adapters go up another 50%. M42 is not so common. I have seen the Leica one's regularly, but if it doesn't go to infinity or reduce my kit size.... no point.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Kodak Plus-X pushed to iso 200,
Pen-FT on the 38/f1.8 lens

[Erik van Straten]

Olympus Pen FT, Zuiko 38mm f/1.8, Tmax100.

Amsterdam, 1989.

Erik.

[Erik van Straten]

Olympus Pen FT, Zuiko 38mm f/1.8, Tmax100.

Istanbul 1989.

Erik.

[Erik van Straten]

Olympus FT, Zuiko 38mm f/1.8, Tmax100.

Istanbul 1989.

Erik.

[Erik van Straten]

Olympus FT, Zuiko 38mm f/1.8, Tmax100.

Istanbul 1989.

Erik.

[Film dino]

Going back to the diptych theme.. (Edit-oops that should be 38/1.8)

[renekas]

Have you guys tried the battery adapters that are supposed to lower the current from 1.55V to 1.35V ? There are some on ebay but i don't know if they are reliable, what do you think ? And how are the wein cells that do not contain mercury? I've heard they run out fast. What do you use?

[TheHub]

Originally Posted by renekas

Have you guys tried the battery adapters that are supposed to lower the current from 1.55V to 1.35V ? There are some on ebay but i don't know if they are reliable, what do you think ?

I use an adapter that takes one LR-44 battery. In both a Pen FT and Rollei 35 it has worked great.

edit: http://www.smallbattery.company.org....r9_adapter.htm <-- it looks like this

[renekas]

Does it really give you 1.35V on a 1.55V battery?

I got this one :http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1306460836...84.m1497.l2648

but it only reduces the current 0.1V, where as i need it reduced 0.2V on the SR43/386 battery.