Olympus Pen Fs ?

ruben · 04-13-2006

Hi,
In my twisted search for a conspicuous and silent camera, fitting my twisted mind and stretched wallet, Dante Stella's site sent me to explore the Pen Fs land. I would be ready to sacrifice negative film length if some preconditions could be met, that I am plainly and straightforwardly ignorant about them.

a) How silent is their non-mirror shutter ?

b) How good have this breed of cameras passed the test of time-materials degradation, let's say if we compare them to a Contax IIa ? The Contaxes are going to last as shooters, are the Pen's?

c) Is there any adptor enabling the use of OM lenses with Pen bodies ?

d) Discarding the collector value, how much would you pay for a Pen body in shooting condition ?

e) Am I entering a kind of mess ?

Thanks,
Ruben

saxshooter · 04-13-2006

The Pen F is an SLR -- so there is a mirror and that mirror slap sound. Other Pen cameras which resemble small point and shoots, have lens shutters that are very very quiet.

I do not know of a Pen camera with rangefinder focusing.

There are adaptor rings that work with the Pen F and Pen FT that takes OM lenses, Nikon F lenses, some others.

Not a mess, Ruben. A lot of fun.

raid · 04-13-2006

I agree that the Pen F system is a good system. I sometimes used to place a Pentax 85mm/1.8 lens on a Pen F with an adapter to get a telephoto lens shooting through the center of the lens for extra sharp images. While half-frame cameras took a dip for many years, I feel that scanning has improved and these days half-frame scans can be made for such photography.

lynn · 04-13-2006

RayPA just posted two (or, rather: four) super Pen Ft shots on his blog; they made me curious, and covetous, too.

ruben · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxshooter

The Pen F is an SLR -- so there is a mirror and that mirror slap sound. ..Not a mess, Ruben. A lot of fun.

Oh, sorry, I assumed somehow that the mirrors were fixed and not slapping. But could you give me an idea about the noise ?

Thank you in advance,
Ruben

saxshooter · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruben

Oh, sorry, I assumed somehow that the mirrors were fixed and not slapping. But could you give me an idea about the noise ?

Thank you in advance,
Ruben

Hmmm. Since the mirror is half the size of a 35mm mirror, perhaps half the noise?

It's a mechanical camera, so not so different from the slap of a Nikon FM2, less of a bounce sound and tighter.

kbg32 · 04-13-2006

I have Pen Fs. They are not silent due to the mirror/shutter slap. They are as loud as a regular sized 35mm SLR. For more silent operation try the Pen EE-S, EE=S2, etc. They are as quiet as a Leica. Only caveat is they are fixed lens cameras. Lenses are quite sharp however.

ruben · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbg32

I have Pen Fs. They are not silent due to the mirror/shutter slap. They are as loud as a regular sized 35mm SLR.

OK, I want to die.

pshinkaw · 04-13-2006

I beg to differ about the noise.

I have a Pen FT. It makes less noise than a very FP shutter standard SLR with an instant return mirror. The sound is pitched a little higher, possibly because of the metal rotary sector shutter. I rank it as quieter than an Nikon F or Nikkormat FTn but very slightly louder than a Contaflex I.

The Pens S and D3 ( I have both) are quieter than my Leica M2.

-Paul

ddunn · 04-13-2006

To my ear, the sound level of the Pen F is about the same as my Bessa R2.

DougK · 04-13-2006

Every time I think I'm over camera lust, somebody has to go and talk about the Pen cameras...

ruben · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddunn

To my ear, the sound level of the Pen F is about the same as my Bessa R2.

Hi Dennis,
As I don't own any Bessa, could you compare it to your Kiev 4am ?
Thanks,
Ruben

ruben · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkirchge

Every time I think I'm over camera lust, somebody has to go and talk about the Pen cameras...

i rather think you get what you want

DougK · 04-13-2006

I usually do... much to the detriment of my bank account

furcafe · 04-13-2006

Not Dennis, but my Pen F & FV are definitely louder than a Kiev II, IIa, or Contax II or IIa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruben

Hi Dennis,
As I don't own any Bessa, could you compare it to your Kiev 4am ?
Thanks,
Ruben

furcafe · 04-13-2006

a) answered already

b) I'm not an Olympus expert, but I think the Pen SLRs have held up similarly to other 1960s SLRs. In some ways, SLRs are more complicated than RFs (mirror, etc.), but in other ways simpler (no complex RF mechanism). Properly maintained, the Pens should last a long time. You might want to ask someone like John Hermanson (http://www.zuiko.com).

c) From what I understand, yes (also adapters for other SLR & RF mounts, as the Pens are pretty thin bodies).

d) You can get a good, working Pen F or FT (the model w/a meter) w/38/1.8 normal lens for about $250-350. I prefer the F as the viewfinder is brighter.

e) Yes in that they're addictive little cameras.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruben

Hi,
In my twisted search for a conspicuous and silent camera, fitting my twisted mind and stretched wallet, Dante Stella's site sent me to explore the Pen Fs land. I would be ready to sacrifice negative film length if some preconditions could be met, that I am plainly and straightforwardly ignorant about them.

a) How silent is their non-mirror shutter ?

b) How good have this breed of cameras passed the test of time-materials degradation, let's say if we compare them to a Contax IIa ? The Contaxes are going to last as shooters, are the Pen's?

c) Is there any adptor enabling the use of OM lenses with Pen bodies ?

d) Discarding the collector value, how much would you pay for a Pen body in shooting condition ?

e) Am I entering a kind of mess ?

Thanks,
Ruben

RayPA · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruben

Hi Dennis,
As I don't own any Bessa, could you compare it to your Kiev 4am ?
Thanks,
Ruben

I had a Kiev 4AM. The Kiev is quieter, IMO. The *sound* of the shutter noise of the Pen is different and has less of the typical mirror-slap sound of an SLR.

Thanks, Lynn!

pshinkaw · 04-13-2006

My Kiev-4am as well as my other Kiev-4 derivatives are quieter than my Pen FT.

-Paul

Goodyear · 04-13-2006

I like my Pen Ft, but I would class it as a noisy beast.

saxshooter · 04-13-2006

Kinda sounds like schWACK!

ruben · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferider

...
Since it's all about photos, here is an example shot using the 100mm lens.

Best,
Roland.

Hi Roland,
EXTRAORDINARY PIC both about the camera/lens as well as the photographer !!!

Kudos for Maitani !
Cheers,
Ruben

PS: In my opinion and taste, the OM4s and OM4Tis, compared to an OM1, and even an OM2, have a ****ty noise, perhaps not so much louder but definitely more "metallical ****ty" (with apologies to the moderator).

julianphotoart · 04-13-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddunn

To my ear, the sound level of the Pen F is about the same as my Bessa R2.

I agree. The sounds are different, but about the same volume. IMO noticable but certainly less than a full-blown 35.

The thing about my Pen F is I've never even put film through it. It's just such a neat amazing little camera I fool around with it as-is. For something built so long ago that was never meant to last all these years, it does pretty well. Interesting shutter too.

Eugene Smith used a Pen F for awhile. I once saw a magazine ad for the Pen F with a shot of him using the camera.

Jocko · 04-13-2006

Ruben! How could you!?

Look at your avatar - isn't she lovely? Can't you imagine how she feels, warm and slick, ready at a fingers twitch to meet your every need? Weren't you once proud to take her out and show her off? And now? She sadly sits at home, silently waiting with your 8 tiny Smenas!

How could you even look at another camera?! You, you Love-Rat!

I'm shocked!

Ian

Doug · 04-14-2006

I like the Pen F series; they're cute. They're similar in size to an M-Leica, louder, and with half the film area. The system has entered into the collector realm, so some lenses and accessories are going for inflated prices. Wide angle lenses are either slow, rare, or both. There's only a 20 f/3.5 and 25mm in f/4 and f/2.8. The standard 38mm f/1.8 is one of the sharpest of the lineup, and the 20 is also great.

The most common model is the FT, with quite an awkward metering system, and requires the banned mercury battery. Beware of some that have been in 'scientific use' as there are some varieties that have circular non-focusing viewfinder fields. The film wind and shutter-cocking mechanism requires some right-angle gears... my camera tech tells me he thinks it is a crude design prone to trouble and pretty well stuck with a gritty feel. I have one body that gives inconsistently wide spacing between frames.

With all the disadvantages, they're still very attractive little cameras and can produce impressive results with modern films. Note too the rotary focal-plane shutter synchs flash at all speeds. I have a Pentax M42 lens adaptor for mine, but of course the lenses are used in pre-set diaphragm mode.

These three shots use, in order, 40mm f/1.4, 38mm f/1.8, and 20mm f/3.5

ruben · 04-14-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jocko

Ruben! How could you!?

Look at your avatar - isn't she lovely? Can't you imagine how she feels, warm and slick, ready at a fingers twitch to meet your every need? Weren't you once proud to take her out and show her off? And now? She sadly sits at home, silently waiting with your 8 tiny Smenas!

How could you even look at another camera?! You, you Love-Rat!

I'm shocked!

Ian

No Ian, you don't understand, I am making crazy some friends, ferider included and he able to detail, in order not to move away from my Kiev setup... But in order to do it lawfully I have to compare and look for the other alternatives. Soon a big surprise will come up regarding my Kievs.

Cheers,
Ruben

So far no camera system setup under the thousand bucks can compete in conspicuity with our Kievs. But this belongs to a future posting.

Cheers