OLYMPUS HALF FRAME CAMERAS

Without a doubt, Olympus is the hands-down winner of the half-frame prize. It produced more half-frames, in more styles, with more features, than anyone else. And if you want to get the definitive guide to the viewfinder cameras in the series, check out:

• Pen

  (1959-1964) The Pen was an incredibly small camera for the time and started the half-frame craze that lasted well into the 1980's.  Despite it's size, it did not cut corners on features.  It had a manually-focusing, 28mm lens with apertures from f3.5 to 22. Close-focusing to two feet.  Filter thread of 22.5mm. Shutter speeds of B and 1/25-1/200.  It also had a PC connection, cold flash shoe, tripod socket, and cable relaese connection.  While it lacked a meter, that was true of most cameras of the time. The lens barely protruded from the camera body so it was easy to pop into any pocket or purse.  And to top it off, you got twice as many pictures on a roll of film -- up to 72 pictures!!   Three versions of this model exist. The original Pen was not manufactured by Olympus, although it carried the Olympus name.  You can tell if you have an original because the word "flash" appears on a dial on the front of the lens.  This special dial made flash pictures a snap -- with the matching flash unit, you just set the distance and the correct f-stop was set without guide number calculation.  In mid-1960 Olympus decided to manufacture the camera themselves.  They came out with a nearly identical model.  The best way to determine which you have is to look for the word "flash" on the front of the lens.  The "model two" does not say "flash".  The distance dial was removed since it was only functional with the matching flash unit.  There was also a third version of this camera.  The first two had only one lug for a wrist strap.  The last version had two -- for a neck strap.  After this, Olympus came out with the Pen S.

• Pen D series of cameras

• Pen E series of cameras

• Pen F series of cameras

• Pen S

  (1960-1967) As with the original model there are different versions of the Pen S.  The lens is what varies from model to model.  The speeds were B, 1/8 - 1/250 on all models.  The first model (1960-1964) was nearly identical in appearance to the original Pen but it had a slightly longer 30mm (f2.8 - 22), focusing lens -- 2 feet to infinity.   Another version has a 28mm (f3.5-22) focusing lens (2 feet to infinity).  All of these models say Pen S on the front.   They all have a PC connection, cold flash shoe, tripod socket, and cable relaese connection.  No meter.  Available in black and chrome versions

• Pen W

  (1964-1965)  Since this model sold for only two years, it is one of the more unusual models.  It is basically the same as the Pen S, but had a slightly wider-angle, six-element, 25mm (f2.8 - 22) manually-focusing lens.   Focus was from 2 feet to infinity with click stops at 7 and 15 feet.  Shutter speeds of B, 1/8 - 1/250.  Built-in tripod socket and cable release socket.  It also had a PC connection and a cold flash shoe.  No meter.  Filter thread of 22.5mm.  On the front it says Pen W and it was only available in a black body, but a few gold examples were probably made.

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