Paulo J Moreira
Olympus Pen FT
You all know that I don’t like half-frame cameras, it was the Pen D2 that made me walk from the format and never look back. As usual, destiny is ironical and there must be this superior being wanting me to like half-frame at all cost, the cost this time was 10 € for this Pen FT with the 20/3.5 and 40/1.4.
I had played with a Pen F in the past, but the dark viewfinder really was a letdown . This time I have a mint looking Pen FT that has the same fault, but I have had time to get to know it. The camera has nothing to do with the cheap 10 million Pens that were made. It is a class act, from the build to the design, I have to admit it. This is no longer toy camera territory. In spite of appearances, this unit has had a very hard life and possibly will be my most beautiful paper weight as the shutter rotating fan is stucked, although the mirror works correctly in all speeds. Sadly, the camera has only half the mirror and miraculously one is still able to focus and see the entire image, even if part of it looks stained!
The metering system is really bad, as it isn't connected to the lens, so you have to transfer the values to the lens, one might as well shoot without one. The PX 675 is no longer available, but the camera reacted well to the PX625, although I think I will never get to use this camera-
Sadly, this is a camera that I would like to try and there is little chance of that happening. True, it’s big for the format, but this is 1966. A Rollei 35 is much, much smaller and capable of better images, but it lacks interchangeable lenses or reflex viewing. The Pen is also noisy as hell, a loud, dry clack, I think my Nikon F is more refined and muted in this area. Even if I don’t get to use the Pen FT, I will be able to use the lenses in my Sony Nex, as the diagonal is a match and sensor coverage assured. The lenses being so tiny, it will be nice to have a 30/3.5 and a 60/1.4, not terribly far from a standard lens
Olympus Pen FT
You all know that I don’t like half-frame cameras, it was the Pen D2 that made me walk from the format and never look back. As usual, destiny is ironical and there must be this superior being wanting me to like half-frame at all cost, the cost this time was 10 € for this Pen FT with the 20/3.5 and 40/1.4.
I had played with a Pen F in the past, but the dark viewfinder really was a letdown . This time I have a mint looking Pen FT that has the same fault, but I have had time to get to know it. The camera has nothing to do with the cheap 10 million Pens that were made. It is a class act, from the build to the design, I have to admit it. This is no longer toy camera territory. In spite of appearances, this unit has had a very hard life and possibly will be my most beautiful paper weight as the shutter rotating fan is stucked, although the mirror works correctly in all speeds. Sadly, the camera has only half the mirror and miraculously one is still able to focus and see the entire image, even if part of it looks stained!
The metering system is really bad, as it isn't connected to the lens, so you have to transfer the values to the lens, one might as well shoot without one. The PX 675 is no longer available, but the camera reacted well to the PX625, although I think I will never get to use this camera-
Sadly, this is a camera that I would like to try and there is little chance of that happening. True, it’s big for the format, but this is 1966. A Rollei 35 is much, much smaller and capable of better images, but it lacks interchangeable lenses or reflex viewing. The Pen is also noisy as hell, a loud, dry clack, I think my Nikon F is more refined and muted in this area. Even if I don’t get to use the Pen FT, I will be able to use the lenses in my Sony Nex, as the diagonal is a match and sensor coverage assured. The lenses being so tiny, it will be nice to have a 30/3.5 and a 60/1.4, not terribly far from a standard lens