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35mm half frame options...

ChristopherCoy

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Joined
Aug 9, 2011
Messages
3,605
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On a boat.
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Multi Format
Besides the Olympus Pen... what are the better 35mm half frame options?
 
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Good luck Christopher , there ALPA , Tessina and Robot cameras are advised .
 
Konica Autoreflex the first model was a dual format camera is a bit heavy but allows you to shoot both full frame and halfframe. Downside it's neither small nor light. Pro you can shoot both ff and hf on a single roll of film. Sturdier than the average HF camera

Yahica Samurai full auto AF halfframe camera can often be found quiet cheap.
 
The Robot cameras have great lenses. I used to have a Robot Royal 24. Took very nice photos, built like a tank (and about as heavy).
 
Hello momus ,

Do robots records vertical images when camera was horizontal , Do you need to 90 degree turn the camera for horizontal shot ?

Umut
 
The typical Robot cameras have got a square format (24x24).

There only was one model with rectangular, horizontal format (of 24x36).


There were though special models for technical use that either had fixed rectangular formats or even adjustabel sliders.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you AgX , above website was about 18x24mm format with robot cameras. I had no idea 1 hour ago about these cameras , thank you anyway.

Umut
 
I dont' know of a Robot with 18x24 format.
Aside of the technical models. But you could mount on those models a viewer (not even provided).
 
For half frame there is a reason Olympus get the attention. First, the cameras were of good quality with excellent lenses. Second, they made boatloads of half frame cameras so they are common on the used market. The thing is with Olympus there were so many models that you need to be careful to sort them out. If you are a fan, as I am, of cameras will full manual control of shutter speed, aperture, and focus, then avoid the EE models and other auto exposure models such as the EE, EE2, EE3, EES, EES2, EM, and EED. All the other VF type cameras have full manual control and the Pen D series have meters. (NOTE: most Pen D series meters are inopertive by now, some can be fixed, some cannot. However all the D series are completely mechanical and can be operated over their full range of shutter speeds and apertures without the meter)

The Pen F, FT, FV interchangeable lens reflex cameras seem to be reasonably available on the used market and are unique in that they are the only interchangeable lens half frame reflex designed from the ground up to be that. As a result they are by far the most compact of that specification. The problem with the Pen F series is availability of original Zuiko lenses made for them. They are getting thin on the ground and expensive. If you look for an F or FT try to find it with the 38mm f1.8 or 40mm f1.4 attached. There were an number of Olympus made lens mount adapters for the F/FT/FV series but again they are rare enough that popular ones such as the Nikon F, Olympus OM and M42 adapters can be hard to find for less than $100 unless you are willing to wait and watch for a lower price.
 
If anyone wishes to invest 50 dollars to regular 8 for bolex c8 or 200 for bolex 16mm , they can take thousands of frames with single roll. I think I will buy a 16mm bolex next summer. Super 8 mm cameras are not expensive too if you search one week in ebay , you can find a good canon.
Ektachrome 15 meters roll is about 40 dollars at wittner and canon is a marvellous , really top quality. There are many leicinas at ebay germany also and they take a child face looks like a porcelain , that excellent optics. There is a 16 mm minolta film camera and they say you can cut from the roll and load it and take hundreds of pictures. But telecine is not cheap and its very expensive for me but I did not research well.
And minox b is excellent example.
 
I love the Pens and own several but on the cheaper end there are many FSU half frames out there like the Agat. The lenses are good and they can be fun to use but mechanically a bit crude. Depends on what sort of experience you are going for. That said I like the Pen S the best, and the Ft as well.
 
The Olympus Pen cameras are probably the best performers for the money. For a simple, quiet, and excellent camera, the Pen S is hard to beat. It is the ultimate street photograghy camera as it is small, and nearly silent, plus you can wind, focus, and shoot with just one hand. The D Zuiko 28mm lens is regarded as one of the top designs here in Japan, it works quite well. Olympus also made a black paint Pen known as the Pen W. The Pen W is quite rare, and has a wider 25mm lens, with an extra element added to it. The Pen W is expensive, when you can find one, but it is a great camera,
 
If you can get past the ick factor, the Kyocera Samurai is an interesting camera.

It has the look and feel of a camcorder, and the buzzing to zoom and shutter lag as the primitive autofocus tries to lock on... But it's kind of neat having an auto-everything Zoom SLR half-frame camera.

I was able to coax some interesting photographs with it last summer.
 
The Samurai's were not "ick" - they were very capable picture takers in both left and right hand versions. The main difference between them is one had a 3X zoom, the other a 4X zoom...

I would suggest a Canon Demi. Relable, sharp, and very under-rated. However I've used most of my half frames, and all (Petri, Ricoh, Fuji, Olympus, Canon, Konica, FED, Yashica, Agfa, Ansco etc) that have focussing lenses have produced good results.

The cameras with fixed focus can produce a good result too, but you need to use them in bright light so that the aperture stops downa bit and depth of field helps sharpness..

I've also used a few slr's with good result (Olympus Pen, Yashica Samurai, plus a Canon AE1 Program that had been converted to 1/2 frame...)

Next on the list is the Konica Autoreflex I just got....
 
Richard Sintchak (rich815) said:
I'm afraid I'm with Bill. I look at them and think "ick" right away.
Click to expand...

Is that the LEFT or RIGHT handed version?

Either way they are great to use....

I also forgot to mention the georgeous Penti cameras. Manual shutter, focussing lens, and a funky wind on by puching in a lever that pops out of the end of the camera when you fire the shutter...

OK - they use Rapid films, but the cassettes are easy to re-load....and they come in a great range of colors
 

Right-hand. Yes, it is great to use. The ick factor can work in your favor. Since it looks like a camcorder, you can be discreet - nobody will know you're shooting film unless you tell them.
 
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