How to set the ASA on Olympus Pen F (gothic version)

[dshooter]

Hi there,
I recently bought an Olympus Pen F half-frame camera (the one with gothic F logo).
How do I set the ISO / ASA on this camera? I have been searching and reading the online manual for this camera, and it does not seem to have any information about it.

Thank you!

 

[removed account4]

Hi
I might be mistaken but the “F” has no meter so there is no need for an iso dial, the “FT” has a meter and on the shutter speed dial I think you can pull it or a little and adjust the iso.

have fun!
John

<ps. added later. ... welcome to photrio ! >

 

[dshooter]

Hi John,
The gothic pen F has aperture ring and shutter speed dial. But does not seem to have ISO dial. So I wonder how does the camera know what film speed I am using?
And when I am using an external light meter, what ISO should I use.

 

[M-88]

Hello and welcome to the club!

When taking a picture, three components are necessary for correct exposure calculation: 1. film speed (iso/asa); 2. aperture value; 3. shutter speed. If the camera has a built-in light meter, it requires all three data in order to get the picture right.

If camera has no built-in meter, a photographer must use an external meter (or in the absence of such, a sunny 16 rule) and again - external meter needs all three data.

However, if you know a film speed and you enter it in your external meter, there is no need to enter this value into camera which has no meter. Because film ISO is fixed, aperture and shutter are variable. You don't need to enter a fixed value in a camera which has no meter, you only enter variable data - aperture and shutter. That is why Pen F doesn't have an ISO dial - it's pointless for it to have it.

Hi John,
The gothic pen F has aperture ring and shutter speed dial. But does not seem to have ISO dial. So I wonder how does the camera know what film speed I am using?

The camera doesn't need to know what film you are using, because it has no light meter, so it's pointless for it to know the film speed.

And when I am using an external light meter, what ISO should I use.

You should set the ISO according to the speed of film which is loaded in the camera (for example, 100 in case of Kodak Ektar and 400 in case of Portra 400), unless you intend to do push/pull processing later.

 

[removed account4]

Hi John,
The gothic pen F has aperture ring and shutter speed dial. But does not seem to have ISO dial. So I wonder how does the camera know what film speed I am using?
And when I am using an external light meter, what ISO should I use.

hi again

not sure if you found this online yet
http://35mm-compact.com/pdf/olympus-penf-en.pdf

as M-88 said, just plug in whatever iso your film says into your meter and it will give you your speed and aperture, no need to worry about your camera. as long as you are able to adjust the f-stops and shutter speeds you are golden. you probably don't even need to buy a light meter if you have a phone. there are inexpensive and handy "light meter apps" and it is 1 less thing you need to carry with you when you are out using your fun new camera.
I hate to ask but do you have a repair person near you ? these cameras sometimes need to have the shutter Cleaned - Lubricated - Adjusted and are sometimes tricky that someone who isn't familiar with this type of shutter ( it is/was unique to this camera ) might not be able to do a CLA with the same ease and comfort as s/he might do a regular / standard 35mm camera shutter....
have fun with your pen ! ( I love mine )
John

 

[dshooter]

Hey M-88 and John ... thank you so much for your replies.
Got it now. Will go out and play with it now.

 

[dshooter]

I hate to ask but do you have a repair person near you ? these cameras sometimes need to have the shutter Cleaned - Lubricated - Adjusted and are sometimes tricky that someone who isn't familiar with this type of shutter ( it is/was unique to this camera ) might not be able to do a CLA with the same ease and comfort as s/he might do a regular / standard 35mm camera shutter....

Hi John, sorry forgot to reply to this. There are a few I believe here. Based on my listening check, the shutter speeds seem to be slowing down as I changed from 1/500 to 1 second, except the 1/60. The 1/60 seems to be slower than 1/30. But I cannot confirm the accuracy.

 

[M-88]

Hi John, sorry forgot to reply to this. There are a few I believe here. Based on my listening check, the shutter speeds seem to be slowing down as I changed from 1/500 to 1 second, except the 1/60. The 1/60 seems to be slower than 1/30. But I cannot confirm the accuracy.

Considering that Pen F was introduced back in 1963, which is now more than 50 years ago, it is only natural for it to have some problems with reliability and Pen F/FT is like no other camera out there, cause it's the only half-frame SLR camera. So, normal CLA as jnantz pointed out, is vital, but it must be performed by someone who knows how to treat such camera. Either way, best of luck!

 

[dshooter]

Considering that Pen F was introduced back in 1963, which is now more than 50 years ago, it is only natural for it to have some problems with reliability and Pen F/FT is like no other camera out there, cause it's the only half-frame SLR camera. So, normal CLA as jnantz pointed out, is vital, but it must be performed by someone who knows how to treat such camera. Either way, best of luck!

Yes, completely agree.