Olympus Pen FT or Canon Demi EE17 For 35mm Half Frame?

brbo · Aug 8, 2022

Cholentpot said:
But I do have issue with low speeds and camera shake. It just might be more magnified because of the smaller frame size?

Since I started darkroom printing I stopped worrying about the grain and sharpness. At the sizes I'm able to print, none of them is an issue

But now I got curious and just scanned one frame where I'm sure I was lower than 1/30. No problem with the shake as far as I'm concerned. Of course, we all have different standards about this. But for what the shutter shake feels like on Pen F (you can literally feel the shock in your hand) and what ends on film, I'm always pleasantly surprised.

(you can click on image for original unsharpened full resolution scan, film is Adox Color Mission 200 so it's grainy)

Cholentpot · Aug 8, 2022

brbo said:
Since I started darkroom printing I stopped worrying about the grain and sharpness. At the sizes I'm able to print, none of them is an issue

But now I got curious and just scanned one frame where I'm sure I was lower than 1/30. No problem with the shake as far as I'm concerned. Of course, we all have different standards about this. But for what the shutter shake feels like on Pen F (you can literally feel the shock in your hand) and what ends on film, I'm always pleasantly surprised.

(you can click on image for original unsharpened full resolution scan, film is Adox Color Mission 200 so it's grainy)

I've found I just have to brace for the slap differently. I generally have 72 frames to adjust so by the end of the roll I have it under control.

4season · Aug 8, 2022

braxus said:
So the two cameras I was looking at are the Canon Demi EE17 and the Olympus Pen FT.

I own and have serviced and shot with both. Love, love, love the Pen-FT because I am really an SLR kind of guy, and dig the precision framing and focusing even if the finder is kind of dim. With Weincells, I got decent accuracy when shooting C41 color negative film. In operation, the meter is kind of quirky but serviceable. You want crazy grain, try shooting it with Lomo 800 CN - fun.

Demi EE17's got kind of a cool mid-century space age vibe, but it's kind of bulky for a half frame scale-focused camera. Can't recall whether I used it manually or in AE, but whatever the case, I recall getting 70+ perfectly spaced, clear and punchy looking photos. Good-looking and solid shooter, but if given the choice between keeping the EE17 or my much-smaller Olympus Pen-S - hmmm.

summicron1 · Aug 8, 2022

The Pen SLR is a nice camera but -- and it is not just my example, the guys at Analogue Insights said the same thing -- it is LOUD.

As in "BANG" every time you take a picture.

The EE models are super quiet and really good quality. Outdoors with reasonably fast film you can set it at 400 and forget about focus.

Huss · Aug 9, 2022

summicron1 said:
The Pen SLR is a nice camera but -- and it is not just my example, the guys at Analogue Insights said the same thing -- it is LOUD.

As in "BANG" every time you take a picture.

The EE models are super quiet and really good quality. Outdoors with reasonably fast film you can set it at 400 and forget about focus.

I wouldn't be surprised if Analogue Insights claim it is loud. That is perhaps the most boring, slow paced, nyquil laced channel I have ever come across. Starts off sitting in a non-descript barely furnished colourless room. Talks very softly. Wears a lot of turtlenecks. Then eventually gets to show pics of a fence. Good grief that channel is a cure for insomnia.

I'd describe the Pen FT as having an extremely crisp and sharp release. It feels so responsive and is a joy to use.

Here is an excellent, lively review of it

Cholentpot · Aug 9, 2022

Huss said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Analogue Insights claim it is loud. That is perhaps the most boring, slow paced, nyquil laced channel I have ever come across. Starts off sitting in a non-descript barely furnished colourless room. Talks very softly. Wears a lot of turtlenecks. Then eventually gets to show pics of a fence. Good grief that channel is a cure for insomnia.

I'd describe the Pen FT as having an extremely crisp and sharp release. It feels so responsive and is a joy to use.

Here is an excellent, lively review of it

Some of these comments. It's like they've never shot a MTL3 or some of the soviet cameras. Shoot with a T50 and scare away dogs and little kids.

Bill Burk · Aug 9, 2022

Samarai is a fun half-frame camera worth trying... autofocus, zoom, SLR and horizontal format.

I'd rather have an Olympus Pen but it is fun.

Cholentpot · Aug 9, 2022

Bill Burk said:
Samarai is a fun half-frame camera worth trying... autofocus, zoom, SLR and horizontal format.

I'd rather have an Olympus Pen but it is fun.

If you can find a working one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

braxus · Aug 9, 2022

Shutter noise doesn't concern me. My Pentax 67 is louder then this thing.

Huss · Aug 10, 2022

braxus said:
Shutter noise doesn't concern me. My Pentax 67 is louder then this thing.

You can hear the shutter sound in the video I posted above. I have no idea what these complaints are about. Sounds great to me.

braxus · Aug 10, 2022

Thanks for the video Huss. I hate to say it, but you wouldn't like the videos I posted.

braxus · Aug 11, 2022

Since I started this thread, suddenly all the cheap Pen FT cameras sold. All the ones left are way over priced. Who would want to spend 400-500 Canadian dollars on a half frame camera, when I can get a 645 body for less then 300?

Huss · Aug 12, 2022

braxus said:
Since I started this thread, suddenly all the cheap Pen FT cameras sold. All the ones left are way over priced. Who would want to spend 400-500 Canadian dollars on a half frame camera, when I can get a 645 body for less then 300?

People who want a really nice half frame camera.

brbo · Aug 12, 2022

braxus said:
Who would want to spend 400-500 Canadian dollars on a half frame camera, when I can get a 645 body for less then 300?

Do you think that if I ask you about that 645 camera for less than 300, it's will go up to 500 as well?

Anyway, your other candidate, Canon Demi EE17, will be less than 100 and will probably be a better companion to you cheap MF camera than Pen F. Pen F is really a Batman, not Robin.

braxus · Aug 12, 2022

I found another one for the last one I was watching in the same condition and price, so I purchased that one. $340 Canadian plus duty on top. Its still more then I wanted to spend, but the condition of the camera and lens made it worth getting.

braxus · Aug 15, 2022

Paid the duty on these which came to $52 for a 340 dollar camera. Got to love fees by the couriers. So total price on the camera with lens is $390 Canadian.

Cholentpot · Aug 17, 2022

braxus said:
Since I started this thread, suddenly all the cheap Pen FT cameras sold. All the ones left are way over priced. Who would want to spend 400-500 Canadian dollars on a half frame camera, when I can get a 645 body for less then 300?

Roberts has on up on the auction sight for a pretty good deal right now. Less than a Benj.

M-88 · Aug 17, 2022

Cholentpot said:
Roberts has on up on the auction sight for a pretty good deal right now. Less than a Benj.

"The advancing arm is stiff to advance and retract but is fully functional" and the light meter is dead of course. I bet CLA will cost three times more than what the body is listed for.

Cholentpot · Aug 17, 2022

M-88 said:
"The advancing arm is stiff to advance and retract but is fully functional" and the light meter is dead of course. I bet CLA will cost three times more than what the body is listed for.

Nothing that Ronsonol won't fix.

To be fair I got into the system by getting a busted body and a few lenses and then coughing up the dough for a CLA.

M-88 · Aug 17, 2022

Cholentpot said:
Nothing that Ronsonol won't fix.

To be fair I got into the system by getting a busted body and a few lenses and then coughing up the dough for a CLA.

Fair enough. I'm avoiding Pen F series simply because over here I have to service my scrap on my own (sending them abroad isn't really economical) and OM-1 is easier for me to service.

Cholentpot · Aug 17, 2022

M-88 said:
Fair enough. I'm avoiding Pen F series simply because over here I have to service my scrap on my own (sending them abroad isn't really economical) and OM-1 is easier for me to service.

I didn't bother servicing my OM-1. I just waited for another to show up...and one did! Haven't bothered with the meter yet. It doesn't work with modern batteries so sunny 16 it is.

M-88 · Aug 17, 2022

PX625/PX13 mercury cells can be replaced with "675" Zinc-Air hearing aid cells and a spacer. I'm yet to see an OM-1 with busted galvanometer. Their light meters usually "die" because of wire corrosion, or contact corrosion in battery chamber. Both are fairly easy to fix. Shutter timing mechanism is also pretty easy to access and clean.

Cholentpot · Aug 17, 2022

M-88 said:
PX625/PX13 mercury cells can be replaced with "675" Zinc-Air hearing aid cells and a spacer. I'm yet to see an OM-1 with busted galvanometer. Their light meters usually "die" because of wire corrosion, or contact corrosion in battery chamber. Both are fairly easy to fix. Shutter timing mechanism is also pretty easy to access and clean.

They don't last very long, them zinc cells from what I understand.

M-88 · Aug 17, 2022

Cholentpot said:
They don't last very long, them zinc cells from what I understand.

Three months for a single cell is acceptable, considering that I get a six-pack for 8$

Cholentpot · Aug 17, 2022

M-88 said:
Three months for a single cell is acceptable, considering that I get a six-pack for 8$

I use the camera 2-3 times a year max.

Olympus Pen FT or Canon Demi EE17 For 35mm Half Frame?

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