I just discovered that a particularly addictive cult exists in the world today that seems to be grabbing thousands of unsuspecting and innocent people and turning them into retro photographers. It is the cult of the Olympus Trip 35.
I was quite innocently lured into this seedy cult this week when I unknowingly purchased an Olympus Trip 35 at a local antique store this week for the incredible price of R30 ($3.90) and I confess that I am hooked!
I am not really sure what it is, but it just feels right in the hand, a small solidly built piece of craftsmanship that simply oozes simplicity. It has a nifty 40mm f2.8 Zuiko lens that is reported to be quite sharp and, judging by the photos I Googled, is quite capable of outperforming some of the more modern pieces of kit out there. Excuse me as I wipe the beads of sweat from my palms...
Judging by the low serial number, mine was manufactured some time in the 60's. I will be able to get the exact date when I get the film out and can look under the pressure plate. I discovered this fact
here. I was so eager to get film in and start shooting that I didn't find this out until today when I looked it up on line. Holy smokes, that means this camera is almost as old as I am!
When I finish my roll of film I will scan the results and post them for your viewing pleasure.
You can buy them reconditioned here:
Trip Man
Ken Rockwell has a nice little review here:
Ken Rockwell Trip 35
Camerapedia lists it here:
Trip 35
A blog for it exists here:
Olympus Trip 35
You can find a manual here:
Trip 35 Manual
The manual is a very reasonable 12 pages instead of the volumes you need to read before you turn on your new dslr.
Please be advised that this cult is extremely addictive and will probably get you too if you don't exercise some restraint and take suitable precautions... or you can just jump right in and smile insanely, yet smugly, like the rest of us!
At least this means I could finally look under the pressure plate for the date of manufacture code and can now say with certainty that my Trip 35 was manufactured in March 1969. That makes it 41 years old! My hat off to Olympus for great build quality!
In my initial post I never included a pic of the original leather pouch it came with so here is the poor hapless battered wreck... but it does still work!
More to come soon...
I was quite innocently lured into this seedy cult this week when I unknowingly purchased an Olympus Trip 35 at a local antique store this week for the incredible price of R30 ($3.90) and I confess that I am hooked!
I am not really sure what it is, but it just feels right in the hand, a small solidly built piece of craftsmanship that simply oozes simplicity. It has a nifty 40mm f2.8 Zuiko lens that is reported to be quite sharp and, judging by the photos I Googled, is quite capable of outperforming some of the more modern pieces of kit out there. Excuse me as I wipe the beads of sweat from my palms...
Judging by the low serial number, mine was manufactured some time in the 60's. I will be able to get the exact date when I get the film out and can look under the pressure plate. I discovered this fact here. I was so eager to get film in and start shooting that I didn't find this out until today when I looked it up on line. Holy smokes, that means this camera is almost as old as I am!
This was a candid shot. I was walking out of a wedding reception and saw this girl standing at the fountain. She looked sad, in contrast with all the other children playing in the background. I love the shot for the emotion and the shallow depth of field.
Nikon F65, Nikon 50mm F1.8, polarizing filter, Fuji Superia 200 iso cheap consumer film, 8 second exposure, on a tripod. Developed by cheap, junky local lab and scanned by me on a CanoScan 5600F :-) . Edited with the Gimp.
It came with a cloth carry case and the handy carry strap that you can see in the picture above, and even has an external flash mount. I loaded it with a roll of Fuji Superia 400 and hit the road. (and yes, I really did leave the price tag on)
With some strong light from a skylight above it actually has some promise, aside from the fact that the focus is non existent. This thing is fuzzier than a Holga!
Serious light falloff, out of focus, a landscape photographers nightmare... and fringe artists dream!
This was the only shot with some focus in it, which suggests that it must have a sweet spot somewhere in it's focal range.
You simply can't do that on any dslr or slr! This camera is great at this one application and it does it in a totally outstanding way! Money can't buy a lens from Nikon or Canon that can do this very special effect, and for so cheap too!
I took this photo while at the Aardklop Cultural Festival in Potchefstroom, a smaller town in the Northwest Province. The festival just seemed to be an excuse for wanton drunkenness and crude behaviour. I won't be back.
