The Olympus Pen EF is bit of an unusual camera. I originally saw this little guy covered in dust at a market last weekend. It stood out form the other cameras with its compact size, selenium light meter and flash. When i picked it up i noticed another interesting aspect. It’s a half frame camera. So i rescued it for $5.
As it turns out, the Pen EF is the last half frame camera released by Olympus. This is quite interesting, as it was the early 80’s at the time, and demand for the half frame format was essentially dead. Why Olympus chose to release a new model when the market was almost gone is a mystery, but i’m glad they did.
The Pen EF isn’t exactly a “pretty” camera. It looks like bit of a Frankenstein with a mixture of two eras of camera technology crammed into a very compact body. The camera epitomises simplicity. All you need to do is set the ASA (ranges from 25-400), wind the film on, then press the shutter. Thats pretty much it.
The flash is powered by a common AA battery (the camera still functions perfectly without a battery), and to activate the flash you pull a little latch down which engages it.
Besides the metering and flash, the Pen EF is lucky to benefit from a superb little 28mm D.Zuiko lens. Olympus had earnt a great reputation from their Zuiko glass for their half frame and full frame cameras, and the lens in the EF is no different. It still amazes me how manufacturers like Olympus could fit terrific little lenses in compact cameras (within a budget) that are still superior to many modern lenses that supposedly benefit from the latest and greatest technology.
Anyway, i shot a roll with this little beast the day after i got it, and it was a lot of fun. It’s quite a strange experience having 72 shots on a roll of film. I hope to create some interesting Diptychs, and also see how large I can enlarge the half frames.
If you see a little Olympus Pen EF around, don’t let it end up in the bin. It may not be the most attractive camera out there, but its certainly one of the most unique!

EDIT: Some recent shots from the little Pen EF.