The Olympus Pen F, Pen FT and Pen FV are very similar half-frame 35 mm single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras with interchangeable lenses produced by Olympus of Japan between 1963-1966 (Pen F), 1966-1972 (Pen FT) and 1967-1970 (Pen FV).

Olympus Pen F with 40mm f1.4
Olympus Pen FT with 38mm f 1.8

The original Pen F has a double-stroke film advance and a distinctive logo rendered in a gothic font. The later Pen FT added a single-stroke film advance, and an uncoupled, integrated light meter, which uses a system of exposure numbers rather than f-stops. The exposure numbers were added to the aperture rings of later Pen F lenses; the rings could be pulled out and rotated to show conventional f-stops instead. A side-effect of the FT's light meter was a dimmer viewfinder. The Pen FV was essentially a Pen FT with the light meter deleted and the F's brighter viewfinder reinstated.

Half frame means that the camera uses an 18×24 mm vertical (portrait) format, producing twice the pictures on a roll of 135 film as the regular 36×24 mm format. The smaller image format also allows for a smaller camera and lenses, making the Pen F system one of the smallest SLR systems ever made; the Pentax Auto 110 was smaller, but with a much more limited range of lenses and accessories, and smaller 110 film.

These cameras are somewhat exceptional since they used a rotary focal-plane shutter, rather than the two-curtain focal-plane shutter commonly used in other SLRs at that time. Since this one-piece shutter opens fully before it starts to close, it can synchronize to electronic flash at all shutter speeds.

Pen-F series cameras are occasionally modified to mount standard motion picture camera lenses for use as film test cameras with 35mm motion picture films. The Pen-F frame size is close to the 35mm motion picture Super 35 frame.

Lenses manufactured for the Olympus Pen F System

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Type Lens Foc.Leng.(mm)
F
35mm
equiv.
Angle of view Gr.-El. TTL-No. F/stop range Min. Focus Filter Weight
Wide G.Zuiko Auto-W 20mm F3.5 28mm 73° 6-7 0-4 3.5–16 0.2m 43mm 145g
E.Zuiko Auto-W 25mm F4 35mm 62° 5-5 0-4 4–16 0.25m 43mm 120g
G.Zuiko Auto-W 25mm F2.8 35mm 62° 5-7 0-5 2.8–16 0.25m 43mm 160g
Standard F.Zuiko Auto-S 38mm F1.8 55mm 43° 5-6 0-6 1.8–16 0.35m 43mm 135g
E.Zuiko Auto-S (“pancake”) 38mm F2.8 55mm 43° 4-5 0-5 2.8–16 0.8m 43mm 70g
D.Zuiko Auto-S 38mm F2.8 55mm 43° 3-4 0-5 2.8–16 0.35m 43mm 125g
G.Zuiko Auto-S 40mm F1.4 58mm 41° 6-7 0-6 1.4–16 0.35m 43mm 165g
H.Zuiko Auto-S 42mm F1.2 60mm 39° 6-8 0-6 1.2–16 0.35m 49mm 255g
Telephoto G.Zuiko Auto-T 60mm F1.5 85mm 28° 5-7 0-6 1.5–16 0.8m 49mm 270g
F.Zuiko Auto-T 70mm F2 100mm 24° 5-6 0.5-7 2–22 0.8m 43mm 230g
E.Zuiko Auto-T 100mm F3.5 140mm 17° 4-5 1-6 3.5–22 1.5m 43mm 250g
E.Zuiko Auto-T 150mm F4 210mm 12° 4-5 1-5 4–22 1.7m 49mm 380g
Super Telephoto E.Zuiko T 250mm F5 360mm 3-5 1-6 5–32*M 3.5m 58mm 800g
E.Zuiko T 400mm F6.3 570mm 4-5 1-5 6.3–32*M 5m 72mm 1750g
Zuiko Mirror T 800mm F8 1150mm 4-5 - 8 16m 25.5mm 2400g
Zoom Zuiko Auto-Zoom 50–90mm F3.5 70–130mm 34–19° 8-10 0.5-4 3.5–16 1.5m 49mm 420g
Zuiko Zoom 100–200mm F5 140–280mm 17-9° 9-12 1-6 5–32*M 1.7m 49mm 700g
Macro E.Zuiko Auto-Macro 38mm F3.5 55mm 43° 4-5 0-4 3.5–16 0.156m 43mm 200g
  • *M=manual diaphragm

References

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