If film for photography is still downright affordable, the Olympus PEN EE.S would still be my utmost favorite 35mm half-frame film camera.
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The Olympus PEN EE.S, a zone-focus autoexposure 35mm half-frame film camera, was introduced by Olympus in 1962, a year after the initial launch of the PEN EE (1961). Instead of having a fixed focus 28mm 1:3.5 Zuiko lens, the EE.S has a 30mm 1:2.8 lens and a 3-zone focusing ring, which was made necessary by the wider lens. The focusing ring, which is quite hard to notice and adjust, and most often overlooked, surrounds the frontmost lens element, with markings for close (1.2m), group (3m), and scene focal distances, and can be adjusted from 90cm to infinity.
In 1966, the PEN EE.S and PEN EE were updated to the EL (Easy Load) version, which was modified to facilitate easier film loading. The camera has two shutter speeds, at 1/40 and 1/200 seconds, and accepts film ISO speeds from 10 to 200.
The Olympus PEN EE series was the first fully automatic-exposure point-and-shoot 35mm half-frame camera launched for the mass market by Olympus. It was also the smallest camera to use 35mm film in regular 135 cassettes. Images were captured and recorded in 18x24mm half-frame format (half the size of a normal 35mm full-frame image), orientated vertically, in portrait format. The image aspect ratio is 3:4. The EE.S, as with others in the series, does not need a battery to run.
On the PEN EE.S, the automatic exposure system is powered by a selenium cell system built around the camera's lens. To set the exposure mode to automatic, align the film ISO speed (dial) to the index mark on the apex of the lens barrel. In bright ambient light, the programmed shutter speed is set to 1/200 second, and the lens's aperture opening is automated from f/22 down to about f/11. When the light is lower the shutter speed will switch to the 1/40 second exposure time and the lens aperture opening regulated from f/11 down to its widest f/2.8. This intelligent system prevents the aperture opening from being too small to avoid diffraction.
For shooting with flash and in manual mode, the camera is set by rotating the dial to the lens aperture opening scale to align the selected aperture value to the index mark. While the PEN EE.S is not fitted with a flash shoe, using a flash on the camera requires mounting an optional cold-shoe bracket secured to the tripod socket.
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The Pen EE-S also incorporates the red flag pop-up underexposure indicator. When underexposure is detected, the shutter immobilizes, and a red flag pop-up is displayed on the lower part of the viewfinder. To overcome the lock, reframe or move the scene and subject it to a stronger lighting ambiance.
Olympus PEN EE.S
The 30mm 1:2.8 lens is equivalent to a 42mm focal length on a 35mm full-frame camera. The crop ratio for lenses manufactured for Olympus half-frame cameras is 1.4.
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