Oly Trip ?

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Tricky69

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Who likes , who doesn't ?

I have a few, and have tried them a few times. Personally I find it hard to get on with. I just don't like guessing the focus.

We all know at 2.8 every inch counts, but you dont get that with the trip.

I much prefer an SLR so you can 'see' what's what !.. My fave 'pocket' slr would be the ME or ME super with a 50, although I prefer wider if I carry a bag with me.

What do you lot think ?

Rich
 
If I could only have one camera it would be my Trip.

Granted, zone focussing is a bit of a pain to master but when you do the Trip really shows what it is capable of. I still think even now it is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used. Added to that is the fact that it is perfectly pocket sized, uses no batteries and doesn't mind a soaking in the rain :lol:
 
I understand and respect why people like it, but I never liked it when I had one. It's very large all things considered, so it was barely smaller than my Pentax MX and small prime lens combo. And when I compare it to the Pentax, there's just no comparison really - the Trip is very very primitive. Reliance on selenium cells is never a good thing either - the selenium cells in the Trips seem to fare better than a lot of other cameras that rely on them, but it's still a very easy problem to occur and will only get far worse over the years.

And not being able to focus is game over for me really - the same reason why I got rid of the Olympus XA2 that I owned. Good cameras with good lenses and a bargain and a lot of fun... but lacking the control I want unfortunately.
 
Tricky69 said:
Who likes , who doesn't ?

I have a few, and have tried them a few times. Personally I find it hard to get on with. I just don't like guessing the focus.

We all know at 2.8 every inch counts, but you dont get that with the trip.

I much prefer an SLR so you can 'see' what's what !.. My fave 'pocket' slr would be the ME or ME super with a 50, although I prefer wider if I carry a bag with me.

What do you lot think ?

Rich
Click to expand...

Well I too prefer a SLR, and I'm a traitor even thinking that if I wanted to take snaps with a P&S would prefer a digital compact.
 
Personally I love mine. I have no problem with zone focussing but I only really use for street shooting where I find it perfect.

Andy
 
I know lots of people love them, hence this post.

I was wondering if I was alone, in not really getting on with them.

I still couldn't resist buyng another at a charity shop the other day though :thinking: :bonk: I must have 4 or 5 of them now :cuckoo:

I was the same with the nifty fifty I got for my crop digi, after EVERYONE said I needed one :lol: Never did like that focal length on the crop, and it's hardly ever used.

I guess I must be quite specific/fussy ? about the type of shots I like to make .
 
I was using a trip when I was in primary school, I don't get the issue with zone focus myself, I don't recall ever adjusting it! :lol:
 
I guess I'm with the OP in that I've got one but don't grab it very much for the same reason that I tend not to grab my Mamiya EE. I confess to needing something to fiddle with but just for you the next time I've got a walk through town I'll grab the Trip and take it.
 
I don't have a trip but a 35rc. It leaves the house every time i do. As close as a trip im likely to go to be honest. I like a bit of control with my cameras and the 35 series gives just that with trip size (or thereabouts) my brother has a trip though and i have used it, can't grumble about them really, they were easy and fun cameras for the masses and still have that fun element even today.
I was lucky with my rc in so much its in perfect condition. Needed new seals but everything else was a1
 
I was out the other days putting a first roll of test film through my oly......I thoroughly enjoyed using it ....made a change to use something simple tbh.

I ran off a full 36 exposures in less than 3 hours which is something I very rarely do with film......It was comfy in my hand, not overly heavy and other than for a few shots at close quarters, could be left set at infinity and A mode.

Quite ironic isn't it as one thing I never do with slr/dslr is go full auto mode but with the trip it was a pleasure to enjoy the simplicity.

I have many other film cameras but if I'm going off somewhere predominantly to shoot digi and fancy having a small p&s in my pocket to catch the odd film shot then I'm pretty sure the Oly will be my first choice!
 
I have recently brought a oly trip and for someone like me who thought there was no life out there other than what came from a DSLR I absolutely love it!

I think it has something to do with the the simplicity, compactness and the sharpness of the photos it can produce.

I must agree though the focus point does take some getting used to and is very much based on trial and error whilst you get to know your own camera.

Keep experimenting and I'm sure it will become a camera that goes everywhere with you.
 
I got a trip 35 at Oxfam last week, and took it out yesterday afternoon. It's got HP5 in it; I've not shot much BW for decades, so altogether it had me thinking. Haven't finished the film yet, but I enjoyed the experience. It's not light (!), but fits nicely in the hand when shooting. I haven't quite worked out how to carry it yet; dangling from the wrist strap is a bit weird, and it doesn't quite fit comfortably in one hand when walking. I'm looking forward to the results, though. Fun!
 
I have owned and used several small Olympus film cameras including the Trip 35, my opinion is that unless you want the Trip for how it looks then you can do better for the same money. If you want a Trip but without all the drawbacks of a bulky body, two shutter speeds etc. just get an Olympus XA2, i actually prefer the XA2 to the superior on paper XA for a carry around camera. The XA is a an aperture priority rangefinder, the smallest ever made but it's a pain the arse to use quickly, far too fiddly, the XA2 isn't and just works better for it.

The XA2 meter is spot on, good enough for slide film, has simple zone focus that just works, sharp lens, easily fits in a pocket, some deride the use of plastic but the camera feels solid as the important stuff is metal. The only downsides is no hot shoe and sometimes the shutter can be a little sensitive if you rest your finger on it. Pretty cheap to buy, shouldn't need to pay more than £20 for one with the flash.

If you are OK with auto-focus and more automation then pick up the Olympus Mju-II, the lens is tack sharp, meter spot on, built in flash (that you always have to turn off annoyingly), splash proof, tiny and light weight, if it isn't the smallest 35mm full frame camera made it's damn close. Drawbacks i've found, having to turn off the flash ever time you close and open the cover, the auto-wind is a bit noisy and the viewfinder is a bit pokey but they are minor complaints really.
 
I sold my nikon point and shoot and bought two oly trips a few weeks back. I like the small size and the fact you dont need a battery. The zone focus isnt that hard to get used to and I'm finding that I'm looking at the framing in all of images more from using it.
 
I just picked up my ME super and looked through the view finder. It was out of focus and it made me smile :) I like that I can see as I focus. and choose an aperture etc etc

I think I'll be selling my trips after I run a film through each to test them.
 
I still have my Olympus AF-1 and it's clip on teleconverter.
http://www.olympus-global.com/en/corc/history/chron/1960/af1.html

Fully automatic weatherproof 35mm and took literally hundreds if not thousands of photos with it, slides always came out well too

Downside was it did need a battery, lasted for ages, but remember it ran out when I was halfway round Jersey Zoo and had to nip into St Helier for a replacement
 
Tricky69 said:
I just picked up my ME super and looked through the view finder. It was out of focus and it made me smile :) I like that I can see as I focus. and choose an aperture etc etc

I think I'll be selling my trips after I run a film through each to test them.
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The ME super is a great camera its the one I always seem to pick up, think its the size that I like
 
Morinaka said:
I have owned and used several small Olympus film cameras including the Trip 35, my opinion is that unless you want the Trip for how it looks then you can do better for the same money. If you want a Trip but without all the drawbacks of a bulky body, two shutter speeds etc. just get an Olympus XA2, i actually prefer the XA2 to the superior on paper XA for a carry around camera. The XA is a an aperture priority rangefinder, the smallest ever made but it's a pain the arse to use quickly, far too fiddly, the XA2 isn't and just works better for it.

The XA2 meter is spot on, good enough for slide film, has simple zone focus that just works, sharp lens, easily fits in a pocket, some deride the use of plastic but the camera feels solid as the important stuff is metal. The only downsides is no hot shoe and sometimes the shutter can be a little sensitive if you rest your finger on it. Pretty cheap to buy, shouldn't need to pay more than £20 for one with the flash.

If you are OK with auto-focus and more automation then pick up the Olympus Mju-II, the lens is tack sharp, meter spot on, built in flash (that you always have to turn off annoyingly), splash proof, tiny and light weight, if it isn't the smallest 35mm full frame camera made it's damn close. Drawbacks i've found, having to turn off the flash ever time you close and open the cover, the auto-wind is a bit noisy and the viewfinder is a bit pokey but they are minor complaints really.
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I pretty much agree with all that: I have all three of these, the Trip, XA2 and mju-ii, and the mju-ii gets the most use. The Trip is great, but I prefer the other two generally. I've kind of relegated my Trip to using in harsh conditions, eg on the beach, as I don't feel the need to protect it like I do with other cameras.
 
The Mju-II is the only one of them i use now, i've still a 35RC and an XA in a box somewhere but i plan to sell those this year. I have no problem with AF but some people prefer more manual cameras when shooting film the XA2 is a good compromise between manual and auto to me if you care about that. I only paid about £10 for both my Mju-II's so i have no problem throwing them around, i pay more than that to buy and dev a roll of velvia.

I also have Pentax ME Super, my opinion on that is mixed. It's a nice little camera but compared to a K1000 or even its mechanical brother the MX it's unreliable and not worth investing in. I bought one and had it serviced, six months later it's broken again, and i've heard many other stories of broken ME Supers. If you want to go the Pentax route get the MX or K1000, not much bigger and they have a good reputation for reliability.

Personally from my experiences either go down the Nikon or Olympus route, the only thing the ME Super has going for it is the cheap price, but it's cheap for a reason.
The Olympus OM-2n is far superior to the ME Super, about the same size, has a better viewfinder (seriously the nicest one of any (D)SLR i've ever looked through), just better all around and the lenses are in the same price range as the pentax ones.
Nikon route go for the FM, FE, FM2, FM2n, FE2, all rock solid and similar size to the pentax, the quality is above pentax and even the olympus, and the lenses are much nicer to use, the focus rings even on the basic 50mm 1.8 AI are smooth as silk, using an olympus or pentax lens afterwards the focus rings on those feel like they are stuck in treacle.

I just wish i hadn't been so cheap, and gone for nikon in the first place, plus if you have a nikon dslr you can mount the lenses with no issues, though features you get are a mixed bag, and because of the nikon's longer register distance for lenses you can mount it on most other DSLR's even Canon ones using an adapter and get infinity focus.
 
Morinaka said:
The Mju-II is the only one of them i use now, i've still a 35RC and an XA in a box somewhere but i plan to sell those this year. I have no problem with AF but some people prefer more manual cameras when shooting film the XA2 is a good compromise between manual and auto to me if you care about that. I only paid about £10 for both my Mju-II's so i have no problem throwing them around, i pay more than that to buy and dev a roll of velvia.

I also have Pentax ME Super, my opinion on that is mixed. It's a nice little camera but compared to a K1000 or even its mechanical brother the MX it's unreliable and not worth investing in. I bought one and had it serviced, six months later it's broken again, and i've heard many other stories of broken ME Supers. If you want to go the Pentax route get the MX or K1000, not much bigger and they have a good reputation for reliability.

Personally from my experiences either go down the Nikon or Olympus route, the only thing the ME Super has going for it is the cheap price, but it's cheap for a reason.
The Olympus OM-2n is far superior to the ME Super, about the same size, has a better viewfinder (seriously the nicest one of any (D)SLR i've ever looked through), just better all around and the lenses are in the same price range as the pentax ones.
Nikon route go for the FM, FE, FM2, FM2n, FE2, all rock solid and similar size to the pentax, the quality is above pentax and even the olympus, and the lenses are much nicer to use, the focus rings even on the basic 50mm 1.8 AI are smooth as silk, using an olympus or pentax lens afterwards the focus rings on those feel like they are stuck in treacle.

I just wish i hadn't been so cheap, and gone for nikon in the first place, plus if you have a nikon dslr you can mount the lenses with no issues, though features you get are a mixed bag, and because of the nikon's longer register distance for lenses you can mount it on most other DSLR's even Canon ones using an adapter and get infinity focus.
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My first slr was/is a Fm2 and its a fantastic camera. I went for the ME super as I can use the lenses on my DSLR. I've managed to build up a nice set of smc A primes for very little money and they all work and meter fully on it
 
Morinaka said:
I also have Pentax ME Super, my opinion on that is mixed. It's a nice little camera but compared to a K1000 or even its mechanical brother the MX it's unreliable and not worth investing in. I bought one and had it serviced, six months later it's broken again, and i've heard many other stories of broken ME Supers. If you want to go the Pentax route get the MX or K1000, not much bigger and they have a good reputation for reliability.
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Umm, this is an Oly Trip thread, so perhaps we're getting a bit off topic. However, I'll just say that, as well as a very recently acquired Oly Trip (1 film shot, not yet processed), I've revived my 45-year old Pentax ME. It's never been serviced, and appears to work just fine (once I'd put the new batteries in the right way up ;-)!
 
I've had a couple of Trips over the years and now have the one that belonged to my mother, TBH I like the results, the lens is sharp and it produces consistent results but I find it a bit clunky to use, I know the difference between a mountain and a flower so the focussing isn't an issue but I like a little more control in my cameras and I prefer my Ricoh 500G and the Konica C35 if I want a compact 35mm camera.

Having said that I'd never get rid of the Trip, there's always a part of me that wants be a little bit retro in a sort of David Bailey stylee ;)
 
I quite fancy a low cost rangefinder; does anyone have any experience of the Olympus Trip 35 RC?
 
RaglanSurf said:
I've had a couple of Trips over the years and now have the one that belonged to my mother, TBH I like the results, the lens is sharp and it produces consistent results but I find it a bit clunky to use, I know the difference between a mountain and a flower so the focussing isn't an issue but I like a little more control in my cameras and I prefer my Ricoh 500G and the Konica C35 if I want a compact 35mm camera.

Having said that I'd never get rid of the Trip, there's always a part of me that wants be a little bit retro in a sort of David Bailey stylee ;)
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For when you can't be bothered to carry around the 5x4 or RZ67? :lol:
 
Yes it did a go a bit OT but that happens in threads, i assume you mean your 35 year old ME as 45 years is the 1960's.

I have an Olympus 35 RC, but what you want to know about it i can't say as people have different requirements for cameras.
It's a decent rangefinder, sharp lens, easy enough to focus and use most of the time, small and sort of light. Will fit in a larger coat pocket but nothing else, use a small neck-strap or camera bag.

Downsides,
It was designed for mercury batteries so you need an adapter for precise metering, but appears to work OK with alkaline equivalents in my experience.
Manual mode if a joke for those of use with normal sized hands, the aperture ring is super thin and hard to move, the shutter dial isn't much easier as well, the focus ring is fine but doesn't have a lot of throw, like 90 degrees or less between infinity and 1 meter, also easily knocked out of place. Also uses 43.5mm filters which are a pain to get these days, in the right thread pitch anyway.
This is more a personal one, i hate shutter priority metering and in auto mode that's what the 35 RC is, didn't realise how much i hated it until i was using it.

Overall it's a fine camera but it's of its era and has issues that are annoying to modern eyes and hands. Even though i've derided the Olympus XA earlier it works better than the 35 RC in my opinion mostly because it gets rid of the optional manual mode and goes aperture priority which is my preferred metering method, you can also put it in a pocket, and it's quieter and more discreet.

I am thinking of selling my 35 RC, don't use it any more and seems a shame to let it idle.
 
Morinaka said:
Yes it did a go a bit OT but that happens in threads, i assume you mean your 35 year old ME as 45 years is the 1960's.
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OMG well, given I bought the camera 35 years ago it's not surprising my brain's too addled to do mental arithmetic! I remember checking it twice, too. :(

Overall {the TRIP RC} is a fine camera but it's of its era and has issues that are annoying to modern eyes and hands. Even though i've derided the Olympus XA earlier it works better than the 35 RC in my opinion mostly because it gets rid of the optional manual mode and goes aperture priority which is my preferred metering method, you can also put it in a pocket, and it's quieter and more discreet.

I am thinking of selling my 35 RC, don't use it any more and seems a shame to let it idle.
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Yes, given I've already got a Trip 35, and as you say it doesn't really go in a pocket (and nor does the ME), I have also been wondering about a XA as a pocektable rangefinder experiment. Just had a PM back from dmb about his XA with some caveats and encouragement (he posted a pic from his "new" XA in the "Show us your film shots" thread). He mentioned a hair-trigger...
 
I do have an XA still that i'm think of slinging, works fine except the film counter doesn't work, plus i use the Mju-II now.
The hair trigger is an issue but one easily sorted once you know about it, you just avoid resting your finger on the shutter release. You can only depress it when the camera front is slid open so you learn to be mindful of it, but occasionally you accidentally fire one off.

Are we thinking of the same camera? There is no Olympus Trip 35 RC, just the Olympus 35 RC.
 
Morinaka said:
Are we thinking of the same camera? There is no Olympus Trip 35 RC, just the Olympus 35 RC.
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Ah yes, wrong nomenclature, sorry. Didn't realise the Trip bit was dropped. I've been reading up about the RC, the RD and the SP today. One issue seems to be, you can't turn the light meter off, so the battery runs down even if not in use.

The local Oxfam had a XA2 for a tenner, today. I know it's not a rangefinder, but I am tempted. It was closed when I saw it. At the least, I'll try to hold it in my hand, as it's physically the same size as the XA, I think.

(I'm still 10 days away from being able to use the trading sections in TP, unfortunately.)
 
ChrisR said:
The local Oxfam had a XA2 for a tenner, today.
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They had a load of cameras on display over the last week.

I bought 5 or 6 of them :)
 
You can turn the light meter off on the 35 RC, it has OFF written in red letters on the aperture ring, also locks the shutter button.

If the XA2 is in good nick then a tenner is a fair price for it, just make sure the foam light seals haven't turned to gunk, the shell opens smoothly enough and all the way and the battery compartment isn't corroded to hell (open it with a 2p coin); if you want to test the shutter you'll need batteries for it but it only takes a couple of LR44/AG13 coin batteries which are cheap and easy to find on ebay, i've seen huge coin battery packs in pound shops before or a watch shop might have them, though they are probably too big for watches. Take them down there pop them in and test shutter in different lights.

Bargains are too tempting for a GASbag like me so i stay away from these kind of shops now.
 
I started my interest in photography way back in the days before digital photography was even thought of (since computers weighed tons and needed dedicated environments). I was poor then, and looking back, I think my learning was much reduced by the delayed feedback between taking the shot and seeing the results; often months. These days, we get much more instant feedback with digital stuff like my X10, and I think I'm learning a bit faster as a result. But so much is automated, I now think there's learning to be done going back to more primitive days, using my Pentax ME and my recently acquired Olympus Trip 35, a tenner from Oxfam.

I'm beginning to think the increased anticipation due to delayed gratification (rather than feedback) is one of the hidden extras of film photography. In this case, I wasn't sure my Trip was even working. I put a can of HP5 in it, and went out a couple of afternoons to explore. And of course I still had no clue, other than that the shutter seemed to fire and the film to advance.

So there was real gratification when the negatives and scans came back from Club 35 (not my usual processor, but I discovered Photo Express don't do B/W). And yes, the Trip works! And the results are not too bad.

04670006_1_.jpg


This was one of the first I took; seems to have worked quite well. This is the only shot with a suspicion of light leak (top left corner; not sure how well it will show up at this low resolution). It might be just flare.

04670023_1_.jpg


I really liked this bike, but was a bit surprised that it is so hard to read the text on the logo. Of course, it's quite possible that I had the zone focus set wrong. That's part of the problem with delayed feedback!

04670033_1_.jpg


This was some of the tail-end runners in the Two Castles Run (Warwick Castle to Kenilworth Castle). Like nearly all shots from this set with sky in them, the sky is quite washed out, and I had to pull back on the highlights quite hard (in Aperture 3). Maybe HP5 is just too fast for the Trip on a moderately bright day? Of course, I don't keep good notes of conditions, so this is more of the problem of delayed feedback!

I get the feeling that the Trip really needs a yellow filter for outdoors black and white use. I've seen a couple of UV filters on the interlubes, at or more than I paid for the camera, but I haven't seen any other kind with that filter size (43.5 mm). Any pointers to what to do better?

I'm tempted to try a roll of XP2 that's sitting in the drawer, so that I can use my usual processor. But it's ISO 400 too. Are there any C41 slower BW films?
 
The 43.5 thing is a little annoying, and i don't even have a trip! I went for the 35rc, similar, but worlds apart. I managed to find an orange filter on the bay for around a tenner, not devved anything taken through it but just spent three days in London and burned four rolls of tri x, two with the orange filter. My experience with tri x pushed (i punched it to 800) is its quite high contrast, will have to see when i manage to dev them. I did read somewhere that there is a way of hacking 44mm filters to fit, something to do with the difference between the thread pitch used then as opposed to now.
 
The only C-41 B&W films are all ISO 400 (Kodak BW400CN, Fuji 400CN, Ilford Super XP2 400), so you'll need to go for "real" black and white films to get lower, you can get everything from ISO 25 to 3200 in normal B&W.

With the text on the bike if it's in focus it might be that the colours on the logo were of a similar tonal value and blended together.
 
medwaygreen said:
You can have a step up ring made 43.5mm to say 49mm much more standard and get all the filter you need for a fraction of the cost you have just paid.

See here.

http://www.srb-griturn.com/made-to-order-245-c.asp
Click to expand...

It looks like a custom step-up ring is £40, and I've seen suggestions they are more visible in the viewfinder, so I think I'll stick with the yellow 43.5 filter I just ordered from tripman (not cheap, but I trust him)! I don't expect to be buying any others.
 
Hmm I've just finished a roll of XP2 through my Trip 35. I think when the little red flag pops up it means the wrong exposure, yes? (Too dark and the shutter won't fire, too light and it will over-expose, from memory.) I reckon I got the little red flag around half the time in this film, even using the 43.5mm yellow filter. Perhaps using ISO 400 film in a Trip in summer is not such a great idea?

I guess I'll have to wait until the film comes back to find out.
 
The Trip has two shutter speeds, 1/40th and 1/200th and each of those is limited to a set of apertures in auto mode.
Actually if you want to see how the Trip 35 auto mode works then check out this image of the program graph for it.
As you can see the red flag will pop up if the exposure is below EV8 or over EV17, if you mostly shoot inside then ISO400 is fine, outside i'd stick to 100 or 200.
 
I picked one up recently but haven't had time to use it. What is "zone focussing" as mentioned earlier in the thread ?

Thanks, Chris.
 
juancarlos66 said:
I picked one up recently but haven't had time to use it. What is "zone focussing" as mentioned earlier in the thread?
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The Trip is set up with 4 focus zones, depicted with the little icons on the lens barrel, ranging from "mountains" at infinity to "single head" at about 3 feet. There's a corresponding distance scale on the bottom of the lens, showing both feet and metres (on mine, anyway). I think the idea of zone focusing is that you select an appropriate position (zone) for the type of shooting you're doing, eg infinity for landscapes, maybe the "group" setting in the street, and let depth of field do the rest.

Please correct me if I'm wrong!
 
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