Life in Half Frame: Olympus Pen EE

Shooting with a half frame camera always intrigued me for the same reasons it intrigues everyone. Half frame cameras shoot 1/2 of the normal 35mm exposure. This means a roll of 35mm film with 36 exposures can now take 72 exposures once loaded into a half frame camera – doubling the amount of photographs you can take. It’s a budget friendly way to shoot film, and camera brands in the 1960s and 1970s wouldn’t let you forget it. Half frame cameras allowed you to make twice the amount of memories, and could fit in the palm of your hand too.

60 years after these cameras were introduced to the market, used models are still moving around rapidly on eBay and in camera stores. Most of these are being sold for the same price tag as they were once sold brand new.

Do you think the executives and designers at Olympus or Canon thought these half frame cameras would still be highly desired, post-digital era? I bet they did, but nobody believed them.

One of the most famous camera designers in the film era was Yoshihisa Maitani, and he worked exclusively for Olympus during the 1950s. During his time with the company he designed iconic cameras like the Olympus OM-1, the Olympus XA, and the very first half frame camera that Olympus released – the Olympus Pen.

The very first Olympus Pen that Maitani designed was introduced in 1959. It was successful enough for the company to introduce multiple models to the market in the subsequent years – each boasting its own unique capabilities and differences. Some allowed more creative control over ASA/shutter speed/aperture, and some were more point and shoot capable. People were buying these cameras like crazy – so Olympus made adjustments for each market segment to have their own camera. The Olympus Pen that I picked up on eBay is the best of both worlds.

The Olympus Pen EE (Electric Eye) was released in 1961 – and still is considered one of the more famous models of them all. Firstly, the aesthetic of the Pen EE is unlike any other film camera I’ve ever seen. The small form factor of this camera (and every other Pen model) is usually the most focused on physical feature of the camera. Fun fact, this camera was named “Pen” because it is supposed to fit in the pocket of you shirt’s pen pocket.

Aside from the compact nature of this camera, the real reason I think it is beautiful has to do with the leatherette attached to the camera. It has a really nice light olive green and gray tint to it – with square perforations to ensure a good grip for the photographer’s comfort.

The Pen EE is a fully automatic camera with fixed focusing – powered by a selenium light meter. As you may or may not know already, selenium is a compound that expires after a number of years. If you’re lucky like me though, you will find one with a working selenium cell.

With a 28mm f/3.5 lens, the camera operates at a single shutter speed of 1/60 second. On the barrel of the lens, you have the ability to set your desired ASA (film speed). Once your ASA is set, the camera will automatically decide on an aperture based on the amount of light that the selenium cell is reading. Literally all you have to do is point, and shoot.

If you want to feel like you have a tiny bit of creative control over your photos with the Olympus Pen EE, you can use a manual aperture setting which is also on the barrel of the lens. The interesting part about this, is that if you want to set a manual aperture, the camera might not know what your preferred ASA is (because both settings are on the same barrel of the lens). This is the only aspect of this camera that I think is a little weird, but it has always been pleasant shooting.

This is a perfect camera to document everyday life with. This isn’t the camera you pull out when you want incredibly crisp and well thought out photographs – this is a camera for impulsive, in the moment photographs that you are lucky enough to capture because you can fit a film camera into your jeans or shorts pocket.

As a collector I am excited to eventually acquire more models of the Olympus Pen, but for now, I’ve really loved shooting on this version of the tiny camera. The half frame is an amazing concept, and allows photographers to double what they want to document. Enjoy some photographs I have made with my Olympus Pen EE below.