Olympus Pen EE-3
The Olympus - Pen EE-3 was introduced in 1973 as the continuation of the Olympus half-frame cameras. It replaced the Pen EE-2 and added more flash support. The Pen series of half-frame cameras were introduced in 1959. The EE series started in 1962 as the amateur level versions. The EE series had fixed lenses. The EE-3 had a long run until 1983 and was the end of the EE series. In 1981 there was an EF design with a built in flash but it was not the same camera.
In use the EE-3 is a simple camera with only a few tricks. It has fixed focus lens so anything from 5 feet to infinity is in focus. You use the lens ring to set the ISO (25-400) and the camera uses a selenium cell light meter to pick a shutter speed of 1/40th or 1/200th. If there is not sufficient light, you get a red flag that pops up in the viewfinder and the camera will not fire. You can shoot in “Manual” by setting the lens ring to a specific f-stop from 3.5 to 22. In manual, you override the red flag and the camera will let you take the picture, but you have been warned. There is also a 1 to 4 meter scale on the lens ring to set the flash distance. All this and film stingy, half-frame goodness in a very pocketable size.
My Take:
I actually picked up 2 examples at a swap meet not knowing if they worked. They were sold for next to nothing because they were “not working”. The obvious problem was they were both missing the shutter release button. Is there an underground/black-market for shutter release buttons, I don’t know about? Luckily, I have a son with a 3D printer. So if you look closely your can see that my copy has a black plastic release. Other than shutter release, one was working and one was not. But I don’t seem to get the red flag warning even when I should.
I love the size, which is perfect as a pocket camera. Almost nothing to get caught on a bag or pocket. Even the wheel-style film advance adds to the low profile.
Half-frame is a mixed bag for me. 72 shots is a big commitment for me so I try to find 24 or even 12 exposure rolls like the expired FujiColor Super HP 100, I used for this first test roll. It is not entirely fair to the camera to test it with expired film.
If you have one or find one in decent shape, shoot it. It is not the same level of quality as the Pen FT, which I previously reviewed, but it is still a fun, very approachable, and portable camera. Worth the roll of film.
Lens: Olympus D. Zuiko 28mm f2.8
Film: FujiColor Super HP 100 expired
