Olympus 35 ECR- One Roll Review

Just when I think I have seen most of the small Olympus 35 series cameras, I run into one that's new to me.  I recently came across an Olympus 35 ECR, which is a pretty small rangefinder camera. Not zone-focus, like an Olympus Trip, but a real RF camera, but with absolutely no manual exposure control.  Apparently, this is a rangefinder version of the Olympus 35EC, which was a zone-focus camera with similar features.  The 35 ECR was introduced in 1972, and is a very compact camera for its time.  Olympus was no stranger to producing compact 35mm cameras, especially since they dominated the half-frame market with their series of PEN cameras.  You can download a manual from the Butkus site.

The front of the  35 ECR 

The first thing that I noticed about this camera was its compact size of 11cm x 7cm x 5cm.  Being all-metal, it weighs 430 grams without a roll of film. Pretty heavy for such a small camera. Like most cameras in its class, it has a 42mm f/2.8 lens - neither really wide nor really fast, but actually, perfect for a camera of this sort.  ASA settings are 25-800 (not bad), and the CdS light sensor is located within the front of the lens barrel, so if you use a filter, it will automatically compensate. The downside of this camera is that it originally required two 1.4V RM-640 mercury cells to operate.  I used two 1.5V A 640 Alkaline cells, so the exposure might be a bit off. I have to say, that the battery compartment is pretty robust, taking up a significant portion of the bottom plate of the camera. The rewind lever is also located on the bottom, and the tripod socket on the L side, making for a busy bottom plate, while the top plate is very minimalist. The film advance is a thumbwheel on the back.

The bottom plate is pretty busy.

I happened to have an Olympus lens hood that fits many of the Olympus 35 series cameras, so I attached it before I went out to shoot with it.  I loaded a roll of Ilford XP-2, and shot the roll on one afternoon at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.  

Using this camera is pretty simple - just focus and shoot.  A small LED lights up to tell you that the battery has enough power to operate the camera, and if it stays on longer as you press the shutter, it means that it is in a low light situation.  There is a lever on the front that looks like a self-timer, but it is not - it's a shutter lock that probably also prevents the 2 alkaline cells from running down when not in use. The shutter is so quiet, that you may not even know that it fired.  Shutter speeds by the way, range from 4 sec to 1/800 sec, and the shutter speed/aperture (f/2.8 - f/13) is automatically set by the camera.  I would prefer that a camera have at least some bit if manual exposure control - either shutter priority or aperture priority, and this one is totally automatic.  If you are looking for that, the 35ECR will certainly be a camera to consider.

I developed the XP-2 in D-76 - yeah, I know that XP-2 is a chromogenic  C-41 film, but it does very well in traditional black and white chemistry. I felt that there was underexposure in all of the frames, but the camera did focus well.  Perhaps setting the ISO to 200 instead of 400 because of the alkaline cells would fix the underexposure.

I don't know how common this model is, but it's the first one that I have seen.  If I was looking for a compact Olympus 35 model, I'd probably go with the 35RC, just because it can be used with or without batteries, and everything is fully manual.    

A few examples from the roll of XP-2. All required some post-work to adjust the brightness.

Of course, the 42mm f/2.8 lens is sharp, and all of the images were perfectly focused.  I think that if I had compensated for the alkaline cells by setting the ISO to 200 instead of 400, it would have resulted in proper exposure.  

The Minolta Hi-Matic G (Gee, it worked!)

I have a love-hate relationship with those 1970’s 35mm rangefinder and compact zone-focus cameras. Far too many of them to keep track of, and far too many that took Mercury cells or some odd-ball battery that I can’t find, and far too many of them that now, don’t work.  On the plus side, they are usually sturdy little metal boxes, attractive, and easy to use. Over the years, I have had Minolta  RFs land in my lap, and a few, such as a Minolta 7s worked quite well, but I didn’t fall in love with it.  I had a Hi-matic G in 2005, but it had exposure issues.   The worst aspect of the Hi-Matic series (with one exception) is the auto-exposure with no manual capability.  In regards to the Hi-Matic G, it’s not an especially singular camera, and is a middle of the road auto-exposure compact RF camera with a zone/scale focus, with the following features:

• Rokkor 38mm f/1:2.8 lens with 46mm filter thread, f/2.8-f/14 aperture 
• Zone & Scale focus with symbols and numbers 
• CdS meter in lens bezel, so you can use filters and expose correctly 
• ISO range : 25-400 
• Shutter: 1/30-1/650 
• Battery : PX675 (I used a standard S76 cell, and with negative films, it should be just fine). 
• Viewfinder shows shutter speed/aperture on right side. 
• Hotshoe and PC connector for flash 
• standard 1/4-20 tripod thread

The ISO range is a limiting feature, but given the time when these cameras were made, entirely proper for the audience they were being sold to.   Not having a B setting is also limiting.   There is not really much to distinguish it from a slew of other compact 35mm cameras of its time.  The Konica C-35 has similar specs, but has a real rangefinder, not scale focus.  The Sears 35RF is similar. As much as I want to like the Hi-Matic G, the Hi-Matic 7SII (quite different from the 7S!) is the camera of the Hi-Matic series that should be on your list (and eBay prices are high).   The Ricoh 500G is another compact, yet robust RF camera, with reasonable prices on the used market. It too, is fully adjustable in manual mode. The Canonet QL-17 is not much larger, and certainly a better camera than the Hi-Matic G.

I tested the camera with such a S76 cell, and a roll of Svema 100 b&w - my cheap go-to film for testing.  Overall, I feel the camera works well, and it passed the test to be a pocket companion.  

Sharp and Silent - The Ricoh 500G

There are some camera form factors that are appealing, and despite there being "better" options, many of the  1970s 35 mm compact range-finder cameras are really quite good, and especially the models produced by Riken Optical in Japan, better known by the name Ricoh.  I was first turned onto the compact RF cameras by Steven Gandy's Camera Quest pages.  He's done all the home work, so take a look at his information. Over the years I have owned/used a variety of compact RF cameras, ranging from the Rollei 35 to the Canon QL17.  When you go compact, there are compromises that have to be made.  In the case of the Rollei, it's really a guess-focus camera, but the lens quality and build is superb.  The Canon QL17 is a great compact rangefinder, so long as the electronics work.  Otherwise, it's a doorstop.  In between are Olympus models,  such as the Olympus RC and SP, which are very well-made, have excellent optics, and are very classic in their styling.  There are also the very compact Konica C35, the highly-regarded Konica Auto S3, and the Ricoh 500G and 500GX cameras.  The Chinon 35EE is very similar to the Ricoh 500G, and whether it's because of shared manufacturing, copying, or other reasons, there has always seemed to be similar models of Ricoh and Chinon cameras, as well as Cosina, with their Compact 35E.  I'll leave those for the reader to look up, as chasing the information online is a lot of fun.

I have owned a Konica C35, and I feel it's one of those under-rated cameras that produce better images than they should.  Most of the models listed here have 38-42 mm lenses with a maximum aperture of f/2.8. B, and a maximum shutter speed of 1/500 sec.  No built-in flash, but the do have a hot shoe, and flash sync at most speeds.  A few even have a pc socket for flash.  My perfect "camera" has either shutter or aperture priority with manual over-ride, a decent rangefinder, self-timer, cable-release socket, tripod socket, and B mode.  The camera that fits that specification is the Ricoh 500G.

The Ricoh 500G dates from 1971-75, and features the typical CdS exposure metering in the rim around the lens, which enables the use of filters and accurate metering.  The camera focuses from just under a meter to infinity, so yes, it can do portraits. It has a 40mm f/2.8 Rikenon lens, shutter speeds from B, and 1/8 to 1/500 sec.  It can be shutter priority exposure or completely manual (and an M shows in the viewfinder). Aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/16, and can be manually set or chosen by the camera under "A" mode.    The front filter ring takes 46 mm filters. It operates VERY quietly, as one would expect from a non-motorized manual RF from the 1970s.  I happened to have a case of GAS a few years ago (no, it's not the only time!) and after seeing an all-black 500G, I found one on eBay that was at a decent price (The chrome model is more common).  I had to redo all of the foam on the film door, but it was worth the effort, as the camera operates beautifully and I am happy with the images.   You can find these cameras on eBay for between $25-$75.

What is so great about these cameras is that they are well-made, metal-bodied, and have no quirks in operation.  I don't use my 500G a lot, but it has a place in my camera bag, and easily fits into a jacket pocket.

Here are a few images from the camera.

November, 2014 - Clinton, MI

Wall of money, Quickie Burger

I was sitting inside Quickie Burger. 

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