MAKE MINE A HALF

From Eric Dugdale

Part 2 "THE MAGNIFICENT HALF"

WHAT TO LOOK FOR, AND LOOK OUT FOR, WHEN BUYING HALF FRAME CAMERAS

In the last CRC NEWS I gave an outline n Half Frame photography. This time I will try to give some details of Half Frame cameras. This is my own personal view about the equipment and is not necessarily the opinion of other half frame enthusiasts.

Half Frame cameras are still being made in Germany and the U.S.A., but as far as I know, are not exported outside these countries. The biggest exporter of half frame cameras was, without doubt, Japan, and the Olympus company was without any doubt in the forefront with 21 Pen cameras on the market. Most of these little gems are still going strong today and giving good service. The most popular are the Pen EE2 and Pen EE3. These can be bought secondhand for about £30, with a soft purse. You can add a few pounds if there is an instruction book and a few more if accompanied with the original box.

To test a Pen, first open the camera back, wind on, and press the shutter. You should see the shutter open and close while you look through the back. Next, set the ASA setting to 400ASA, wind on, hold the camera up to a strong light, press the shutter again. The shutter should open very small and close. Next set the ASA to a lower setting, say about 20ASA, set and fire the shutter again. This time point the camera at a low light or shadow. The shutter should lock up and you should see a red flag in the viewfinder window. The shutter should should not fire. Discard a camera that does not pass this simple test.

When working, the Pen should give excellent results. Both the EE2 and EE3 have exceptionally sharp lenses. I have seen 16x12s from these little cameras. The EE3 is the better of the two because of the flash system settings with the Olympus PS200 flash gun (about £10 secondhand). Both the EE2 and the EE3 have a 28mm f/3.5 fixed focus lens. The EE stands for Electric Eye). The cameras come in black or grey leather cloth. - and a true collector will have both a black and a grey one. The cameras have two shutter speeds, and a flash hot shoe. With its fixed focus lens everything is in focus from five feet to infinity.

CANON DEMI EE 1.7

(This camera should not be confused with the Canon Demi with 28mm f/2.8 lens). This half frame camera has a f/1.7 30mm lens. The meter is from a CdS cell with ASA settings from 25 to 400ASA. The small lever to the side of the lens mount is for the self timer. The other side has the focus setting lever, and the focus can be viewed through the viewfinder. Also in the viewfinder can be seen the aperture which is set by the camera and depends on the shutter speed that the user sets. Shutter speeds are 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, and 1/500 second.

Watch out for the leather cloth lifting , and for cracks in the viewfinder glass and look out for corrosion on the battery contacts. Test by winding on and tripping the shutter while looking through the lens with the camera back open. Do this at different ASA settings. As you trip the shutter you should see the aperture alter from small to wide. Replacing the button cell (battery) can be a problem as these are being withdrawn from sale. You can still find them if you look around. This is a good 'un with results from a lens made by Canon, one of the better lens manufacturers around.

Almost forgot - the lens has a x2 and x4 setting lever for compensating for filters. How many cameras have this feature today? Price for one in good condition would be £45 to £60.

FUJICA HALF

This is larger than the Pen range but has ASA settings to only 200ASA. The Fujica Half has the refinement of a built-in self timer. The shutter speed and aperture are shown in the viewfinder, speeds are 1/30 to 1/300 sec. The Fujica half is focused by hand before the shot is taken. The lens is 28mm f/28.

The Fujica Half will give an evenly exposed set of shots through its very sharp lens. To test: wind on, press the shutter and you should see the needle deflect when you look through the viewfinder. Test the shutter also by opening the camera back and fire the shutter while looking through the lens.

Fujica also brought out Fujica Drive with a wind-up motor for automatic setting of the shutter and winding on the film. If you find one and the wind-up motor is working then it has just been repaired, and will soon need repairing again. The best way to test the Fujica Drive is to take it to the longest pier you can find and throw the camera in an easterly direction back to Japan. I have not come across one that works as it should, but I will keep looking. I live in hope.

Fred & Stephen Marriott supply a multitude of secondhand cameras, including half frame. You can discover Eric's enthusiasm for the half frame by buying one from the Marriotts. If you are not on their mailing list for the monthly catalogue, listing 28 pages of secondhand cameras etc. then contact them at 28. The Colonnade, Piece Hall, Halifax, HX1 1RE.