Olympus Trip 35 Hero Shot

I haven't been able to use my Olympus Trip 35 for over a year now just simply because I cannot find anywhere in Southern Sweden to process film. If anybody knows of a good lab please let me know, I really miss shooting my Trip... but at least I can shoot pictures of my Trip!

Here is a typical camera "hero" shot of my beautiful Olympus Trip 35 complete with authentic period Olympus Pen flash attached. The flash has a few small bits missing but that's ok, the pic looks great with it on. ;-)

Tahdah!

Oooooh! Aaaah! *Spontaneous applause*

"Why thank you, thank you very much!"

Agfa Isolette

I originally posted a little about this camera here: Girl with Agfa Isolette, but this time around I just got a better pic of the camera. More about it at the Camerapedia website, simply CLICK HERE.

Some time or the other I need to get all the ingredients to develop my own film and then I may have a stab at actually using it.

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G AF-S DX Micro, 80x80cm light tent, 2xElinchrom D-Lite-it 4's shot through their softboxes on either side of the tent.

Boy with Agfa Isolette

Same details as the previous photo posted below.

Girl with Agfa Isolette

I recently purchased a used but mint condition Agfa Isolette camera in a second hand store, the same one used in this portrait. When I get around to it I will post better pics of the camera, but first the details of this shot!

This was taken with a Nikon sb700 bounced into an umbrella camera right and about 45 degrees up and to the side of the model. Second light is a Nikon sb600 down, behind and left of model with a corn flakes box front cut to become a gobo to prevent light spill onto the back of the model but splash oodles of beautiful light onto the white wall behind her. It worked.

The lights were triggered by the popped up flash on my Nikon D90 via Nikons nifty CLS system. The pop up flash had the handy IR filter doodad that Nikon produces to keep light from the onboard flash influencing the lighting on the subject, but still allows the camera to communicate via IR signals with the off camera flashes.

Nikon D90, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D "nifty fifty", ISO200, 1/60s, f8.0, hand held, one sb700 Speedlight and one sb600 Speedlight, processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.

Olympus Trip 35 Cult

I just discovered that a particularly addictive cult exists in the world today that seems to be grabbing thousands of unsuspecting and innocent people and turning them into retro photographers. It is the cult of the Olympus Trip 35.
I was quite innocently lured into this seedy cult this week when I unknowingly purchased an Olympus Trip 35 at a local antique store this week for the incredible price of R30 ($3.90) and I confess that I am hooked!

I am not really sure what it is, but it just feels right in the hand, a small solidly built piece of craftsmanship that simply oozes simplicity. It has a nifty 40mm f2.8 Zuiko lens that is reported to be quite sharp and, judging by the photos I Googled, is quite capable of outperforming some of the more modern pieces of kit out there. Excuse me as I wipe the beads of sweat from my palms...

Judging by the low serial number, mine was manufactured some time in the 60's. I will be able to get the exact date when I get the film out and can look under the pressure plate. I discovered this fact here. I was so eager to get film in and start shooting that I didn't find this out until today when I looked it up on line. Holy smokes, that means this camera is almost as old as I am!

When I finish my roll of film I will scan the results and post them for your viewing pleasure.

You can buy them reconditioned here: Trip Man
Ken Rockwell has a nice little review here: Ken Rockwell Trip 35
Camerapedia lists it here: Trip 35
A blog for it exists here: Olympus Trip 35
You can find a manual here: Trip 35 Manual

The manual is a very reasonable 12 pages instead of the volumes you need to read before you turn on your new dslr.

Please be advised that this cult is extremely addictive and will probably get you too if you don't exercise some restraint and take suitable precautions... or you can just jump right in and smile insanely, yet smugly, like the rest of us!