The etxt of the article in 35mm Photographer is copied below (there mayt be
one or two minor errors).
David
The present reputation of Olympus Optical Co. of Tokyo for small,
innovative sir cameras, from the legendary OMI to the present 0M4Ti and
0M3Ti was founded upon the unique Pen F half frame sir series and to a
lesser extent, the half and full frame direct vision 35mm cameras, such as
the 35 RC here described, whilst the excellence of their tenses can be
attributed to the expertise of their microscope division.
A reassuringly solid little camera, and described in the 1971 Wallace
Heaton Blue Book as a 'fine and versatile camera', the 35 R(, was priced at
£53.50, plus £2.76 for a case. By 1980 the price had risen to £111.50,
including case. Vaguely reminiscent of a down-scaled Leica M2 it can still
give many modern 'compacts' a run for their money, in terms of size and
functions offered, whilst it would take one of the better fixed lens
compacts to equal its optical performance.
>From left to right, the film counter, shutter button, shutter speed dial,
hot shoe and rewind lever sit atop the body, attractively finished in satin
chrome and leatherette. One of the big appeals of this camera was the
shutter dial in place of the usual rim-setting round the lens. On the
front face, from also from left to right are the d/a lever, the matte,
ridged window for illuminating the suspended frame finder, in which is the
little window for the coupled rangefinder, the offset viewfinder lens. The
short-based rangefinder is adequate for all practical purposes.
The viewfinder shows shutter speeds along its top edge by means of a
pointer coupled to the shutter speed dial. Apertures appear along the
bottom edge, with a red box to the left indicating incorrect exposure. At
the top left is the traditional mark to allow for parallax when focusing at
shorter ranges. In the centre is the coincidence image rangefinder spot,
operated by the focusing ring.
The outer ring of the lens mount is threaded for 43.5mm filters, and
because all filters are in front of the CdS metering cell, this should,
within its spectral response, modify film speed in accordance with the
factor of the filter used. However, as CdS cells are more sensitive to red
light than commonly used black and white films, accurate exposure when
using orange and (especially) red filters can not be taken for granted; to
ensure adequate shadow details the next slower film speed should be set.
Opposite the CdS cell, under a little window, is the film speed scale, This
runs from 24 ASA to 800 ASA, film speeds being set by turning the serrated
ring around the lens to progressively cover,/ uncover the CdS cell, by a
series of apertures, decreasing in diameter as you change film speed.
The metering circuit is powered by the obsolescent PX 625 cell, for which
Paterson now offer the American WeinCell replacement. To check the battery
remove the lens cap, set 'A on the aperture ring and point the camera at a
bright light; if all is well, the shutter will fire. With 'A set on this
ring, if there is insufficient light the pointer moves into the red sector
and the shutter button is inhibited. it is also inhibited at 'Off', which
also prevents battery drain.
The shutter speeds double up from 1/15th to 1/500th, along with B.
Electronic flash can be used at all speeds, bulbs at 1/30th, picked out in
red. Flash synchronisation is via the hot shoe or a PC terminal. The
shutter blades operate behind the five element f2.8 lens with the somewhat
unusual focal length of 42mm. Neither standard nor really 'wide angle,' it
is coupled to the rangefinder from 0.9 metres (3 feet).
The blades comprising the iris diaphragm are set by a ring closest to the
body and form a lozenge shaped aperture, calibrated in whole stops from f
2.8 to f 22; the latter is best avoided due to the dangers of diffraction,
exacerbated by the shape of the aperture. When the shutter is discharged
the blades do not stay at the set aperture; instead they close down to form
a very small aperture. First pressure on the shutter opens to make the
exposure.
The Flashmatic system operates on a predetermined guide number, dependent
on film speed and the light output of the flash in use. It is set on the
tens barrel by pressing in and moving back and forth a small lever, and
caters for guide numbers extending from 32 to 130 in feet, or 10 to 40 in
metres. When the aperture ring is set to the flash symbol, the iris
diaphragm compensates for varying flash/subject distances, by opening up as
the focused distance was increased, and closing down as it decreased. This
was a valuable feature in the 35 RCs early days, when 'computer' flash gun,
were uncommon, and TTL flash metering a mere pipedream. Current prices for
good 35 RCs range from around £50 to over £100.
- Harry, Kitchen
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