Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: [OM] Olympus FTL

Subject: Re: [OM] Olympus FTL
From: Gary Schloss <schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 17:59:23 -0800
Wayne Harridge wrote:

>I haven't seen much (any ?) discussion on this list about the Olympus FTL.
>Are these cameras collectable ?  What prompted the query was that I saw an
>example with 50mm f1.8 lens at a pawn shop for $AU300, which seemed quite
>a high price for a relatively old screw mount camera.


Yes, the FTL system (camera/lenses/accessories) is quite collectible.
It was in production for less than a year (1971), and as a result is
quite scarce.  The FTL is a needle match, open aperture TTL metering,
full-frame, screw-mount (M42) SLR.  In fact, it was the first japanese
M42 camera to offer open aperture metering -- at least a year before
Asahi, and two years before Fuji or Mamiya.  Btw, THE first camera
in the world with M42 mount and open aperture metering was the short
lived East German Pentacon Super, which came (and went!) in 1966.

Only 6 Zuiko/FTL lenses were ever made: 28/f3.5, 35/f2.8, 50/f1.4,
50/f1.8, 135/f3.5, and 200/f4.  All 6 were terrific, and were later
reincarnated as OM lenses.  There was also a slew of accessories:
bellows, slide copier, etc. In my experience, Zuiko/FTL lenses are
harder to come by than bodies.

In many ways, the FTL design is a bridge between the Pen F/FT which
preceeded it, and the OM system that followed.  The Zuiko/FTL lenses
look like Pen F/FT lenses on steroids, and many features closely
resemble those we are all so familiar with: DOF preview on the lens,
ON/OFF switch next to rewind crank, bright VF, clean and uncluttered
controls layout, VERY quiet horizontal cloth shutter, etc.

Ivor Matanle in his well-researched book on collecting classic SLR's,
has nothing but praise for the Olympus FTL and its lenses.  Sadly,
Mr. Matanle is also less than coplimentary on the OM system, and so
many on this list feel compelled to dismiss his opinions.  However,
I must agree with him about the FTL: it is one fine shooter, which,
unfortunately, will be more valued for its collectibility than its
virtues as a fine, user-friendly SLR.


William Sommerwerck wrote:

>The FTL is collectible -- if you like collecting cameras that flopped
>commercially.  The FTL was the only real dud among Olympus cameras.

Hmm, I wonder whether Herr Sommerwerck has ever heard of OM/AF cameras,
e.g. the highly "successful" OM-77 and OM-88.  As missteps go, may I
suggest that the FTL certainly wasn't the worst.  At least, after
the flopped FTL, OLY had a "second act".  I wish I could make the
same statement about the aftermath of the OM/AF fiasco...

>It had a screw-thread mount with a stop pin that positioned the lens
>at the same position every time the lens was mounted. This allowed
>full-aperture exposure readings. (At that time, most screw-thread
>cameras required stop-down readings.)  Whoop-de-doo.

Well, it WAS a big deal at the time, esp. since the M42 screw mount
was by far the most popular, widely used, and the only "universal"
(i.e. shared by many manufacturers) lens mount in 35mm SLRs.

>The FTL failed miserably. It was, unlike virtually everything else
>that came from Olympus before or after, a "me-too" camera that
>showed no imagination or innovation.

Well, I disagree with the "me-too" label, though the FTL is clearly
no match to OM-1's revolutionary zeal.  IMHO, the major mistake OLY
made with the FTL was their failure to include a DOF lever on the
body.  At the time, Olympus clearly lacked the resources necessary
to develop a full complement of Zuiko/FTL lenses.  Yet, by omitting
the DOF lever from the FTL body OLY made it difficult for its owners
to conveniently use the huge variety of non-OLY screw mount lenses
in stopdown mode.  This was a monumentally stupid move.

Cheers,


/Gary Schloss.
Studio City, CA
schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz