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Re: [OM] Olympus FTL info

Subject: Re: [OM] Olympus FTL info
From: Gary Schloss <schloss@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 23:20:34 -0800
(Again, my apologies to all for reviving this "ancient history".  I'm
slowly catching up with the OLY list digests.)


On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, Charlie Stricklen <charlie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> In addition to my OM gear [...], my most treasured (if least used)
> camera is my Olympus FTL purchased new in 1971 (even then I had to have
> every lens available for it--Zuiko 35/2.8, 50/1.4, 135/3.5, 200/4).

Well, there were two more lenses: Zuiko 50/1.8 and 28/3.5, as well as
a slew of accessories, so pls roll up your sleeves and get back to
work -- your FTL collection is incomplete! :-) :-)

> I understand the FTL was marketed for only about a
> year or so before the introduction of the OM System. Some have said it
> may have been made by Minolta for Olympus.

It's somewhat unclear who built the FTL bodies for Olympus.  The rumors
hover between Minolta and Mamiya.  One thing _is_ clear: all six lenses
are definitely Olympus.  Indeed, they look very much like proportionately
enlarged versions of the Pen FT lenses, and all six were later released
as OM lenses.

In any case, the FTL (FT Large?) was not merely a "me too" screw-mount
SLR by Olympus.  In fact, it was an innovative camera -- the first ever
screw-mount SLR capable of full-aperture metering implemented via a
mechanical lens to camera coupling.  (Praktica did the same trick in
1969 -- via an electical coupling, but due to East Germans' lousy
electronics the damn thing never worked reliably.)

> [My FTL] has always taken wonderful pictures. It still works fine after
> all these years, but there must be some nasty stuff going on inside.

The FTL's Achilles heel is its lens coupling mechanism which tends to
stick due to poor lubrication and a weak spring.   As to the quality
of picts, pls see my above comment re: FTL lenses.  IMHO, the FTL
really deserves more recognition than it has gotten so far.


On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, "k.matsumoto" <GHA02260@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Someone said [the FTL] looks like an incomplete copy of Pentax SP.

Not true!  The FTL is more advanced than the Spotmatic SP, and in
a way -- even more sophisticated than the Spotmatic F which came out
two years _after_ the FTL.


On Wed, 18 Oct 2000, Andrew Fildes <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Incomplete in what sense?  I'm just off to tell my beloved black SP
> that I can get Zuiko lenses for him! (200/4 screw mount?! Yum)

Yup, that will work, but do not attempt to mount SMC Takumar lenses
on an FTL body, or you may cause mechanical damage to the camera.

Cheers,




/Gary Schloss.
schloss@xxxxxxxxxxx
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA




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