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Lens
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Username: Lens

Post Number: 2
Registered: 04-2008

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Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 - 05:49 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Hi all, i can't find my old thread. it seems disappeared.

anyway, i post a question about olympus pen half frame camera.

I got this half frame olympus pen f, but the viewfinder is dim..not bright and you can see pattern of peeling or corrosion, i wonder it is the mirror corroded? is it easy to repair?

and the self timer is not there too, it used a 'small arm' self timer that looks similar to olympus RC(not sure of model), do you guys know which olympus camera model that share the same self timer arm? it is hard to find a parts for olympus pen F.

hope to get some answers from this 2 questions. thanks!
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Rlc
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Username: Rlc

Post Number: 103
Registered: 07-2006

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Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 2010 - 07:47 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

HI Lens; I believe that only two models share the arm you are describing. The FT and the FV.
The Pen EED has a self timer arm but it is different than the FT and FV.
Hope this helps.
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Monopix
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Username: Monopix

Post Number: 147
Registered: 11-2008

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Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 - 01:55 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

The FT was known for it's dim viewfinder - due to the semi silvering to allow for light to reach the meter. I suspect what you are seeing is normal.
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Rlc
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Username: Rlc

Post Number: 104
Registered: 07-2006

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Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 - 04:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

While on the Pen FT subject...My self timer is inoperative. The arm just flips around. Some heavy hand has probably damaged it. The arm must be removed to remove the camera top to try to repair. I have been advised that the center button on the arm must be unscrewed but all attempts have been futile. Any ideas from somebody who has been there and done that???
Thanks for any help.
RLC
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Olympfix
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Username: Olympfix

Post Number: 30
Registered: 05-2009

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Posted on Friday, August 06, 2010 - 05:36 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

Cover of self timer is conventional thread- I use a rubber door stopper and just press and screw anticlockwise- sometimes a very obstinate screw has to be attacked gingerly with a grip tool of some sort.. perhaps be prepared to mar the surface a little-- -BUT the s\t lever is held by a LEFT HAND screw.
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Lens
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Username: Lens

Post Number: 3
Registered: 04-2008

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Posted on Saturday, August 07, 2010 - 10:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

so the self timer is not the same as the olympus RC?
http://www.mattdentonphoto.com/cameras/olympus_35rc.html

http://www.taunusreiter.de/Cameras/Olympus_PenF.html

as for the dim viewfinder, it is dim and i saw some kind of stains pattern that look like a corrosion of old mirror, so i wonder is it just the mirror inside? a repairman said it is the prism. But i thought the prism is glass element that should not have problem.
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Monopix
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Username: Monopix

Post Number: 148
Registered: 11-2008

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Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2010 - 02:58 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

I would have thought any problems with either the mirrors or the prisms wouldn't be seen as they are out of focus. If you can see a distinct pattern, it has to be on the focus screen. Sounds like someone has tried to clean the screen and left some marks on it.
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Thuggins
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Username: Thuggins

Post Number: 38
Registered: 12-2007

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Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2010 - 04:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only) Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only)

As others have pointed out, if it is a Pen SLR it is either an FT or FV - the model name is stamped on the top. Although the FT has a "reputation" for a dim viewfinder, that's a reputation found more in the telling than the fact. There is no noticeable difference in the viewfinders of my FT and FV.

However, the optical path can get pretty dirty. Perhaps due to the unique arrangement of the mirror and prism. The OM-1 has a problem with the silvering on the prism being eaten away when the foam dissolves, but I've never seen this on a Pen. If the meter works (assuming it is an FT), or in any case if it is an FV, it would be worth having professionally looked over.

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