Last week I talked about the most beautiful camera ever. But what worth is a camera if it doesn’t deliver on it’s promises?
So I took my freshly dressed Olympus Trip 35 and loaded a cheap color film, some Fuji Superia 200. Yes, color again, though I think I won’t keep up that bad habit. All things taken into account, I prefer black and white!
I developed my film myself, color is only marginally more difficult than b&w to develop. You just have to watch those temperatures, and there I found a nice trick: A cheap aquarium heater!
So some quick scans later and here are the results. I’m not entirely happy with the film. Too many frames badly focused (my fault) and a very grainy emulsion made me chose just a handful of photos from this roll. Mind you, in black and white film grain does not bother me a lot, but in colour film I find it horrible…
As well, In b&w I tend to push contrast, crush my blacks and blow highlights – just my (bad) taste. With color film I prefer a much more ‘pure’ rendering, preferring to find the character of the film, of the specific emulsion. 
All in all, the camera is very fine, the lens keeps it’s promise, the light meter seems accurate within the capabilities of the camera and operation was very smooth!
For me, this camera is a keeper! Makes me want to go out and shoot, and that’s the most important in a camera! What good is the best camera when you never go out with it? Reminds me of my long gone digital Canons… they kept sleeping in a camera bag under my desk, never used, or rarely so.
This camera to the contrary, when I got the focus right (yeah, got to concentrate on that), made me smile. The results are pleasing, even beautiful for some photos.
Mind you, these are just quick scans I did with very hurried edits, just to get a feel for the results of this test roll. I guess the next film, that’s already loaded, will get a more careful treatment. And of course it’s an Ilford HP5 black and white film!
But for now let’s take a look at the last presentable frames from this roll:
This is the one I prefer, the only real keeper of this roll. Bold colours, strong shadows, puristic subject…. and not tweaked in Lightroom. Well just minimal sharpening and clarity.
I like it a lot!
Then there’s the obligatory letterbox…. gotta make a book out of those!
Thanks a lot for visiting!
Frank Lehnen Photography 
Good stuff Frank. I agree, I like the bold red windows image the best. Great shot!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve tweaked my curiosity again Frank. After commenting on your post about the trip 35 I’ve dropped a roll of Portra 400 into mine. I hope I get a shot as good as the least of these. Watch this space!
LikeLiked by 1 person
At the end of the day it’s whatever camera you feel comfortable for the various reasons and in the various ways and the one that suits your picture making style and the demands you require of it. Thereafter so many of them are capable of making good images depending on aesthetic choices in a given space and time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I always tended to say that whatever camera you have with you will do fine. But over time I noticed that some cameras, even in my pocket or bag did not make me use them like others did.
It’s a question of a more or less capable camera that you bond with and that you use and have fun using…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great read! Got mine because of your photos. Excited to run a roll of ektar on it. Keep em coming.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks
LikeLiked by 1 person
Frank, excellent shot and post!! Reminded me that I’ve got one of these beauties in my drawer. After seeing this, must use it again! Thanks 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
As they say: just do it! And enjoy!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some great shots there. I too love my Olympus Trip, and I too have had a few miss-focused shots down to user error.
In fact, many of my shots from it are poor, but that is all down to user error. I do love using it though, and since I take photos only for me, that is all that matters!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, I currently have an Olympus Pen EE but i’ve been eyeing the Olympus Trip too. Is it easy to use despite the zone focusing? I’m kind of scared to try out zone focus cameras. 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very easy! The focus zones are very intuitive to use and the settings are visible in the viewfinder. A bit of distance-guessing is quickly learned.
LikeLike
Do you think it’s still worth getting the Trip even if i have a Pen EE already? Trip is very pretty!!
LikeLike
Oh and how do you shoot with dim lighting? Is it still possible?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know the EE but it seems to have an equally great lens. I prefer the Trip as it just oozes quality and looks so stunning.
As for shooting in low light, of course the Trip’s meter will block the shutter BUT! You can turn the aperture ring off ‘A’ and then it will use it’s 1/40s speed and f:2.8. That might do for quite some low light situations with a faster film.
Not perfect but works….
LikeLike
Oh alright, thank you for that info. Makes me want to purchase the Trip even more now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
@tat,
You will feel liberated using the Trip 35, or I know I do. The plethora of settings on a digital camera today is just unecessary to take a good picture. Just how many of them do people use?
I have taken the simplicity too far though with my Trip 35, as I keep forgetting to change my focus from one of the four settings, despite as Frank says being able to see the scale through a small window in the viewfinder.
Hope to see some results on your website!
LikeLiked by 1 person