The Olympus Trip 35 is a certified classic. Over 10 million sold, relatively cheap to buy 2nd hand(I got mine for £5/$10 on ebay), and with a absolutely cracking lens, you just can’t lose.
The Trip 35 was made famous in the 70’s by David Bailey declaring it the 2nd coming (the giant wads of cash Olympus gave him helped too, I’m sure).
The thing that makes the Trip 35 great is the lens. A 40mm f2.8 Zuiko affair, the quality far surpasses most other compact 35mm cameras of their time, and is up there with some 35mm SLR’s!
The Trip 35 is almost fully automatic. A selenium cell sits around the lens, taking in the light and computing shutter speed and aperture. You simply focus the camera, and shoot! Focusing is a ‘guess’ affair, with 4 settings: 1 person, 2 people, 3 people, mountain, which equates to 1m, 1.5m, 3m and infinity. You can also set the aperture manually if you are using the flash.
The automatic nature of the camera, coupled with the lightness and small size, means that the Trip is perfect for quick street photography. You can simply point and shoot. The meter does an admirable job at judging shutter speed and aperture, but struggles in areas with bright areas and strong shadows. It works best in bright open spaces. There are safeguards in place to warn you if your photo is going to be underexposed (i.e if the slowest shutter and largest aperture still isn’t good enough for the light available). A tiny red ‘tongue’ will pop up in the viewfinder before you take the photo, warning you it will be underexposed.
If you want to buy one, make sure you get the metal-bodied version, opposed to the cheaper plastic one. Also be aware there isn’t a Bulb mode, although you can mod the trip to have a shutter speed switch. Another thing to be aware of is to ensure the selenium cell is still working, otherwise the camera won’t be able to meter! Look for one that has been stored in a case, or with a lens cap on, as this should hopefully make the meter last a bit longer.
I ended up giving the Trip a baptism of fire at the final day of Paddys Market, in Glasgow. On the 15th May 2009, Paddys Market was finally closed by Glagow City Council.
Long seen a troublespot by the council, the market, housed in railway arches, sold junk for over 200 years. Originally set up by the immigrant Irish fleeing from the famine in their homeland, the market has long connections with crime. Drug dealers and counterfeit DVD & cigarette dealers blighting the market in recent years.
I managed to get down there(by accident!) on the final day. Emotions were running high, but most people were still friendly and welcoming. (self developed so exposures are a bit squiffy!)
Sellers on the street were still flogging their wares, but most stock had been cleared.
A group of storeholders discuss their future by the masses of clothes rails on the outskirts of the market.
By 2pm the market was almost cleared. The railway arches were lying almost empty, and piles of junk were being sifted through on the street.
Walking to the end of the market, there were massive piles of junk waiting to be collected. The gentleman on the bicycle explained,this time, the pile is bigger than he has ever seen it.
People continued to pick through the giant piles of junk waiting to be collected by the council.
Walking back through the market, the streets were getting quieter and quieter as the last few stalls were cleared.
The traders were loading the last of their stock into their van before the keys of the market are handed over to the council at 5pm.
Look Further
- Olympus Trip 35 Info website-www.olympus-trip.co.uk
- Batteries not Included article on the Trip
- Olympus/Zuiko article on the Trip
- Olympus Trip Shutter Speed Mod
- Olympus Trip 35 Flickr Group
Comments
Great shots Andrew. Real gritty documentary look to them.
Loving the advert as well (is that a young Phil Danials assisting?)
TC
Nice post! And some great shots of the market. The Trip is my favourite camera, I love it even more than my D80
I’ve got a Trip 35, it’s a great little camera. Really is a good portable alternative to a SLR.
David Bailey was right godammmittt. righhhhhhhht….
Be careful, if you let the secret out you may end up driving up the resale prices on those little gems. Try finding a Pen half frame these days.
Just viewed the small advertisement video you’ve included above. Nice. Makes me want one of these…
I enjoyed viewing these shots; thank you Andrew. I have digital and film SLR cameras but for street photography and general reportage the Trip is my favourite; it delivers too. The Trip’s small size and light weight means it’s always with me whilst my DSLR kit is often left at home.
Bought another recently with dark red leather; it’s a real eye catcher so people keep coming up to ask me about it and as a result some are now considering buying a Trip for themselves.
Long live the Trip and film.
Hi jean, thankyou very much for the kind words. I agree the trip is a great camera for street work, I can’t imagine faffing around with an SLR or a fully-manual rangefinder, when all you need to do on a trip is zone-focus!
The great thing about the trip is the growing community around it, as you have discovered. People are modding/decorating them, and flickr has a healthily active group. The future does look rosy for the trip
Talking of Olympus, thisi could be the first digital camera to tempt me for a while:
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/ga/ul/218008109931/inlineimg/Y/olympus_micro_four_third-thumb-450×337.jpg
Wonderful review! I was so impressed, I traced a cool UK company called tripman that sell original Olympus Trips totally renovated and pimped up in fake lizard skin! Bought one for 50 quid last week, and can’t wait to see the results from my first roll of film.