Olympus 35RC and lens sharpness

[Russ]

I love my RC but now it is getting or has surpassed the 100 roll mark which according to Roger Hicks is about the life of one of these. Roger was probably doing a tongue in cheek, but little hints of impending doom are starting to crop up.

What are these hints of impending doom?

Russ

 

[CameraQuest]

I love my RC but now it is getting or has surpassed the 100 roll mark which according to Roger Hicks is about the life of one of these. Roger was probably doing a tongue in cheek, but little hints of impending doom are starting to crop up.

Roger has a good sense of humor.

The RC is a great camera, capable of 2000 rolls or more providing its kept in a good state of repair. Any problems you are having with it now are age, not the quality of the camera.

Once upon a time I went to hear one of my photo heroes talk at the Santa Monica Civic Center, no less than Peter Gowland.
Offhandedly he commented he was amazed and delighted with the pics he got from his little Olympus RC.
I bought a RC the next day, and Peter was right!

Stephen

 

[charjohncarter]

What are these hints of impending doom?

Russ

Right now my biggest worry is about five frames each roll when using "A" have either a shutter or an aperture leaf that is lazy. Prior to that a light leak that was repaired by Rick Oleson (when he was still doing RC) he also did a great job on the CLA (loose focus ring, unglued frame counter, and a RF that was out). Here is a frame to show the lazy part (lower right):


TriX HC-110h by John Carter, on Flickr

I have to agree with Peter Gowland (I also think he was a great), I use my RC all the time. I still pre-measure the aperture with the meter and set it manually on important shots.

 

[retinax]

Right now my biggest worry is about five frames each roll when using "A" have either a shutter or an aperture leaf that is lazy. Prior to that a light leak that was repaired by Rick Oleson (when he was still doing RC) he also did a great job on the CLA (loose focus ring, unglued frame counter, and a RF that was out). Here is a frame to show the lazy part (lower right):


TriX HC-110h by John Carter, on Flickr

I have to agree with Peter Gowland (I also think he was a great), I use my RC all the time. I still pre-measure the aperture with the meter and set it manually on important shots.

Aren't edges of that brighter area too sharp to be caused by the shutter or aperture that are a bit away from the film? Could it be a development issue?

P.S.: Or a strange flare or ghost, the aperture is rectangular after all?

 

[charjohncarter]

Aren't edges of that brighter area too sharp to be caused by the shutter or aperture that are a bit away from the film? Could it be a development issue?

P.S.: Or a strange flare or ghost, the aperture is rectangular after all?

Definitely not a development issue, I've thought and thought but I can't figure it out. I found someone else that had the same (exact) problem with an RC. He did the smart thing and got rid of it. I also thought about flare but haven't come up with anything repeatable. Thanks for your input, I agree it looks too sharp for a leaf.

 

[dourbalistar]

I hope mine doesn't develop any gremlins, because I love this little camera.

Olympus 35 RC, Kodak 400TX.


2018.01.19 Roll #138-01729-positive.jpg by dourbalistar, on Flickr

 

[Ste_S]

Luckily got given one these, and they're dinky aren't they? Roughly the size of a Trip 35 but with manual controls.

Initially I thought the meter/shutter priority mode was broken, but actually appears to be fine. Half press on shutter appears to be an exposure lock, is that correct?

Looking forward to seeing results from this camera.

 

[charjohncarter]

I've into almost my 20th year since a CLA on my RC. I still have the whatever problem I talked about above when I use 'A' mode. But in full manual it is perfect. So I use 'A' mode sometimes for f-stop and then manually set the f stop in manual mode. I also have a VCII meter that I can set in the hot shoe so I still use the RC but not in 'A' mode.

It is so nice on a day trip and even a longer trip to have such a small camera. Now it is a substitute for my IIIf. Another very nice feature is synch to 1/500 so outdoor fill flash is simple. After I got use to the VCII meter I'm just about as quick as the auto mode.

Out on a long walk in a rough area: perfect for the RC:

Trix at 200 HC-110h by John Carter, on Flickr

EDIT: my mistake that CLA was 10 years ago.

 

[fototaco]

RC sharp

RC sharp

Store blåmann by disco ress, on Flickr

Skog by disco ress, on Flickr

Want but can't afford a Leica M2, then it's nice to know the RC is more then good enough and stop the gear chase

 

[Darinwc]

I have used the 35RC a few times. I have always found the lens sharp and contrasty. I think it is the most usable of the small fixed lens rangefinders.



Here is an example with expired kodak gold and mediocre lab scan.
And the 2nd image is a small cropped portion.
You can clearly read the Vespa racing decal.

What more could you ask for?