The Olympus Pen ee-3

artur ferreira · Jan 29, 2018

Comrades, I just bought a wornout Olympus Pen ee-3. I am sure it's a great camera, even though the one I've got is king of rusty in some specif parts, my guess is that it is a very old piece. Anyhow... I've been finding myself confronted by some specif problems; it's loaded, but it won't shot when the red flag is on. It's on from the 25 ASA to the 400 preset, (is that the ISO?). After that the red flag is off and it seems to be shotting perfectly. My concern is that in the configurations where the red flag is off, the pictures will come too dark (rembebering that it's from 4 to 35). Am I doing something wrong? Or the already used camera should be the problem? Furthermore, I can shot some pictures when the red flag is on by pressing the shotting button very strong and fast, which makes the camera bounce and when I do that, even though the flag would be appearing at that specif condition, it doesn't appear. I think it's because of the way I press the button.
Here there are some pictures of this "fine" piece: (the first one indicating the red flag, the preset was at 400)

Helios 1984 · Jan 29, 2018

Hi and welcome to APUG.

what type of film did you loaded in and are you trying to shoot indoor or outdoor?

artur ferreira · Jan 29, 2018

Helios 1984 said:
Hi and welcome to APUG.

what type of film did you loaded in and are you trying to shoot indoor or outdoor?

Hey! I loaded a Kodak ColorPlus 200, and I am trying to shoot both indoors and outdoors.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 29, 2018

Have you searched google for the instructions, and read them?
There's a good chance the selenium meter is inaccurate or non functional.

Helios 1984 · Jan 29, 2018

artur ferreira said:
Hey! I loaded a Kodak ColorPlus 200, and I am trying to shoot both indoors and outdoors.

Maybe you have a sticky aperture mechanism? It happens when these little guys haven't been used in a long time. Try to set the camera at 3.5 on the orange scale and see if the aperture opens completely when you press the release button.

artur ferreira · Jan 29, 2018

E. von Hoegh said:
Have you searched google for the instructions, and read them?
There's a good chance the selenium meter is inaccurate or non functional.

Not yet, I've been looking for it, but it seems to be unavailable on the internet. About the selenium meter: I think you might be right, unfortunately. I am just gonna fill this film, print it and see how it comes out.

artur ferreira · Jan 29, 2018

Helios 1984 said:
Maybe you have a sticky aperture mechanism? It happens when these little guys haven't been used in a long time. Try to set the camera at 3.5 on the orange scale and see if the aperture opens completely when you press the release button.

I did and it opens completely!

E. von Hoegh · Jan 29, 2018

artur ferreira said:
Not yet, I've been looking for it, but it seems to be unavailable on the internet. About the selenium meter: I think you might be right, unfortunately. I am just gonna fill this film, print it and see how it comes out.

Very easy to find, if you actually look: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/olympus/olympus_pen_ee-2/olympus_pen_ee-2.htm

The -3 is identical to the -2, with the exception of the "Flashmatic" feature.

billdele · Jan 29, 2018

Hello, Artur:

Here are the steps on my EE-2. Check to see if the EE-3 has a similar setup.

* Set the ISO number by turning the inner ring on the lens to the appropriate number
* If you get a red flag when you press the shutter, there is not enough light for a photo with that film. Don't force it. If you have forced it already, it may be damaged.
* The f-stops on the inner ring are for flash. set the f-stop required by the flash, exposure will be at that aperture and 1/40 sec. on the EE-2.
Maybe this will be of some help.

Delible

artur ferreira · Jan 29, 2018

Thank you so much everyone for all of your helping!! My main guess is that the selenium meter is damaged. Even when the ambiance is very light the red sign appears, and, I can't take the picture, obviously. I can only take pictures in the lowest ASA. Guess we'll see when I print the film... If anyone's interested I can publish them here, just ask.

Helios 1984 · Jan 29, 2018

I would not recommend to force the shutter button when the red flag is up, this could lead to mechanical damages. The red flag is "Barrier" which gets between the button and the release mechanism when there's not enough light passing through the selenium ring. (Light + Selenium = electric current. Not enough current = access denied!)

Here's a link which might come handy if you decide to disassemble your camera. It's not your model but it give the general idea, it helped me with my EE2.

The Olympus Pen ee-3

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency