olympus trip 35 camera settings

How To Use The Olympus Trip

April 28, 2023 By Cameras By Max

The Olympus Trip is a super popular camera among beginners to film, so here is our guide on how to use this awesome little camera, and some tips on how to get the most out of your Olympus Trip.

What is the Olympus Trip?

The Olympus Trip 35 was introduced in 1967, and discontinued in 1984, which is considered a long production run for a 35mm film camera. Over ten million Olympus Trip cameras were sold in this time. 

Many people wrongly call the Olympus Trip a rangefinder camera, however we would classify it more as a point and shoot with zone focusing.

What features does the Olympus Trip have?

The Olympus Trip is really easy to use, and has some cool features that set it apart from other point and shoot 35mm film cameras.

• Zuiko coated 40mm f/2.8 lens : this lens is sharp, and the wide aperture makes it versatile in a lot of situations.
• Automatic settings : the Olympus Trip has two shutter speeds and aperture from f/2.8 to f/22.
• No batteries needed : the Olympus Trip is powered by the selenium meter around the lens. This is also what receives light and tells the camera which aperture is needed.
• Red flag feature : when the camera does not have enough light to take a photograph, a red flag appears in the viewfinder.
• Zone focusing : the Olympus Trip has four focus settings depending on how far away your subject is from the camera.

What are the different parts of the Olympus Trip?

The top plate.

The Olympus Trip top plate is very simple. The camera features are easy to find, making it an ideal camera for beginners. Below is a labelled diagram of the camera.

On the left of the top plate is the rewind knob (more on that later). In the middle is the flash hotshoe, used for mounting hotshoe flashes to the camera. The shutter button is the small black button on the top. On some models of Olympus Trip, this button can be silver. The small panel on the right is the shot counter that displays the number of shots you have taken.

The Olympus Trip lens holds most of the key settings for the camera , such as the ASA, focus, and aperture. 

The ASA dial is set to match the roll of film that you put in the camera. For example, if you are using Portra 400, the ASA setting is set to 400. 

The focus settings are simple, and known as zone focusing. There are four zones to choose from. We go through them in more depth later on in this article. 

The aperture settings are only used if you are using flash. Otherwise, the camera is set to "A", which allows the camera to choose the aperture and shutter speed automatically. 

The Bottom Plate

There is only one function on the bottom plate of the Olympus Trip 35: the rewind button. (And the tripod mount, technically.)

The rewind button is pressed when you are ready to start rewinding your film. 

How To Load Film In The Olympus Trip

Loading film takes some practice, but it is really easy when you get to grips with it. 

To load a roll of film in the Olympus Trip, first you have to open the back of the camera. To open the back of the camera, pull down this small silver tab, shown below.

Once you have the back of the camera open, you can load your roll of film. To load the roll of film, pull the rewind knob up. The roll of film goes in with the top of the canister (the part that sticks out) at the bottom of the camera. See the image below.

When the canister is in, as shown above, you can pull the film leader across the camera to reach the other side.

The rewind knob being put back down will lock the canister in place as you pull the film across. In order to lock the film onto the film spool in the camera, it has to go partly into one of the slots, and the notches at the bottom of the spool have to go through the sprockets on the film (the holes). 

In order to be able to advance the film across the camera, you have to fire the shutter . You can do this by pointing it at a bright light or by setting the aperture setting to one of the numbers. 

I recommend firing the shutter, and advancing the film (with the advance thumb wheel) twice before closing the back, so that you can make sure the film is definitely loaded correctly. As you get more confident, you can fire the shutter less times and therefore get more photos on your roll of film. 

How To Take Photos With The Olympus Trip

Now you have loaded your roll of film, and closed the back of the camera, you are ready to start taking photos! 

The first thing to check is that your ASA is set to the same speed as your roll of film. For example, Portra 400 is ASA 400. Or Kodak Gold is ASA 200. 

When looking through the viewfinder, you will be able to see your frame lines, and the focus setting that the camera is set to. The viewfinder of the Olympus Trip does not show you where the focus is set, just which symbol you have the lens set to.

When the lens is set to "A", the camera will choose the shutter speed and aperture for you manually. If the image you are trying to take is too dark, the red flag will come up. 

You can override this by setting it to one of the numbers instead, but be aware that these are intended for a flash to be used with it. By setting the Olympus Trip to a number on the lens, it reduces the shutter speed to 1/30 - that's one thirtieth of a second. So you will need to have a steady hand when doing so.

How does the film counter on the Olympus Trip work?

When you first load your roll of film, it may look as though the film counter is not moving. It takes two or three shots for the shot counter to move to the number one. 

The back of the camera needs to be closed in order for the shot counter to start working. 

The counter shows the amount of images you have taken, not how many you have left.

How do I focus the Olympus Trip 35?

The Olympus Trip focus settings are simple, but take some getting used to. There are four settings on the camera. The symbols for these are found on the black part of the lens, as shown earlier in the article. 

The symbols are as follows:

The Olympus Trip has  four focus settings . The viewfinder view does not change as you change the focus settings, so you need to know which setting is correct for how far away your subject is. Luckily, this is  not hard.

The first setting has the symbol of one person. The first setting is used for close-up photographs , where the subject is less than 1 metre away.

The second setting is of two people, which is to be used for subjects from 1.5 to 3 metres away. 

The third setting is a symbol of three people. This setting is used for subjects that are between  3 and 6 metres away. 

The final setting is a symbol of a mountain, which is used for anything beyond 6 metres away. 

If you ever forget these numbers, they are engraved on the underside of the lens (opposite to the symbols on the top). 

How does the Olympus Trip 35 red flag feature work?

The purpose of this Olympus Trip feature is to stop you from taking a photograph that is not exposed enough and therefore will not be visible when developed.

When there is not enough light in your image, the red flag will pop up in the viewfinder. You will clearly be able to see it if you are looking through the viewfinder. It also blocks the shutter button from being pressed.

Can I use the Olympus Trip at night?

Yes, you can. 

The easiest way to do this is to attach a flash to the top of the camera.

Attaching a flash to the top of the camera is easy and most flashes can be used on the Olympus Trip. It has a standard flash hotshoe on the top of the camera. 

Here is an example of a flash that can be used on the Olympus Trip:

When using a flash on the Olympus Trip, there are different settings to use. These are the aperture numbers on the silver barrel of the lens closest to the camera. 

The aperture you use needs to be read off of the meter table, which is usually displayed on the back of the flash unit. 

You can read more about using the Olympus Trip at night here .

How To Rewind Your Film

Congratulations, you've finished your roll of film. 

How can I tell if the roll of film is finished?

You will start to feel some resistance when trying to advance the camera. Do not force it, as you will snap part of the mechanism. 

If you are using a 24 exposure roll of film, you will have reached the 24th shot. The shot counter should show the number 24, or near to that number. The same applies for a 36 exposure roll of film, as this will show the number 36. Sometimes you are lucky and get 37 or 38 shots out of a roll of film. 

When the film will not advance any more, the film is finished. 

How do I take the roll of film out?

On the bottom of the camera is your rewind button. Push this button in. It should stay in after you have pressed it once. 

You can now use the rewind knob to rewind the film into the canister. Turn the knob clockwise. 

Rewinding the film usually takes around thirty seconds of rewinding. You will feel when the film comes off of the spool at the end, because the rewind knob will have less resistance. Keep rewinding it until you feel certain that the film is back inside the canister. 

You can now open the back and take the film out. 

That's just about everything you need to know about the Olympus Trip 35 35mm film camera! We really recommend this camera for beginners, so we hope you have a great time using it and create some lovely images. 

I think my Olympus Trip is broken; what should I do?

A lot of Olympus Trip 35mm film cameras have never been serviced in their lifetime. Because they are holiday cameras, a lot of them have sand in the mechanisms. 

We highly recommend getting your Olympus Trip serviced if it hasn't been used in a while. 

Maintained, these cameras can last many years, however when they have been left for decades, they can develop a few issues, such as stuck aperture blades, stuck shutter, non-functioning light meter, etc. 

All of our Olympus Trip services and repairs are very affordable, so definitely consider sending it to us before deciding that it doesn't work, or putting it back in a drawer. 

Shop our full range of Olympus Trips and accessories here:

Find out more about the olympus trip here:.

Featured Camera: The Olympus Trip 35

Can You Use the Olympus Trip At Night?

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Article written by: Max

Max is the owner of Cameras By Max. They work full-time repairing and refurbishing all the 35mm film cameras you see on the website. Their favourite camera (at the moment) is the Olympus XA, and their favourite city in the world is Edinburgh.

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How to Shoot Night Photography with the Olympus Trip 35 by Tom Box

• Learn to Shoot Film: Tips & Tutorials
• January 25, 2019

Written by  Tom Box

I would imagine most, if not all, of the people reading this have heard of the Olympus Trip 35

Over 10,000,000 units of the camera were sold during it’s lifetime, and the solid build, simple operation, and wide availability have made the Trip a hugely popular option for the modern film crowd.

I’m not going to review the camera, as this has been done dozens of times across the internet, but instead explain how to use the Trip outside of its limits, specifically with low light and night photography.

Find the Olympus Trip 35 at KEH Camera or on eBay .

Hacking the Olympus Trip 35 to Work in Low Light

The Olympus Trip 35 uses a selenium light meter to adjust aperture and shutter speed automatically, locking the shutter release if there is insufficient light which would result in underexposure.

However, the Trip also has a flash sync mode, whereby the aperture is manually selected and the shutter is set to it’s slower speed of 1/40th of a second.

This is, of course, designed to be used with a flash, but the manual aperture settings coupled with modern high speed films means you can also use the flash setting to successfully shoot the Trip at night. Don’t let that little red flag stop you…

Load a roll of 400 or 800 speed film, set the ASA to 400 and the aperture to it’s widest setting of 2.8, and you’re ready to go. That’s all there is to it.

If the scene is too bright for the set aperture of 2.8, don’t worry, the Trip’s meter is still active in flash mode and will stop down the aperture to prevent overexposure.

Related: Five Tips for Shooting Film at Night

Working With the Shutter Speed and Aperture Limitations

Now, 1/40th at f/2.8 really doesn’t seem slow or wide enough to shoot at night, even with 800 speed film. But I’ve found that I get excellent results if there are enough bright lights in the scene.

I used to shoot SLRs at night on aperture priority, lens wide open to f/1.4, and, even pointing at a shop window, I’d be struggling to hand hold the camera’s chosen 1/15th or 1/8th shutter speed.

The thing is, most auto-exposure cameras will be metering for the whole scene, taking into account the vast expanse of black just as much as any light sources.

More often than not, auto-exposure for a scene like a shop window at night would result in a blown out light source and mucky shadows, and not look at all how you remember seeing the scene with your own eyes.

Have you ever tried to take a photo of a sunset with your phone camera and it’s blown out the colors and tried to expose for the foreground? Every time.

What to Expect While Shooting the Olympus Trip 35 at Night

I won’t lie and tell you that using the Olympus Trip ( find on eBay ) at night will always produce perfect results. (It works best in an urban area with lots of artificial light.) But I do believe that shooting film at night can be as simple as setting the exposure once and getting on with taking photos.

An underexposed photo is better than a 2 second long exposure of motion blur!

Any grainy shadows can be clipped in using Photoshop or another image editing program to bring true black back into the shot and increase contrast.

That and slightly boosting the mid tones is pretty much the only editing I need to do to my Night Trip photos.

Related: Olympus Stylus Epic Point & Shoot Film Camera Review

The Olympus Trip 35 is a quintessential point-and-shoot camera, and that doesn’t have to stop when the sun goes down.

Try it yourself with some 400 or 800 speed film and see if you agree that night photography doesn’t always require tripods and fast lenses…

All of the photos in this post were taken on a trip to Japan, using Fuji Superia Premium 400 speed film and my Trip 35 set up as I’ve described. Developed and scanned at home.

I also double exposed a roll of CineStill 800T in the Trip. Photos below.

On a tangent…

It’s always worth checking over a ‘dead’ Olympus Trip 35 because it’s quite likely the meter is fine, and the problem is with gummed up aperture blades or other internal gubbins.

On two occasions, I’ve acquired a Trip which refuses to raise the red flag, suggesting the meter is dead, only to remove the top plate (held on by 3 easily accessible screws) and see that the meter needle is moving fine.

The problem both times lay in the sliding plates that determine aperture and shutter speed. A quick clean with naptha and it was working perfectly.

I’ve had a similar experience with an Olympus Pen EES-2 (basically the half frame Trip 35) which merely had sticky aperture blades. Half an hour of disassembly and cleaning and it’s working beautifully.

Thank you so much, Tom! Tom is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and you can check out his other articles here , like an intro to pinhole film photography and how to use prisms for creative effect . You can also check out Tom’s work on his  website  and  Instagram .

Leave your questions about shooting the Olympus Trip 35 at night below in the comments, and you can pick one up for yourself at KEH Camera or on eBay !

Related Posts:

Blog Comments

Noor Hashem

January 1, 2020 at 7:38 pm

Can i use a 200 speed film or does it have to be 400 or 800?

July 27, 2020 at 5:54 am

Hi Tom, Can you use the Fuji Superia Premium 400 speed film also during the day or you would recommend it only for night shots?

Many thanks! Px

shootitwithfilm

July 27, 2020 at 2:48 pm

Thanks for your comment, Pilar! Fuji Superia 400 is a great film to use during the day. You can check out this post for examples of what it looks like during the day: https://shootitwithfilm.com/how-to-shoot-fujifilm-superia-400/

January 22, 2021 at 8:21 am

How did you do the double exposure on the Cinestill 800T’s pics ?

January 25, 2021 at 2:22 pm

The double exposures were totally random, done by shooting a full roll, rewinding it almost to the end and then shooting over it again. – Tom

April 12, 2022 at 7:59 pm

Hi, I´m planning to use a Fuji 500T for night concert shots in my Olympus trip. Do I have to detail this to the photography laboratory? Any recomendation?

April 12, 2022 at 11:14 pm

Hi Morena! If you want it developed and scanned normally, you don’t need to let the lab know any special information. You’ll only want to let the lab know if you want the film pushed in development or if you want the film scanned a specific way (such as having it scanned for highlights to bring out the nighttime atmosphere of the images). And while you don’t have to let the lab know any special info, if you feel like it was a tricky shooting situation, you can always reach out to the lab and ask their advice for developing and scanning.

September 10, 2022 at 4:07 pm

I just purchased this camera and the red shutter flag appears over my view finder whenever it is set to automatic. I have not yet tested with film yet but my run through seems to work okay when the apture is set to any other setting (2.8-end). What does this mean? That my internal light source is dead? And if so what does this mean when shooting? Shall I just set it to sunny 16 (as a rule of thumb) but how will this look in low light?

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If you're the proud new owner of a vintage Olympus Trip 35 film camera, you're in for a treat! This classic piece of photographic history is perfect for capturing memories with a unique analog touch with ease. In this guide, I'll walk you through the step-by-step process of using your Olympus Trip 35, complete with images and important precautions to ensure you get it right every time.

Expand the relevant guide:

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Loading film into the olympus trip 35:.

Step 1: Choose your film

Select your preferred 35mm film roll, keeping in mind that the Olympus Trip 35 is compatible with ASA/ISO speeds ranging from 25 to 400. 

Popular film brands include Kodak, Fujifilm, and Ilford. This post I wrote might be useful:  Buying 35mm Film - A Complete Guide

Step 2: Set the film speed and set the camera to manual for film loading

Set the appropriate ASA/ISO speed for your film using the dial located on the front of the camera, near the lens.

Also turn the aperture ring to any manual f number against the red line so that it isn't set to 'A'. The shutter can now be released regardless of light conditions.

Step 3: Open the camera back  

Locate the back cover lock tab on the bottom of your Olympus Trip 35. Pull it down and the camera back should pop open.

Step 4: Insert the film cartridge  

Lift up the rewind knob and insert the film cartridge into the film chamber on the left side of the camera, making sure the tip of the film is pointing toward the take-up spool on the right side. Then push the rewind knob back down into the roll of film (sometimes needs a wiggle or slight rotation to go all the way back down).

Step 5: Engage the film leader into the take-up spool

Pull the film across the camera and insert the tip securely through and into a slot on the take-up spool. Advance the film using the wind-on wheel.

Step 6: Align the film perforations  

Ensure that the film perforations are aligned with the sprocket teeth on both sides of the film.

This ensures the film will advance smoothly when winding.

Step 7: Close the camera back

Close the camera back tightly. The camera back should click shut, indicating it is securely closed. 

IMPORTANT: Never open the camera back before fully rewinding the film, as this can expose your film to light and ruin your photos. Make sure to rewind the film completely after taking all 24 or 36 frames before unloading it.

Step 8: Advance film to '1'

Keep winding film and releasing the shutter until the film counter points to "1".  This ensures the unexposed part of the film is ready for your first photo.

IMPORTANT: Watch the rewind knob when you wind the camera on ; it should start to rotate at the same time as you wind, indicating that the film has been taken up correctly   - this is key, if this is not happening after a few shots then it probably means that the film has not been securely engaged by the take-up spool and the loading process will need to be repeated.

Step 9: Set the camera back to "Automatic" and get ready to shoot!  

Turn the aperture ring until the 'A' mark is aligned with the red line in front of the viewfinder (click stop).

Your Olympus Trip 35 is now loaded with film and ready to capture amazing photos.

Taking Photos with the Olympus Trip 35:

How to take photos with the olympus trip 35:.

Step 1: Ensure the camera is wound on

This gets the shutter ready and primed to take a photo.

Step 2: Set subject zone focus distance on the lens

The Olympus Trip 35 has 4 settings which equate to focusing zone distances away from the camera (shown on the underside of the lens barrel):

• 🧍‍♀️Close focus  ≈  1 meter. This setting is used for focusing on anything ~1 meter away from the camera, be it close headshots or other close up details.
• 👥 Portrait  ≈ 1.5 meters. Used for focusing on anything ~1.5 meters away from the camera, for example portraits or capturing wider details in the photo.
• 👯    Group   ≈ 3 meters. Focusing on anything ~3 meters away from the camera, eg. full length body shots/group photos.
• 🌄  Scenery  ≈ 5+ meters. Focusing on everything 5+ meters away from the camera, great for landscapes or subjects far away from the camera!

Step 3: Ensure aperture ring is set to 'A'

For 99% of situations in good light without a flash, it's best to leave the camera set to the red 'A'.

This lets the camera's solar powered meter set the exposure settings automatically and ensures a good exposure.

Step 4: Compose the photo using the viewfinder

Use the projected frame lines to see the area that will be captured in your photograph.   There are hash marks to indicate the change in frame at close focus.

Step 5: Take photo by pressing shutter button

There should be a small click as the shutter fires - indicating a photo has been taken! 🙌 If instead a red flag appears in the viewfinder, this is a warning that there is not enough light in the scene for a proper exposure. 

You can manually disable the red flag low light warning and take a photo anyway in low light by setting the aperture to '2.8'.

Towards  the end of the roll it is important to not try to wind on the camera hard when you start feeling quite a lot of resistance or cannot wind on further -  this signifies that the roll is finished, but if pushed too hard at this stage can result in the film snapping in the back of the camera.

Unloading Film from the Olympus Trip 35:

Step 1: Check the film counter 

Once you've taken all the photos on your film roll (either 24 or 36 frames), check the film counter to ensure you've reached the end.

Towards  the end of the roll it is important to not try to wind on the camera hard when you start feeling quite a lot of resistance -  this signifies that the roll is finished and if pushed too hard can sometimes result in the film snapping in the back of the camera.

Step 2: Press rewind button in

Find the small black button on the base of the camera and push it in to disengage the film from the winding mechanism and allow the film to wind back into the film canister inside the camera.

Step 3: Rewind the film 

Press the rewind button located on the bottom of your Olympus Trip 35. Then, turn the rewind knob clockwise to rewind the film back into the cartridge. Keep rewinding until you feel the tension release, indicating that the film has been fully rewound.

Step 4: Open the camera back

Following the same steps as when loading the film, locate the camera back lock tab on the bottom of your Olympus Trip 35. Pull it outwards to open the camera back.

Step 5: Remove the film cartridge

Pull up the rewind lever and lift the film cartridge out of the film chamber.

Step 6: Store and develop your film 

Place the film cartridge in a light-tight container to protect it from light exposure. Take or send your film to a lab for development or develop it yourself using the appropriate chemicals and techniques.

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• Olympus Manuals
• Digital Camera
• Instructions manual

Olympus TRIP 35 Instructions Manual

• Instructions manual (13 pages)
• Repair instructions (17 pages)
• page of 13 Go / 13

Table of Contents

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• 1 Setting the Camera to Manual System
• 2 Loading the Film
• 3 Engaging the Film End with the Take-Up Spool
• 4 Before Closing the Rear Cover
• 5 Checking the Film Counter
• 6 ASA Film Speed Setting
• 7 Setting the Camera to Auto System
• 9 Composing the Picture and Releasing the Shutter
• 10 Rewinding the Film
• 11 Flash Photography
• 12 The Olympus Pen Flash CL
• 13 When Using Ordinary Flash Gun or Electronic Flash
• 14 Technical Data
• Download this manual

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• 35mm Lenses
• Camera Reviews
• Point and Shoot

Olympus Trip 35 – Camera Review

Josh solomon.

• October 3, 2016

As enthralling as photography can be, long days, months, and years spent shooting can wear you out. In the worst case, it can lead to a photographic malaise that can dismantle even the most well-built minds from the inside out. It can render the best shooters incapable of even the simple task of pressing a shutter button. It’s shooter’s block, our equivalent to writer’s block, and it hit me hard over the summer.

I jumped out of bed one morning full of energy, ready to take on the world with my trusty Nikon F and Leica M2. But instead of plunging into a world filled with beauty, intrigue, and possibility, I found my surroundings cold, ugly, and indifferent. The images I tried to form seemed trite and overplayed, and I soon lost confidence in my ability to make a decent picture. Even the storied reputations of my F and M2 failed to inspire me. Every time I peered through their viewfinders I saw nothing but dust in the pentaprism and emptiness between the framelines.

Sufficiently depressed, I decided to stay home and put my cameras on the shelf. And it was while I was lying face down on a pillow listening to the opening lines of Chicago’s “Hard To Say I’m Sorry” that I realized I did, in fact, need a little time away. But I didn’t need a full-on vacation from the hobby itself – no, that would be too drastic. I just needed a change from the manual cameras that sat on my shelf. I needed an easier camera, and I had a feeling one camera in particular could fit the bill – the Olympus Trip 35.

The Olympus Trip 35 is a camera I’d heard a lot about but had never tried myself. Its reputation for ease of use and high quality seemed the perfect cure for my shooter’s block. And if the Trip 35 was the prescription, the Pasadena Camera Show was the pharmacy. There I found a beautiful Trip 35 for an absurdly low price, bought it, and quickly threw it in my bag.

One would think the Olympus Trip 35 would seem out of place next to legendary cameras like the aforementioned Nikon and Leica, but it actually fits right in. This camera, although not as capable as the other two, holds an equally lofty place in photographic history. Just as the F and the M defined the SLR and rangefinder genres respectively, the Trip 35 defined the point-and-shoot game. More impressive still, the Trip 35 actually outsold the Nikon F and the Leica M2 by millions. Take that, fanboys.

Olympus achieved these massive numbers by appealing to the casual shooter rather than pro photographers, specifically focusing on the new generation of moneyed vacationers. Racing from landmark to landmark and airport to airport, these sightseers simply lacked the time and interest needed to learn the boring particulars of photography required to operate a camera. Instead, they required a camera that was simple to use, but sophisticated enough to beautifully capture their memories.

Good design marries aesthetics to functionality, and the the camera gods couldn’t have picked a better company to bring the Trip 35 to life. Olympus’ design house, fresh off the ingenious half-frame Pen F, struck gold again with the Trip. The design is classic Olympus; clean-cut lines and an impossibly small form factor, the Trip wastes no time and gets straight to the point. It’s as well designed as any machine of its day, more impactful when we recall that the Trip came of age in an era where cameras were still fully mechanical, save for the occasional battery powered light meter. Automation seemed a distant (and expensive) fantasy, so when Olympus created a genuine auto-exposure camera out of primitive nuts and bolts, the world took notice. This was in no uncertain terms an engineering miracle.

The Trip 35 accomplishes this sorcery by determining the amount of light that enters a Selenium photo cell surrounding the lens, and choosing a correct aperture based on this reading. The camera then chooses a shutter speed of either a 1/200th or 1/40th of a second and we get a perfect exposure. When the camera’s incapable of making an acceptable exposure, a little red flag shows up in the viewfinder and the shutter locks out. The magic of this system is that it takes all exposure-related worry out of our minds. We don’t have to agonize about aperture, shutter speed, or even battery life, a godsend for vacationers and anxious photo geeks.

But before we experience it, it’s quite easy to question the Trip 35’s simplicity. After all, how accurate could a camera this old and primitive be? And could the lens be good enough for our 21st century eyes? As I drove home from the camera show, my new Trip in the passenger seat next to me, these questions rolled through my mind. I really needed this camera to be decent, if I was to pull out of my photographic death spiral.

Just then, I received a text message from my sister. Can you pick up some pork buns in chinatown? thx. With this, I had my mission; buy some pork buns, shoot the Trip, and see if this ancient camera could walk the walk.

The first thing I noticed was its build quality. Comprised of metal and plastic, the Trip 35 is solid, but never heavy; lightweight, but never flimsy. The only disappointing aspect of the camera’s feel is its film advance wheel. A dinky plastic affair reminiscent of disposable cameras, this lackluster cog is forgivable when we remember that the Trip was built to be a consumer-level camera.

Peering through the viewfinder showed bright frame-lines with tick marks both for up-close shots and for landscape shots. These are helpful in view of the Trip’s lack of automatic parallax correction. Having used fancy Leica , Nikon , and Contax rangefinders renowned for brightness and clarity, the Trip’s viewfinder beats most of them. Its relative simplicity is a nice change from the cluttered and overly complex viewfinders of other machines. The Trip 35 also features a small window in the bottom right of the VF (affectionately dubbed the “Judas Window” by Trip 35 disciples) which shows both the chosen aperture and exposure setting on the camera.

So far, so good. But how was I to determine focus? I quickly realized that the Trip’s a scale-focus camera, which is not ideal for accuracy. But before I started feeling like Olympus left me all alone and helpless, I realized that they were kind enough to provide some handy distance-measuring tools. Settings along the lens barrel show a picture of one person for portraits, two people for pictures of two people, three people for group pictures, and a mountain symbol for everything in the distance, including mountains. I stopped hyperventilating, and realized that, for a point-and-shoot camera, this is more than enough. And for all you nitpickers, Olympus also included precise distance measurements in both meters and feet on the underside of the lens. Phew.

Once shooting the Trip started to shine, and I was easily able to focus on exactly what matters most in photography – composition. From the first frame I found myself joyfully snapping away at whatever tickled my fancy, even though I didn’t know what aperture values and shutter speeds the Trip 35 was choosing. Frankly, I didn’t give a damn. All that mattered to me was finding different angles, new ways to play with light, and how to capture Chinatown’s unique charm. It felt like with each and every frame, the Trip was dissolving my shooter’s block more and more, and I wanted to just keep shooting.

So the little Olympus and I danced through Chinatown’s colorful landscape, happily snapping away. In no uncertain terms, it was the most fun I’d ever had with a camera. Even though the heat of the afternoon beat on my shoulders and the sweat sizzled on my brow, the Trip 35 and I ran through the city without a care in the world. The streets led us to the door of a steamy Chinese restaurant, then a pile of steaming pork buns, then back to the equally steamy interior of my car. I didn’t care how long the journey took or how much fluid I lost in that heatwave. It seemed like I sweated out my shooter’s block, and I eagerly raced home to deliver the buns, and develop the film.

But something was nagging me about the camera the entire way home; the focus issue. Had I gotten the focus correct for every shot? How was I to trust those markings? How could I possibly live without a focusing aid? Anxiety began to rear its head again and I had to stop myself from speeding over to a one-hour photo lab to assuage my fears. I gripped the steering wheel tight and told myself to trust the Trip. Besides, I still had a job to do. These pork buns weren’t going to deliver themselves.

After delivering and munching on said pork buns with my contented sibling, I decided to get the roll developed and scanned. My fears were partially founded. Some of the shots, especially photos of close subjects or darker scenes, came back fuzzy due to a combination of my poor distance estimation and the nature of the Trip’s exposure and focus systems. While the Trip automatically helps achieve sharp focus by selecting a smaller aperture for greater depth-of-field, this is only possible in bright light. As things get dark, the ability to shoot at a smaller aperture quickly disappears. In these situations it can be really difficult to nail correct focus. One minor consequence of this is that shooters with an affinity for portraiture and those sweet bokeh balls will probably be disappointed by this camera.

But expecting creamy bokeh and close range performance from the Trip 35 (or most point-and-shoots for that matter) is like expecting a ‘93 Honda Civic to outpace a Tesla Model S. It just won’t happen, and trying will lead to frustration. But just like that Honda, if you regard the Trip 35 as a reliable machine good for an occasional joyride, it will never disappoint. The Trip 35 is capable of a great many things , but we must be careful to recognize and respect its own limits.

When we get the focus right, the Trip’s fantastic 40mm F/2.8 Zuiko lens delivers in spades. The lens is a front-focusing Tessar type lens, which means that it’s very simple and very sharp, and it retains this sharpness edge to edge without chromatic aberration, spherical aberration, or any kind of distortion due to its simple optical formula and Olympus’s masterful execution. The lens’ quality even overcame the limitations of expired film, and ended up giving me some great results.

For whom is this camera best suited? First and foremost, the Trip 35 might just be the perfect camera for the casual photophile. Olympus built this camera to document the daily adventures of the everyman, and the Trip does this beautifully. And for experienced shooters, the Trip 35 can be a great way to break free of shooter’s block, or inject our shooting with something fun and carefree. It emphasizes the art of composition rather than the cold calculations of exposure, but even more importantly, it reminds us to relax, have a pork bun, and not take ourselves too seriously.

Want to try the Trip 35 for yourself?

Buy it on ebay, buy it on amazon, shop b&h photo’s vintage gear, follow casual photophile on facebook and instagram.

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• Camera Review
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Josh Solomon is a freelance writer and touring bassist living in Los Angeles. He has an affinity for all things analog. When not onstage, you can find him roaming around Southern California shooting film and humming a tune.

29 comments

Very nicely done.

Great review of the Trip! This is the camera that lured me away from Lomography and the whole low-fi aesthetic. While the metering system is somewhat primitive and the zone focusing can be imprecise, especially in low light, it’s obvious that all the money and work went into the lens. In the right circumstances it’s absolutely tack sharp. Once I started getting sharp images from my Trip, the Lomo LC-A+ and the Holga started looking a lot less appealing.

The Trip definitely has some big limitations but on its own terms it’s a great camera.

Here’s my Trip album on Flickr to get an idea.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/21156896@N07/sets/72157645739914959

Thanks for adding your Flickr album. It’s great for people to be able to see what these cameras can do in varied situations.

Thanks so much! Those images are fantastic; they really showcase what that lens can do. Funny you mention the LC-A+… ?

Thanks! The LC-A+ was the camera that got me back into using film after an extended dalliance with digital photography. I used it really heavily for about 2 years before becoming curious about other cameras. The fact that the Lomo is also a zone focuser made it very easy for me to switch to the Trip and the XA2.

Great write up Josh, and really nice album Neilson! I had to do a double take on some of those shots, especially the close up portraits, realizing that you had used a Trip.

I agree, what a great review and some fine shots on that flickr gallery. I’ve just bought my 50th Olympus Trip 35 and am steadily rebuilding them from head to toe. I’ve posted some reviews and other helpful reviews on my site https://trip35.co/

Great pictures from the Trip. You got to love these little cameras!

The Trip 35 was *made* for landscapes and group photos in good light outside. It’s really dang good for those things. For everything else, not so much! But like you, on a day when I’m just out and about shooting stuff, I find the Trip 35 to be big fun.

My last outing with my Trip 35: https://blog.jimgrey.net/2015/04/20/olympus-trip-35-revisited/

If I ever get on an airplane again I think I’ll be bringing this camera… We’ll see. Josh and your post have helped convince me. Thanks for sharing.

Great review of one of my favourite cameras and one of the best free cameras I’ve ever been given. The quality you can get from this little package has always astounded me, this is an example taken with just bog standard Poundland special film (Agfa Vista 200) https://the6millionpman.wordpress.com/2016/09/30/cardiff-bay-sunset-3/

And yet again I confess to being an Olympus fanboy.

Beautiful colors and range on that.

Great article Josh, and thanks for publishing it James. There wasn’t a link, but I started the Olympus Trip 35 users group on Facebook, here is the link. P.S. A few famous photogrpaphers in the group.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/OlympusTrip35

Hey my friend! Thanks for commenting. We did include a link there, it’s in the third to last paragraph where it says the Trip is “capable…” etc.

And for anyone down here in the comments, do check out the FB group. Amazing talent there shooting with all kinds of Trips.

The Trip Flickr group is worth checking out too. Lots of good stuff there.

https://flic.kr/g/5jsssh

Great write-up! I have three of these and, while I’m by no means a great photographer, I do love the pick-up-and-go nature of the Trip 35. For those who are interested, I spent an entire day refocusing the lens on one of mine;

https://teeritz.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/re-focusing-lens-on-olympus-trip.html

Almost drove me nuts!

That post is scary. You’re a brave man.

Bought a Trip after reading a recommendation by Ken Rockwell. At the time I thought I only ever needed one camera – an FE – and I had one. However, the Trip is great for other things. As you say, the pictures are so sharp. And its so easy to use.

I love my Trip 35. Fantastically sharp lens and incredibly easy to use! The zone focusing took a bit getting used to and I do still occasionally misfocus, but when that happens I embrace my inner William Klein. Also, my copy came with a lens cap and zipped up in a bag so the selenium is not at all worn out and the AE is spot-on. I actually trust shooting slide film in this camera more than any of my all-manual cameras!

Hi! Thank you so much. I am seriously considering to buy a Trip. I want to go traveling and bring a good camera. Do you think this one will do? And some people say it’s not really for taking photo’s in the dark/on parties. Are they right?

Thanks again 🙂

Hey Nikki! The Trip is the perfect camera for travel and casual outdoor shooting IMO, but it does suffer in low light without a flash. A little compact flash will help, and it does have a manual aperture override for accurate flash exposures.

If you’re going to be spending lots of time indoors I would suggest either picking up a cheap P&S with a built in flash, or upgrading entirely to a compact SLR/fixed-lens rangefinder with a fast (f/2 and under) lens for low-light shooting without a flash. Hope this helps!

Hello Nikki, I am the Admin of the Olympus Trips 35 Users Group, I recommend you join to get advice, and there are trustworthy sellers in the group.

See the website link below my comment

I’ve recently picked up aTrip 35 and have been very pleasantly surprised by the ease of use and picture quality. I even tried some low light close shots and had better results than I expected. Tip #1: use 400 speed film to increase versatility. You get more depth of field in any situation and therefore more focussing accuracy. You will also hold off the “red flag” for a stop or two. Tip #2: learn how to guesstimate the zone distances as accurately as possible. If you’re shooting close-up in lower light try to nail the actual distance e.g. set the lens on 1 meter and try to be 1 meter away. Use a tape measure at first so you can see what the distances look like. As the light falls or distances get closer then more accuracy is required from the photographer. Tip #3: remember that you can press the shutter button half way down to lock the exposure. Meter off a mid-tone then recompose and shoot. This will help with back lighting and other tricky light. Tip #4: try to shoot within the limits of the design and you will get good results. The Trip 35 was meant for family holidays and a whimsical approach to photography. If you require critical focussing or metering the Trip was never really designed for that. Enjoy!

Hi, Josh. Great writing. I enjoyed reading your review and laughed so much at the pork bun adventure! Thanks!

Thirty-seven years of shooting film and the Trip 35 was a camera I’d always ignored for being ‘too simple’. I spotted one in a local charity shop last week that was cased, boxed and in lovely condition and I got it for next to nothing. I ran half a roll of FT-12 ASA50 cinema film through and the results were far better than I expected. I started out on Olympus all those years ago (still use them) but I’m a bit ashamed of myself for ignoring this little gem. My 8 year old is just starting to take an interest in photography and this is going to be ideal for her.

Thanks for a great review and for pointing out a couple of little features I hadn’t spotted.

Quick pedantic note: In virtually everything I’ve seen online about the Trip 35, there’s one thing that nobody ever seems to say:

The Trip 35 is essentially the full-frame version of the earlier half-frame Pen EES and EES-2.

I had an EES-2 and it was a great shooter for an inexpensive camera. It worked exactly the same way as the Trip: the selenium meter around the lens chose one of two shutter speeds or raised a red flag if there wasn’t sufficient light; it had a four-icon zone focus lens; there was one manual speed for flash along with adjustable f-stops when not in Auto. Of course, the Trip had a different focal length lens to produce a full-frame image, but I suspect it’s of a very similar design to the EES-2’s. And note that the Trip 35’s top plate includes the EES-2’s hot shoe, along with the back cover/rewind knob from the Pen series (and frame counter from the Pen F series), and the viewfinder is essentially the same as the EES-2’s.

My point is: the Trip 35’s super-successful design wasn’t actually new, the camera was scaled up from the already successful Pen EES series.

Thank you… Now I’m on my way for fun an Mindfulness 🙂 A very brilliant text who give me interests and energy. Thank you 🙂

Just bought one, trying it out tomorrow. I would suggest to buy a tripod and a self-release cord, set it to A and just set for the distance. I used to carry a 110 film camera back in 1977 and was taught photography back in 1981 from a WW2 vet. Warhol used a Pentax 35afm because he could set a high iso without flash.

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We review the final canon a series camera, the canon al-1, five cheap (but very good) film cameras you can buy today, new york city and the half-frame 35mm olympus pen d.

The Olympus Trip 35 Review: Everything You Need To Know

I’ve worked with many Olympus Trip 35s over the years and I’ve discovered the pros and cons of this brilliant little rangefinder camera!

The Olympus Trip 35 is so popular because it’s very easy to use, it has a great lens and it’s ideal for the novice photographer. Also, the Olympus Trip 35 is one of the only 35mm cameras powered by the sun, making it really handy to take on holiday with you. Since 1967 10 million units have been sold, which is a tremendous amount even today.  

If you want to know how this camera compares to others, how much you should be paying, some of its common issues and much, much more then read on!

I’ve worked with a hell of a lot of Trip 35s over the last few years and I like them because they’re really simple. If there’s something wrong with a Trip 35 I usually know it pretty much instantly because they aren’t especially complicated.

I’ve sussed out all the common issues, what can be fixed easily and what spells the end for an individual Trip 35. Usually, it’s lens fungus or an unreactive aperture that means doom for this little camera.

After years of working with them, I took one to the south coast of England to do a full review and I was actually pleasantly surprised by it. As you’ll see throughout the article, there are actually some good pictures that came from this ancient camera.

Some shots were let down by the very real limitations of this camera but on the flipside, due to the brilliant 40mm Zuiko lens, when the exposure is correct, its shots are great.

There are a lot of pros and cons to this camera so it’s well worth reading up on it to figure out if it’s the right fit for you. I enjoyed shooting it more than I expected but it wouldn’t be a camera that I’d rely on regularly.

Olympus Trip 35 Specs

Format – 35mm

ISO – 25 – 400

Battery – Solar Powered Selenium Battery

Exposure – Automatic

Shutter Speeds – 40 – 200

Flash – Hot Shoe

A Brief History Of The Olympus Trip 35

Introduced in 1967 and rolling on until 1984, the Olympus Trip 35 was completely ahead of its time. Sporting a solar-powered light meter in the late 60’s was pretty special.

Of course, Olympus’ market audience was pretty obvious, being named ‘Trip’, it’s kind of spelt out for you. Strong, reliable, doesn’t need any batteries, anyone could use it, that pretty much ticks all the boxes when it comes to a holiday camera.

Incredibly, over 10 million Trips were sold (Up for debate) and of course, they’re still being bought and sold to this day.

How Does The Olympus Trip 35 Battery Work?

The Olympus Trip 35 is powered by the sun using a selenium light meter which is the ring around the lens. This powers the light meter and allows the camera to choose the shutter speed and aperture (depending on which settings you have on). This would have been very unusual in its time but the fact that it’s still reliable today is brilliant.

Is The Trip 35 Lens Good?

Yeah, the Olympus Trip 35 has a pretty good lens but I’ve got to say, there are quite a few drawbacks. The lens itself is a beautiful 40mm 2.8 Zuiko lens, it’s pretty high quality for a camera that feels like a point-and-shoot.

I’d say the main drawback is that the focus is zonal and you only have 4 options. You should be able to see above, there’s a picture of one person, then two, then a group and then a landscape symbol. These are your focus options and it’s basically, 1.5m, 2m 3m and 6m and beyond.

This does limit the camera quite a lot but you’ve got to forgive a 50-odd-year-old camera sometimes.

The focal length is interesting, 40mm is pretty unusual but it’s still just wide enough to take the kind of pictures you’d usually take when you go on your holidays. It’d probably be preferable to have a 35mm lens but beggars can’t be choosers.

The Olympus Trip 35 Compared To The Olympus OM10

It’s worth comparing the Olympus Trip 35 with the Olympus OM10 as they’re currently at similar prices.

The Olympus Trip 35 isn’t that similar to the Olympus OM10, the Olympus Trip 35 is a small point-and-shoot rangefinder and the OM10 is an SLR however, it’s good to see what the Olympus Trip 35 is like in comparison to another well-known camera.

The Olympus OM10 would provide much better shots as it has better quality lenses and more control however, the Olympus Trip is more convenient, more compact and easier to use.

How Much Is The Olympus Trip 35 Worth?

Currently, the Olympus Trip 35 is worth around $100-125 or £70-100. You can of course get the Trip 35 for less if you try bidding for it on eBay or search thrift stores and flea markets but it’s worth trying to make sure that your Trip 35 is all working correctly.

What Kind Of Photography Is The Olympus Trip 35 Best For?

The Olympus Trip 35 is unsurprisingly best for travel-type photography. This camera was made with travel in mind as it’s small, compact, strong, easy to use and doesn’t require any batteries. Otherwise, this is also a good camera for day-to-day use. Photographers like David Bailey championed the Olympus Trip 35 believing that it was an incredibly high-quality camera. 

Although the Olympus trip 35 has a great lens it’s not necessarily overly accurate and it’s not easy to focus correctly so despite the fact that it has a 2.8 lens it doesn’t mean it’s very likely that you’ll be able to focus correctly close range and get the most out of that lens. 

This is not necessarily ideal for more professional types of photography and is definitely better to be used in day-to-day life and travel photography. 

Is The Olympus Trip 35 Fully Manual?

The Olympus Trip 35 has two settings, one is an automatic setting that chooses your aperture and shutter speed for you, it decides between a shutter speed of 40 and 200 and between apertures of 2.8 and 22.

Alternatively, you can decide the aperture and the shutter speed will be decided by the camera. All focusing is manual and all ISO needs to be changed manually.

How To Use The Olympus Trip 35

Olympus Trip 35 is a very simple camera to use once you get the hang of it, until then understanding its limitations can be slightly hard. 

If your camera seems not to be working properly try to leave it in the sun for some time to effectively charge its battery.

To open the back of the camera there is a small lever on the bottom of the side of the camera which just needs to be pulled down until the back pops open. 

To change the aperture just rotate the ring at the base of the lens, this ring will show numbers from 2.8 two 22. If you want to shoot in automatically then turn it all the way around until the red ‘A’.

To change the ISO you just need to rotate the ring on the outer edge of the lens until you are to the correct ISO.

In order to focus you need to rotate the black ring on the lens. The closest focus mode is portrait mode, then there is middle-range portrait row mode, next, there are people standing further away from you and finally, there is a full landscape mode.

To attach a flash you simply have to slide it into the hot shoe located on the top middle of the prism. 

To shoot and wind on you just have to press the shooting button on the top of the camera and then wind the black winder on the back of the camera until you can’t wind it any further.

To rewind the film you must first press the black button on the bottom of the camera to release the film and then wind the silver winder on the top left of the camera all the way back until it feels loose. 

Common Faults Of The Olympus Trip 35

As the Olympus Trip 35 is a very old camera it has a number of common faults, hopefully, I can shed some light on these and help you avoid them or potentially fix them.

Commonly the red flag of the Olympus trip 35 will stop working, the red flag usually shows you when the scene would be too under-exposed. The red flag would appear at the bottom of the viewfinder when you are looking through it and would usually stop you from taking a picture if it’s too dark.  

Sometimes the lens won’t react correctly to light, this is a great thing to check because if this is happening then it’s not really something that you can stop and it will ruin your photos. If this is happening the only advice I can give is to put it in the sun for a bit to see if this charges your selenium battery.

It’s likely that the light seals have worn away unless you bought your camera from a reputable dealer. You will probably have to replace a small number of light seals just to ensure that you do not get light leaks, this is fairly easy and if you want to find out how to do it then go to this link .

Lastly, the lens may have fungus and if the fungus is internal and it’s not something that would be easy to fix it would be much simpler just to get another one.

Final Word On The Olympus Trip 35

This is a great camera for travel and is certainly a camera to consider using. Personally, it’s not my kind of camera, I prefer more control and this just doesn’t cut it for me!

For a camera of its age, it truly is fantastic, a solar-powered vintage wonder that can still produce some beautiful shots!

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Hey! I've been shooting film for a very long time and throughout all of my 20's it's been my main format. In 2019 I started to buy and sell film cameras and I became a top rated seller on Etsy and eBay. I've built up a wealth of knowledge about different kinds of film cameras and their common issues.

Since I started photography I've produced a number of zines/prints and more recently made a book called 'So Far So Good'.

I started this website in late 2021 with hopes of helping out people who had been looking for similar information to me and so far, I'm really enjoying it.

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The Olympus Trip 35 – a perfect travel film camera

The Olympus Trip 35 is a compact, battery-free point-and-shoot 35mm film camera known for its ease of use and quality. When it was released in 1968, it was marketed as the perfect film camera to take on your travels.

NOTE: Travel is not recommended at this time. These posts are here to serve as inspiration when we can explore again. Hey there – this post likely contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them. This helps me earn a few dollars to run this website.

Imagine yourself as a traveller in the 1970s . Airlines were becoming more popular than ever, with more and more destinations opening up to international exploration. The Grand Tour of the 19th century had felt a resurgence for the everyday person. You only connected with those back at home by postcard and you took photos on film, waiting to share them once you returned.

With over 10 million units sold during its 16-year run, it would be likely that as a traveller in the 1970s, you would have had (or would have wanted) the Olympus Trip 35. How about today? With film photography becoming more popular again, is the Olympus Trip 35 a worthwhile film camera to take on your travels?

What is the Olympus Trip 35?

The Olympus Trip 35 is what is known as a point-and-shoot camera – one that does most of the work for you. The camera has a fixed 40mm f/2.8 lens. The camera uses just two shutter speeds and a selenium photocell as a light metre.

The Olympus Trip 35 was marketed as an easy-to-use, compact camera to take with you on your travels. They are super lightweight, take regular 35mm film and work with a click of a button.

How does the Olympus Trip 35 work

The Olympus Trip 35 doesn’t need a battery to operate, which is pretty darn cool if you ask me. It uses a solar-powered selenium photocell light metre to automatically set the aperture and select a shutter speed.

First up, the Olympus Trip 35 has an ISO range of 25 to 400, which makes it perfect for a film stock like Kodak Gold 200. You can use (the crème de la crème) Kodak Portra 400, but because that film stock is so expensive, I’d use the cheaper Kodak Gold 200 or Kodak Ultramax 400 in this point-and-shoot camera. You could even try a nice black and white film stock, although I haven’t done that yet myself.

The Olympus Trip 35 just has two shutter speeds – 1/40s or 1/200s, which the camera chooses automatically based on the available light. The camera’s aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/22, which it also chooses automatically when in “A” mode. You can take the camera into Aperture-priority mode by twisting the aperture ring on the lens, but there’s really no need to.

The camera has a hot shoe where you could sync with a flash, although I’ve not tried that yet.

Lastly, the only thing you really need to think about when using the Olympus Trip 35 is the focus setting. The camera has four focus zones marked by four symbols: portrait, two people, a group of people and landscape. It’s relatively easy to figure out what focus range you need, but if you need more specifications, the focus zones are 1 metre, 1.5 metres, 3 metres and infinity. For most travel photos, you’re going to stick to the landscape focus zone.

Is the Olympus Trip 35 easy to use?

Once you get the hang of it, yes, the Olympus Trip 35 is so easy to use! The first step is to choose your film stock. The ISO ranges from 25 to 400 so you’ll want to choose a film stock in that speed. (Kodak Gold 200 and Ultramax 400 are some of my favourites).

Next, you need to load the film. There’s a small release button on the left-hand side to pop open the back cover. The 35mm film loads in like most other 35mm film cameras. You need to pop the rewinder knob up, fit in the film and push the rewinder knob back in. Then thread the leader part of the film into the take-up spool making sure that the teeth are grabbing onto the perforated part of the film. Tighten the film by using the film advance wheel, making sure the rewinder knob is turning as you crank the film advance. Close the back of the camera and advance the film three times until the counter is at 0.

Make sure you’ve set your ISO to match your film stock. You can do so by twisting the outer ring of the lens.

Make sure the aperture is set on “A” so that the camera can decide what aperture to use. Once you do that, the camera will decide on either 1/40s or 1/200s for the shutter speed based on the available light.

Next, choose your focus zone. If you’re taking a portrait, use the portrait focus zone, if you’re taking a landscape, use the landscape focus zone. It’s pretty simple.

Then you look through the viewfinder you’ll notice that you can see the lens in the viewfinder. That’s because it’s a parallax viewfinder, rather than a mirror system like you see in most DSLR cameras. The viewfinder in the Olympus Trip 35 has parallax markings, which help you frame up an image when your subject is close to correct for this viewing error.

The second, very small window you see under this (which is called the Judas window – don’t ask me why) shows the aperture session and distance symbol that you’re using.

Once you look through the viewfinder, click the small shutter button on the top right to take the picture.

If a small red flag appears in the viewfinder, it just means that the camera has decided there’s not enough light and won’t take the photo.

Finding an Olympus Trip 35

I think what sold me on the Olympus Trip 35 was how easy it was to use. I had just started my journey back into film photography and I already had the 100% manual Canon AE-1. I wanted something light, enjoyable and fun to use, while still being vintage.

I think I stumbled across the camera while perusing YouTube and thought I’d look it up. I was surprised at the range of cost. Some were selling for over $300 CAD, while others were listed for only $60 CAD.

I learned that people were buying these cameras cheap, replacing the exterior with new leather and reselling them for a lot more, which is why you see Olympus Trip 35s in fun colours. I ended up looking at three Olympus Trip 35s that were for sale but weren’t functional before buying the one I found. There are two major things you need to look out for when searching for an Olympus Trip 35.

First, make sure the aperture blades aren’t stuck. Sticky aperture blades is pretty common in these vintage cameras. You can test to make sure the aperture works correctly by looking through the front of the lens as you change the apertures and pressing the shutter. The aperture blades should change accordingly, opening and closing with ease. If it doesn’t it’s not the end of the world. There are a couple of tutorials on how to fix this online.

Second, make sure the selenium photocell functions. This is key because if doesn’t work properly, the camera won’t metre light properly and your images won’t come out. To test this, you can place your hand in front of the photocell, covering it completely. Try to take a photo, if the red flag appears, it means that it works. If it takes a photo, then it means the selenium photocell isn’t working.

I looked at three different Olympus Trip 35s where the sellers didn’t know if it worked properly or not. I ended up passing on all three before finding one at a camera store in Collingwood that actually worked.

Then I put just one roll of (relatively) cheap film through it and found it worked perfectly.

The tip is to keep a lens cap on it or in a case while not using the camera. Use this handy guide for more tips when buying an Olympus Trip 35.

Why the Olympus Trip 35 is a great travel film camera?

The Trip name is a reference to its intended market—people who wanted a compact, functional camera for holidays.

For me, I think the joy of it is wrapped up in one image I took while on a camping trip in the summer. I was headed out on a kayak on Stormy Lake near Restoule Provincial Park. I wanted to bring my camera, but because I use my camera for my wedding photography business, there was no way in hell I was putting it in a kayak, even if it was protected by a dry bag. I just didn’t want to take that chance. So I put my phone and my Olympus Trip 35 in a dry bag and set off.

I had just brought my film camera out to take a photo when suddenly, a loon popped out of the lake in front of my kayak. I love the sounds of a loon and had heard them often, but I had never seen one so close. I snapped a quick photo of it with my Olympus Trip 35. I didn’t have to worry about aperture, shutter speed and I knew I already had it on landscape focus, so I just pointed the camera at the loon and snapped the photo.

By the time I put down my film camera and picked up my phone to take another photo, the loon had dove back into the depths and when it resurfaced again a few minutes later, it was too far away.

I had to wait another 3 weeks before I saw that photo, and it was even more magical once I saw the image developed.

So why is the Olympus Trip 35 such a great travel film camera?

Hopefully, by now I’ve convinced you that it is easy to use. The camera is lightweight and compact, plus it won’t accidentally take a photo if you’ve got it stashed in your bag. Plus, since it doesn’t need batteries, all you really need to worry about is making sure you have enough film!

Olympus Trip 35 sample photos

So far, I’ve put four rolls of film through this camera and I’ve loved how it turns out every single time. The camera is so light, it fits in my waist bag, and makes shooting a breeze. I can’t wait to take this on my next photography adventure! Here are some sample photos from the Olympus Trip 35.

Love film photography? Join Grainery.

I’m pretty new to film, but I’ve absolutely LOVED this new app called Grainery . It’s Instagram-inspired but focuses solely on analog photography. It’s really new, the actual app for iPhone and Android is still in development, but the website works perfectly. And it’s free! Plus, the guy who is developing it is super grassroots and is planning to keep it ad- and algorithm-free.

If you are looking to upgrade to Grainery+, it’s only $3/month, which helps support the developer. (Not sponsored, just something I genuinely LOVE.)

If you love film photography, then what are you waiting for! Join Grainery and follow me @mywanderingvoyage . It’ll be fun!

Love beautiful photos?

I’ve launched a print shop!! After a couple of years of imposter syndrome, I finally launched my own print shop and I am stoked to share it with you!

You can hang up your favourite prints in your home, get a canvas print or even print on metal! Check out the Print Shop now!

Want to know when a new print collection drops and get exclusive discount codes? Sign up for the Print Shop list and you’ll be the first to know!

Olivia Rutt

Olivia Rutt is the travel writer and photographer behind My Wandering Voyage, a travel website helping working millennials find time to travel. She shares insight in trip planning, travel inspiration and photography tips. Olivia hails from southern Ontario, Canada where she works in the media industry between travels. Follow Olivia on Instagram where she shares her travel photos, or catch up with her on Facebook or Twitter.

Further Reading...

Gift guide for travel photographers

Best way to organize your travel photos

Against the Grain: A Journey Back to Film Photography

Mywanderingvoyage.

Privacy Overview

Daniel J. Schneider

Photographs, blog and reviews by a film photographer

Olympus Trip 35: Every bit as good as its reputation

I didn’t just stumble on the Olympus Trip 35. I knew all about its excellent reputation as a sharp, simple camera with a good pedigree.

I’m fairly certain I first heard of the Trip 35 on the the Film Photography Podcast some years back, when the hosts were going through a bit of an obsession with the little powerhouse.

It’s the 1960s equivalent of a point and shoot — much more than a box camera, but almost as hands-off as can be. Set the ISO and the focus range, and fire away.

I mentioned the Trip 35 back in February , and discussed a little about production numbers and dates, etc. The important parts are: black ones were only made for a couple years and tend to command much higher prices, especially in good shape — but they’re the same as the silver ones underneath the enamel.

Description

The Trip 35 is a small camera, just a little larger than the later Olympus 35RC , and fairly lightweight. It still feels good, though, in line with many other cameras of its era. Though it has some plastic in it, it is primarily a metal camera with all that vintage solidity.

Being a product of an era when high standards of quality seemed to apply across the board, it’s a whole lot better than one might expect today based on the quality gulf between high-end and low-end, which started to broaden noticeably in the 1970s and is now rather abyssal. The lens is exceptionally sharp, the auto-exposure system is at the top of its class, and the viewfinder is bright and accurate.

The lens is a 40mm f/2.8 D.Zuiko — a four-element design that bests a lot of the Trip 35’s direct competitors’ three-element lenses. While it’s not as fast as some of the f/1.9 and f/1.7 lenses in the pack, the sharpness is tough to beat.

The light meter uses a selenium photovoltaic cell, with a large light-gathering matrix surrounding the lens. The Trip 35 requires no batteries to operate, but if the meter dies, the camera will not function in auto mode.

The auto-exposure system features only two shutter speeds — 1/200 second and 1/40 second. In auto mode, it hunts through apertures at 1/200 in an attempt to make a proper exposure, and then slows down to 1/40 to continue the hunt if necessary. If a proper exposure isn’t possible at 1/40 second and f/2.8, a translucent red flag will pop up in the viewfinder. Otherwise, the exposure is made.

Looking through the viewfinder, you’ll notice a simple brightline frame with some parallax correction marks. It’s not huge, but it’s big enough, and it’s bright enough, too. Below the main viewfinder is a tiny prism that adds a view of the markings on the control rings on the lens barrel so you can see the aperture and focus.

On the lens barrel you can set the film speed (from ASA 25 to 400) by turning the 43.5 millimeter filter ring, and also the aperture for flash mode. The aperture ring has an “A” for auto mode, and the rest of the fixed aperture settings are meant to pair with the subject distance to match a flashgun’s guide number. When a manual aperture is selected, the shutter is locked at 1/40 second. The shutter can be permanently modified to stay at 1/200 , but this will limit the camera’s low-light abilities.

The third setting on the lens barrel is the expected one — focus. The Trip 35 uses zone focusing rather than a rangefinder. The four pictographs correspond to fairly standard distances: a little head and shoulders for 1 meter, two little heads and shoulders for 1.5 meters, two full-length people and a kid for 3 meters, and a mountain for infinity. In case you forget (or just prefer numbers to pictographs), the opposite side of the focus ring has distance markings. The pictograph is what gets shown in the viewfinder, though.

The shutter release button is threaded for a cable release. The rewind knob has a flip-out crank, and there is a frame counter on the right shoulder. The film advance is a thumbwheel on the back edge of the top cover behind the shutter release button.

Be sure to push in the take-up spool release button on the bottom cover before rewinding, and rewind before opening the film door with the small silver latch tab on the bottom left corner of the camera.

There is a standard tripod mount on the bottom, and the top features a hot shoe (and there’s a PC sync socket on the front cover, below and to the right of the lens).

And that’s about it — there just isn’t a lot of technical detail to the Trip 35, but there is elegance in simplicity.

With that, let me tell you what I like about it.

I didn’t expect to like the Trip 35 so much at first. I mean, hearing it talked about and seeing so many articles, I expected it to be just another 1960s-70s rangefinder-wannabe. Don’t misconstrue that to mean I expected it to be bad — but I didn’t expect it to set itself apart.

I think I was wrong. It’s not the best camera I’ve ever used, by any means, but its euphony of size, fit and finish, function, and image quality is really pretty special.

I’m not shy about my troubles with zone- and scale-focus cameras. I have terrible luck with them, mostly because I don’t remember to focus them before I press the shutter. I don’t know that I wouldn’t have better luck if I used them (or, more likely, one of them) more of the time, but in the limited experience I have with them, I just don’t remember more than half the time.

The Trip 35, though, solves that problem for me by showing me the focus setting clearly and brightly in the viewfinder. For me, this clears the biggest roadblock in the way for me to get good images with this class of camera. And for me, at least, it was by far the biggest roadblock.

Okay, okay — the images I’m attaching here aren’t so great — but they’re meant to check the thing out: to see lens distortions and aberration, focus across the breadth of the frame, and so on. And a lot of them also are taken as opportunities for me to test out the feel of the camera.

The film counter on mine was stuck at first. In fact, it was stuck all through my testing. I didn’t figure out how to unstick it until I was writing this. I’m not sure how I managed to miss the solution — I just opened the film door with the shutter uncocked and operated the advance, and the counter reset to the “S” (for Start). Everything else worked right from the start.

I found my Trip 35 at an antique mall, and while I paid below market for it, I didn’t get a thrift-store price. I’m okay with that. I’d been expecting one to turn up in a thrift store after all the talk, but not having actually seen one in five years of trawling thrift stores for photographica, I decided to go for it. Once I had it my hands, it pretty much wasn’t going back in the cabinet.

As stated above, it’s the much-less-common black version of the Trip 35. It’s not perfect — it has a few scuffs and signs of use on the enamel. But the lens is crystal clear and everything works as it should.

I found the size exceptionally right. It’s almost as small as a camera could be and still feel like it fills my hands adequately. The arrangement of the controls is good — really good. The film advance is smooth and fast. The shutter release has just the right amount of tension.

The shutter is quiet, too. Not silent — or even quite as silent as some others — but it’s impressively quiet. I can see why it’s prized for street photography. No batteries required, easy to zone focus, and, in decent light, no fiddling with exposure. It truly becomes point and shoot.

The results are great, too. Sharp from edge to edge, no noticeable distortions, and minimal chromatic aberration. My color tests were with expired film, but the results struck me as good. Contrast on the black and white shots, taken with Ilford Delta 100, was excellent.

If I had a complaint, it would be that the Trip 35’s aperture ring is narrow enough to be difficult to operate with my big sausage fingers. But it’s not really designed to be used without a flash attached, which is something I just don’t do very often.

One minor issue I had — and it was all me — was missing a ton of pictures because I didn’t check that it was loaded. With or without film, the Trip 35 happily clicks away. I think, at one point, I took about 40 pictures and started to wonder why I wasn’t out of film. Turning the rewind knob a bit, I realized there wasn’t any film in the camera, so I loaded it and spend some time retracing my steps to re-take what I could.

The only realistic avenues for improvement with the Trip 35 would be to give it fully manual controls, or a coupled rangefinder. Those deficiencies prevent me from rating the Trip 35 a perfect five stars, but don’t take that to mean you shouldn’t try one out if you have the chance — it’s a really great little camera.

Here are the rest of the test shots I feel like displaying:

Olympus Trip 35 Film Camera Review

A cult classic, an engineering marvel, and an excellent value for a modern film photographer.

Olympus Trip 35 is one of the most popular 35mm film cameras ever produced. It’s affordable, it’s easy to use, the lens is sharp, it needs no batteries, and it’s compact.

Trip 35 uses a scale focus system, which may seem daunting at first — but it’s not difficult, and the camera has unique aides to help you get the right distance — I’ll explain below.

I’ll also cover all the basics of operation (including the auto and manual modes), lens performance, and build quality of this excellent entry-level Olympus film camera .

➜ Get the manual for Olympus Trip 35 . In this review: Why is Olympus Trip 35 a favourite of so many photographers ? Olympus Trip 35 specs and features . Free Olympus Trip 35 manual download . Taking the first photo with Olympus Trip 35: loading film & setting focus . Olympus D. Zuiko 40mm 𝒇2.8 lens . Olympus Trip 35 portability and ease-of-use (ergonomics) . Olympus Trip 35 build quality & variations . Trip 35 mods, hacks, and repairs . How much does Trip 35 cost, and where to find one . Support this blog & get premium features with GOLD memberships !

Why is Olympus Trip 35 a favourite of so many photographers?

Olympus Trip 35 is not an expensive camera. It has decent specs, but it’s not the sharpest, fastest, or most compact camera. Yet, it’s loved by many photographers of all levels today.

Back when it was introduced — over 55 years ago — it was a huge hit. The camera was in production for 15 years, having sold between five and ten million units .

Trip 35 sold for $59.95 at launch in 1968, or $530 in today’s money. But you may still find a working copy for $50 in 2024!

But it’s not just the price that makes this camera good. Trip 35s are built very well with lots of metal components and an excellent glass lens. They are a pleasure to hold and use. They’re nearly pocketable and don’t require any advanced photographic know-how or a manual to get started: if you know how to load film , you can use this camera.

🤓 Trip 35’s automatic exposure system that chooses an aperture and shutter speed by converting light energy into mechanical force is of particular interest to film nerds like me. Though many fancy cameras from the era used selenium light meters for aperture or shutter-priority modes, Trip 35 combined both functions in a relatively simple and remarkably reliable design .

Olympus Trip 35 specs and features.

Trip 35 is a successor to Olympus PEN (namely, EES and EES-2) cameras’ excellent mechanical/optical design and portability.

My black paint brass Olympus Trip 35 version weighs 413g/14½oz , though some copies of this camera may weigh up to 20g lighter. The camera is nearly pocketable at 12×7×6cm (4 ½ ×2¾×2¼”), though it’s not the smallest .

Olympus Trip 35’s remarkably small (for the time) dimensions and ease of use are undoubtedly at the core of this camera’s name and ethos: a camera that’s easy to throw in a small bag or a pocket for a trip.

 ☝︎ Further reading: “ How to Travel With Film Through Airport Security .”

The leaf shutter on Olympus Trip 35 has two speeds: 1/40s and 1/200s. It can switch between the two automatically via the mechanical trap-needle system. In manual mode, Olympus Trip 35 only uses the 1/40s shutter speed. There are no Bulb and no self-timer modes.

The lens is a non-interchangeable Olympus D. Zuiko 40mm 𝒇2.8-22 (four elements in three groups). The closest focus distance is 1m/3ft. The lens uses an odd 43.5mm screw-in lens filter thread that can be adapted to the more common 40 or 46mm threads .

Fully automatic exposure (A) is controlled mechanically by converting ambient light energy via selenium cells (bubbles around the lens) into mechanical movements that modify the aperture and shutter speeds. The camera can be operated manually via the aperture ring around the lens, which will always trigger the shutter at 1/40s if not set to A. The exposure meter is operational between EV8 and EV17 ; it accepts films with ISO 25 — ISO 400 (which needs to be dialled in manually before shooting). No batteries needed.

The viewfinder features a mechanical “red flag” warning system for scenes with insufficient lighting (the camera will also prevent exposures in those conditions). It shows bright lines with parallax markings inside a small but bright window with 0.55x magnification. The eye relief isn’t great, but if you aren’t wearing glasses, you’ll notice a “ Judas window ” that overviews the camera’s shooting mode and distance settings.

Film advance is done with a thumb wheel; rewinding via the rewind knob is unlocked with a rewind button; the film cover opens with a small latch a the bottom-left when looking at the camera’s back.

Hot shoe and a PC socket are available for flash sync. Learn how to use flash with cameras like Trip 35 here .

Free Olympus Trip 35 manual download.

I’ve recently scanned the manual that my camera came with and converted it to a convenient PDF file that you can download for free here:

➜  Free Download :   Olympus Trip 35 Instructions Manual  (PDF)

This manual took some cropping and assembly as its pages aren’t standard (it’s folded like a map). I hope that this little bit of extra effort makes it easier to read on your screen. However, I’m not sure how well it will look in print.

You’ll be asked to sign up for a free account with Analog.Cafe. It comes with access to more downloadable guides, additional website features, and a monthly community newsletter.

Taking the first photo with Olympus Trip 35: loading film & setting focus.

Trip 35 is easy to load — the only tricky part is finding the latch to open the film door. ( If you’ve never loaded film in these types of cameras, check out this guide .)

Given that you’ve loaded your Trip 35 with film rated between ISO 25 and 400, you’ll need to set the ASA/ISO dial to match your film speed . In general, ISO 100-400 films do best with this camera (a higher-ISO film works best in subdued light, and lower-iso film provides finer grain).

For automatic exposures, the ring around the lens closest to the camera body should be set to “A.” But manual exposures are possible at the constant 1/40s shutter speed (can be metered as 1/30s) with the apertures selected via the same ring (i.e., any number other than the “A”). Learn how to shoot film cameras in manual mode here .

I appreciate the bright frame lines with parallax markings in the viewfinder . They make framing feel a little easier than on cameras with masks . Though I would prefer the self-illuminating kind.

The viewfinder window is fairly small. It’s usable with the glasses on; however, I had to use contacts to take advantage of the “Judas window” — a small secondary view below the main finder frame lines that shows the set distance icon and camera shooting mode/aperture.

Pointing the camera at things that are insufficiently lit for the film ISO/ASA set on the camera would raise a small translucent red plastic flag and block the shutter button. This would not happen when the camera is in manual mode (i.e. when an aperture value is selected instead of the “A”).

Olympus Trip 35’s shutter button provides medium-high resistance, it has a long travel distance, and it’s very well-balanced with the rest of the body for shake-free hand-held exposures . The leaf shutter is also shake-free (though it feels a little loud for what it is ).

Trip 35 uses a zone-focusing system. For a casual photographer, it works by turning the focus ring around the lens until it clicks to either a single-person icon 👤 for portraits, a two-person icon 👥 for group portraits, a red “group-snap” icon ⍒.⍒ , or the mountains icon 🏔️ for landscape photos.

Below the lens barrel, there are more precise focus markings in feet and metres. Learn how to zone-focus quickly and accurately here .

Olympus D. Zuiko 40mm 𝒇2.8 lens.

One of the most celebrated components of this camera is its lens. It’s very sharp in the middle , especially at 𝒇5.6-8 , with only minor swirl and softening in the corners.

The lens renders a medium-low amount of contrast on my copy, but the coating appears to work well, as I noticed no overwhelming or unexpected flaring in any of my photos.

Overall, I found D. Zuiko 𝒇2.8 well-corrected, suitable for reproducing fine detail on high-resolution films.

The 40mm focal length is common and well-suited for a non-interchangeable camera system. It translates to ~57° diagonal angle of view — very close to the 60° in our central vision . Essentially, this means easy framing for most situations.

The 40mm D. Zuiko may not be appropriate for interior/architecture photography, close-ups, telephoto, or certain landscape images.

Olympus Trip 35 portability and ease-of-use (ergonomics).

Even though Trip 35 isn’t the smallest or the lightest 35mm film camera , it’s reasonably portable for the type of lens it uses and a full metal body. All of its controls are perfectly positioned for quick, intuitive action. With a little practice, you can use this camera one-handedly.

I kept mine in wool jacket pockets and hoodies with no issues. Despite fitting will in hand, Trip 35 is noticeably hefty; my Peak Design wrist strap solved any danger of dropping this camera.

Olympus Trip 35 build quality & variations.

Trip 35 was a remarkably successful design; understandably, Olympus didn’t want to change it much while it continued to make record sales. All of the Olympus Trip 35s look nearly identical, with some known changes introduced in the 1970s that had little effect on appearance and no effect on performance (i.e. a plastic shutter button instead of the metal one).

The only significant divergence from the standard design was the black paint brass Trip 35 , which remained in production for just two years. This variation is much rarer than the silver aluminum bodies, but in Olympus’ world, this means that there are less than a hundred options available at any time, and they cost $50 extra.

If you plan to keep this camera for a while and are willing to spend a little more, the black version may be worth it (if you like the look of brassing). It has excellent build quality and an impressive appearance; every part fits perfectly, in line with what you’d expect from the much more expensive Olympus PEN half-frame SLRs .

But despite their clever design and quality assembly, Trip 35s can be prone to deterioration.

In my copy, the light meter over-exposes every brightly lit frame by 1-2 stops. It’s difficult to say if it’s the time taking a toll on the intricate cells or if it’s the imprecise nature of the selenium metering that’s preventing me from taking perfectly exposed images.

A clever photographer can always compensate by setting the film ASA/ISO higher in full sun or shooting Trip 35 manually. But if you’re looking to get a copy, you should verify that the camera is sold as fully functional . An online listing would say that in the title or the description.

Trip 35 mods, hacks, and repairs.

Repairing Trip 35s may cost as much or more than the value of the camera. The good news is that simple fixes (like cleaning oil of the shutter and aperture blades) aren’t difficult if you’ve got the right tools and know-how.

Another common issue with cameras this old is the light seals. The soft, spongy material tends to crumble over time, which in turn can create light leaks . I have a guide on fixing that quickly and cheaply here .

Being a mechanical camera with manual controls, Trip 35s can survive past the span of the selenium cells that power its fully automatic shooting mode. Some photographers may prefer to use the camera in the manual mode for more precise control over exposure. You may even modify yours to shoot with the faster 1/200s shutter speed for improved action snaps and reduced motion blur.

How much does Trip 35 cost, and where to find one.

Olympus Trip 35 film camera is a fantastic value in terms of fun, image quality, and build quality. Most copies of these cameras can be bought between $20-120 — depending on the condition. And a few bucks more can get you the rare-ish black paint version .

❤ By the way: Please consider making your Olympus Trip 35 purchase using this link so that this website may get a small percentage of that sale — at no extra charge for you — thanks!

About this article :

It can take five hours of work (or more) to write and proof a quality five-minute read with high-res illustrations. Below are the people who made this one possible. All content is reviewed, styled, and edited by Dmitri .

Olympus Trip 35

The Olympus Trip 35 is a fully-automatic 35mm compact camera , manufactured by Olympus from 1967 [1] to 1984, during which time over ten million units were sold, [1] though this oft-quoted figure is likely to have included later plastic-bodied Olympus cameras with Trip branding, as the original Trip 35 had serial numbers going up to around 5,400,000. [2] The auto-exposure mechanism is effectively solar-powered by a selenium cell surrounding the lens, and consequently the camera runs without batteries. Until June 1978, the shutter button was silver-coloured metal. After that date, all Trips had a black plastic button.

• 1 Auto-exposure mechanism
• 3 Viewfinder

Auto-exposure mechanism

With the aperture ring set to "A", the camera operates as a program automatic with a working EV range of 8.32-17.4 at ASA 100. [3] Half-pressing the shutter-release button locks the exposure with both the aperture and shutter speed (of which there are only two, 1/40 and 1/200s) fixed by a delicate but accurate mechanism. As explained by one repair page ,

The combination of aperture and shutter speed that the exposure mechanism chooses depends on the amount of light available. The precise amount of light that triggers a change of the shutter speed is not documented in the user manual, but it is believed to be around EV 13. When brightness of EV 13 or more is detected, the Trip 35 will increase the shutter speed to 1/200 sec in preference to using a smaller aperture, and use a narrower aperture as light levels increase from there, presumably to avoid the diffraction effects that affect all 35mm cameras below f/11. [4] Below EV 13, it will use the 1/40 sec speed and widen the aperture for lower light levels. The camera will refuse to fire if there is not enough light, with a red plastic flag appearing simultaneously in the viewfinder. This mechanism makes it impossible to make the error of shooting with the lens cap in place.

When the aperture is set manually (primarily for flash photography), the shutter speed is set to 1/40th of a second. However, the meter is still active even in this "manual" mode. Setting the aperture manually merely sets the widest permissible aperture, and the auto-exposure mechanism may still choose to set a smaller aperture than this if it sees fit. [4]

Other than this, the camera offers no controls for setting exposure manually, though one can easily set exposure compensation by changing the film ASA dial to a higher or lower value.

The Trip 35 has a 40mm f/2.8 Zuiko non-interchangeable lens, with four elements in three groups. Ken Rockwell suspects this to be a front-element focusing Tessar . [5] This lens has a reputation for being extremely sharp, even in the corners; in Rockwell's tests, Costco-scanned Fuji ISO 400 print film loaded into this camera out-performed a Canon 17-40 f/4 L lens in the corners. [5]

The lens provides simple zone-focusing with 4 cute distance symbols marked on the top-left of the lens. These correspond to the real distance markings on the underside of the lens: 1 meter, 1.5 meters, 3 meters, and infinity. Filter ring is 43.5mm.

The viewfinder is an albada-type, with parallax markings for closer focusing. There is a second, very small window under this, nicknamed the "Judas window", which shows the current aperture setting and distance symbol which are on the lens barrel.

A small red flag will appear in the viewfinder if the auto-exposure mechanism decides there is not enough light and refuses to fire.

This camera's aperture blades (there are two blades) tend to be become sticky over time. Before purchasing an old Olympus Trip 35, ask the seller if the aperture is properly opening and closing at all values (f/2.8-f/22). This can be done by manually selecting each aperture value and half-pressing the shutter button. Otherwise, the lens unit would have to be disassembled and cleaned.

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 Olympus' history of EE-equipped cameras (archived)
• ↑ Serial numbers collected by the Olympus Trip Flickr group
• ↑ Specifications in the user-manual.
• ↑ 4.0 4.1 See the Trip 35 program graph , and the explanation in this thread .
• ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.kenrockwell.com/olympus/trip-35.htm
• Manual available from UCL
• Olympus Trip 35 group on Flickr
• A modification that allows a 1/200 shutter speed with manual aperture control
• Illustrated instructions for repairing a Trip 35
• Trip 35 in the Olympus Global History (archived)
• This is a trip at Classic Cameras by RaúlM.
• Lionel's Olympus Trip 35 page in French at 35mm-compact.com
• Olympus Trip 35 on www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand (in French)
• Flickr image
• Image by rick soloway
• Japanese 35mm viewfinder
• Image by Michele M. F.
• Image by Hans Jan Dürr
• Image by vincentnip
• Image by Ênio Resende

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Getting the Best From the Olympus Trip 35

The Olympus Trip 35 is a cracking little camera that is capable of some stunning results from its 40 mm f/2.8 Zuiko lens. Here is a short guide for getting the best results from this camera.

The lens of the Olympus Trip 35 is as sharp as a pin. As good as this camera is it does have its limitation. The main limitation with this camera being the shutter, don’t get me wrong it works very well.

The shutter speed of this camera is limited to just two, which are 1/40 and 1/200s. If you have loaded a slow film like 100ASA and you are shooting in low light, the camera will default to 1/40th which can be a little slow for handheld shots. This, in turn, can cause a camera shake, resulting in blurred pictures. This is fine if that’s the result you are after. But if you would rather have a much sharper image, then you could use some form of rest for the camera, like a tripod, monopod, or a beanbag.

But if you’re bag is street/candid photography, that kind of gives the game away. A better option would be to load the camera with a faster film like 400ASA. This will keep you’re Trip shooting at 1/200th longer and will avoid blurred photographs due to camera shake. I hope you have found this useful, have fun with the Trip.

All the photographs were taken with my Olympus Trip 35. Long live film!

This article was written by Community member trip35snapper .

written by trip35snapper on 2011-12-01 #gear #tutorials #trip #olympus #tipster #asa #shutter #film-fpeed

munizada , bradsimpson719 , lomosapien73 , thorolvsen , jiske , mohsendavoudi , andrewdhall1988 , rulito , elcalamare , busyd , darlim , elsje , wernzteh , frantisek , lomo__lurv , uncle_jay , k_melancholy , robotmonkey1996 , gvelasco , kneehigh85 , adzfar , jawatembak & area51delcorazon .

My dad had one.

My sis got one :o))

I got mine from my Dad :) and I use it all the time so this is a handy tip to know

I have one! my O.T is my baby <3

I got my First Olympus Trip 35 a few months ago. I developed my first roll Yesterday and All the pictures were blurry. I used a Kodak Kolor 200 ASA, Is It too low? Should I use a 400 ASA?

@natalia_dep Hi 200asa film should be fine in sunny conditions, 400asa film would be a better all round film to use. when pressing the shutter button hold the camera as still as possable. Better luck next time and dont give up. Brian.

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Olympus Trip 35 – The holiday camera

The people’s camera, compact, easy to shoot, always ready, fun!  Enter the Olympus Trip 35.  The camera designed and sold for the masses to take with them on holidays and travel, thus the name Trip.  So popular that it sold for 20 years and well into the millions, which can even be seen today on the second hand market.  Further made popular by endorsements from David Bailey!

A recent example where this camera shines is where I went shooting with my 11-year-old son, Alec, and he was trying out a film camera himself.  We had two occasions of this, the first time I took a medium format rangefinder.  After that I did not want to spend time operating my camera so that we can enjoy the time together, so this camera fit the bill perfectly.  As a side note, he was using an Olympus Pen EE2, a half frame cousin of the Trip.

The Trip 35 has an amazing following across the world, people just seem to love this little camera.  In fact, there are clubs and websites dedicated to it, and a huge restoration community.  I bought mine from a restorer that not only ensures the cameras are functional but also gives them new skins in a multitude of colours.  It was restored with a red leatherette mini snake skin finish, which even though I was sceptical, adds to the fun.  The camera seems to have suffered significant corrosion before being restored, as can be seen at the hinge for the back, but the restoration is top rate and should keep it going for another 40 years.  It also has a dented filter ring.  Based on the date stamp my camera was manufactured in September 1976.

Olympus first introduced the Trip 35 in 1968 and continued selling them for 20 years until 1988.  In that period they made over 10 million copies, which is a very good indication on how popular they were and still are.

They were always an inexpensive camera and due to the sheer number of them manufactured that continues today, where second hand copies can be purchased fully restored for about $US100 or less.  Without restoration anything from $2 onwards.

The initial Trip 35 had a metal shutter button, but during the production this was changed to a plastic button as per the one in this article.  Otherwise the camera had very minimal changes in such a long production run.

The design of the Trip 35 was based on the original Pen EE cameras, which were very compact as they took half frames in vertical format.  Due to advances, Olympus could produce a camera almost as small but shooting a full 35mm frame, thus increasing the quality and the appeal of the camera.  Being so lightweight makes it a no brainer to put into the case when packing for a holiday, thus ensuring lots of memories taken on the Trip.  This alone would have made it popular but being a camera that struck a cord with so many people, that also ensured the sheer numbers of cameras demanded and produced!

Camera Specifics

The Olympus Trip 35 requires no batteries to operate.  It does have a light meter, which is embedded around the fixed lens, but within the filter thread to ensure metering through the filter.  As the light meter is selenium based, it works without the batteries but does have a finite time before it stops working.  The recommendation is to keep a lens cap on when not in use to lengthen the life of the meter by even decades.

The camera operates in programmed automatic (A) exposure mode, limiting the input by the photographer to only focusing.  There is a fixed-aperture setting for flash though.  The viewfinder is a standard Albada (which means the rear face of the front lens is half-silvered, which reflects a set of frame lines, painted on the eyepiece lens surround).  It also has parallax marks.  There is a little cut-out square hole in the bottom right of the viewfinder, which you can see the focus selection you have made.  While there is a ridged type face/window on the left of the viewfinder window, it is not a rangefinder, that is there purely for aesthetics.

The viewfinder also carries a little red flag, which pops up when there is not enough light to take the picture (below 1/40 sec with f/2.8) which also disables the shutter.  This is handy in the case or with a lens cap on, avoiding mistaken shutter presses.  What a great design!

The lens is an Olympus D. Zuiko 40mm f/2.8, with 4 elements in 3 groups.  Filter size is 43.5mm screw in.  Focusing is achieved manually through scale, either visible through the viewfinder or looking at the lens itself.  There are several markings on the lens for focusing which consist of a person (1m/3ft), 2 people (1.5m/5ft), a group of people (3m/10ft) or a mountain (infinity).  Note that the third setting of the group of people is marked in red, which was done on purpose, as this is the setting you can leave it on and it will focus on pretty much everything in daylight.  There is a scale at the bottom which covers both metres and feet.  The closest focus is 0.9m (2.9ft).  Unless you are shooting with a flash, that is the only setting you have available to adjust.

The camera only has two shutter speeds, 1/40 and 1/200 of a second which are automatically selected.  It will stop down to about f/22.  For flash the speed will always be set to 1/40 of a second.  The exposure range is from EV 8 1/3 to EV 17 1/6 .  Film speed can be selected from ASA (ISO) 25 through to 400 in one third stops, except ASA 32.

Loading film is easy enough, with the leader in the slot, and is advanced using a thumb wheel.  The frame number is displayed in a little window on top, with a distinctive yellow arrow pointing to it.

The camera is tiny at 390.5g (13.77oz), and dimensions of W 124.77mm x H 72.67mm x D 57.62mm (W 4.912in x H 2.861in x D 2.269in).  The fit is fantastic in your hand with a wrist strap.

The Experience

The first time I used the Trip 35, I felt a sense of freedom.  I had what must be a good camera in the palm of my hands and I did not need to take any further gear with me except some extra film.  We were off to the Sydney Easter Show, where there is lots of rides and animals to look at and I could put to my eye, adjust focus and snap.  The camera would tell me if I got the shot or if there was not enough light.

The next time was when I went out with my son Alec, and it was also good as I got to concentrate on him and his enjoyment with the other Olympus while I also snapped away.  The third time is when I must admit I got a little frustrated.  I went out alone and found that the actual aspect which made this camera popular, is also the reason it slightly annoyed me.  I could not take any control, could not control subject separation in a lot of cases, and focus was very limiting i.e. I could not focus, but only use the generic focus points on the camera. The only manual override I had was to “trick” the camera by adjusting the ASA setting, if I wanted, for instance, to take a picture of a person with lots of backlight.

The lens is very sharp and Olympus did a great job of building such an over performing lens.  The downside is that you cannot focus exactly, and you also do not control the aperture to isolate your subject, but with such a great latitude of focus, this is rarely a problem unless you are after lots of bokeh.

All this means is that is that maybe Olympus did hit the market they were after, and very successfully.  This was reinforced when Alec picked it up and instinctively knew how to use it.

In terms of performance the metering was usually very accurate.  The hit rate was a lot more than I expected, and to be honest, put a lot of cameras to shame.  I used both black and white and colour film, and both came out with well-balanced exposures.  Not bad for a little fully mechanical point and shoot. The negatives are nice and thick and did not need much work once scanned.  Tones and colours are very well captured and if I had not known that they were from the Trip, I could have thought they were from a much more expensive SLR.

The lens is quite sharp and has a good definition of contrast.  When I scanned the film I could pick up details that some other cameras would not have captured.  The corners are quite sharp in landscape mode, and the distortion, well there is none!  The design of this lens is fantastic for capturing a hell of a lot in focus, especially when you set it to the group or mountain symbol.

One little item which while trivial, I do think to mention, is that I enjoyed using the thumb wheel to advance the film.  It became very natural to use and fit in with the experience perfectly.

When you see these for sale, do consider getting one.  They are great little cameras and are fully mechanical.  So if we are ever attacked by aliens, and they fry all of our electronics, when the fighting is over, you will be one of the few people still able to take well exposed pictures.  Best word to describe the Olympus Trip 35 is FUN!

David Bailey commercial for Olympus Trip 35: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Yo3FRPeQw

Well worth watching.

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These are some superb B&W exposures. What post-processing (if any) did you perform on the scans?

Thank you! I don’t do too much. I scan the negatives pretty flat and then I adjust the levels and the curve to control the blacks and whites. Occasionally, when needed, I’ll also dodge and burn using the brush tool. Finally I clone out dust. I find this method gets the best out of the film’s range of tones.

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