HELP!!! Olympus pen EE!

Question

I have recently been given an olympus pen EE..

The only problem is I can't work out how to take off the back of the camera to put the film in!!!

please help if you know anything about Olympus pens !!

thank you !

Answer 1

if you look at the camera from the rear like you are taking a picture, on the bottom of the left side will be a little lever that you can pull down that will open the back.  To put the film in you pull up the rewind k**b and place the film in, taking the leader and putting it into the slot on the take up spool.  Turn the know and click every time it stops, until you have a good wrap on the take up spool.  Close the back, turn the know and click some more until the picture number is on 1.  I am taking a chance here because I have an EES2 and no the EE,  but you will notice in the ring around the lens how you set the ASA (same as ISO), the f stops, and the scene mode (though "scene mode" is a term for more recent cameras.  Those icons tell you the focus range for the lens, with one person being somewhat close, 2 being a wider angle, to the mountain being a landscape and a wider angle.  I don't know if the EE has an "auto" on it, but in case it does, that will automatically set your light and shutter speed.  You still have have to set the scene mode.  

Your camera is not a spring chicken, I got mine in 1972, but had used one in 1967 in Japan.  YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER ONE THING AND KEEP THIS IN YOUR MIND.

This is a 1/2 frame camera.  You will notice that the frame count goes to 72 and 72 exposures is what you will get out of a 36 exposure roll of 35 mm film. That means that you will get 48 exposures from a 24 exposure roll, 24 from a 12 exposure roll, etc.  WalMart, Target, and other places with auto machines will not know what to do, so you have to tell them that they are 1/2 frame and if they are to cut the film, that has to be taken into consideration.  When that started to be a problem for me, I tied little bow ribbons around the film canister to bring their attention to it.  Finally, I shot only BW and did it myself.  

The optics are superior, the camera is fun.  if it works right, it is worth about $40 or so, I paid $70 for mine in 1972.

I taught both of my children using 1/2 frame cameras like this one.  I showed them how to frame and then when we got home, I showed them ONE time how to develop and print and they did it themselves from that point on.  That is not so difficult for older children, but mine, at the time, were 5 and 7 years old.  

If you are familiar with film strips from school days or church, the 1/2 frame format was what they used.  

It is a nice camera, not a toy, and is made by a company with a long history in the camera and lens business.  Have fun with it.  

Answer 2

The manual is here:

http://yandr.50megs.com/olympus/ft/ft.ht...

this site has user manuals for most cameras the top of the menu is here.

http://yandr.50megs.com/index.html

Well worth bookmarking.

Bill is right, these are great cameras. I still have a number of  Olympus Trip's (the full frame version) the lenses are really good, the simple electronics just work, perfect pic every time (well almost). I used them as backup cameras for weddings, the Zukio lens quality is right up there with the best of them.

Chris