This was my first "real" camera. My dad helped me select it, replacing my Kodak Instamatic. I knew very little about cameras at that time. Not sure really how he got to recommend this one, maybe talking to the camera store or to his photography friend, a German man in our village.
First of all my appreciation of it has actually grown over time. When I first got it, it was just a camera to me, nothing more nothing less as I had very few perceptions of what it could do or what I wanted.
I dabbled with with black and white in our ad hoc darkroom that we setup in our sauna from time to time.
Today I think the camera is over rated and under rated. Let me explain why.
Sharpness in falling order
1) Voightländer Vitessa with Ultron 50/2.0
2) Yashica Lynx, Yashinon 45/1.4
3) Fujica Compact deluxe, Fujinon 45/1.8
4) Olympus 35 RC, Zuiko 42/2.8
5) Yashica GSN, Yashinon 45/1.7
6) Ricoh 500 38/2.8
With 1,2,4,5 I and my friend Zheng Li did a target test on tripod 10 years back so I know the order between them. The others are more of my feeling on where they belong based on results.
Given some of the very upbeat web reviews about the lens I was for a while wondering if my sample was a lemon but having browsed 100s of Olympus 35RC photos on Flickr , I have come to the conclusion that it is not. Do not despair though, while not the sharpest of the sharpest it is good enough to enjoy and better than many other same era rangefinder lenses.
The lens itself is 42mm f2.8 using 5 elements in 4 groups. So somewhere between a normal 50mm and 35mm. I do prefer this slightly wider focal width vs 50mm
While it is not the smallest camera on the market it is still pocketable in a overcoat which is a big plus, avoiding to drag a camera bag around
The camera can operate with or without battery. Without battery you must manually set shutter and aperture. A feature while may seem simple should not be under estimated. I have several times found myself with fully automatic cameras having the battery fail on me, not fun at all.
While I would have preferred aperture priority the operation in reality is not that different. Try out what you think is the correct shutter speed for the light and film speed and half press the shutter. The in viewfinder dial will show the selected aperture. If you are happy press the trigger if not turn the shutter speed wheel on top of the camera to the wanted speed. You can see the speed and aperture in the viewfinder so there is no need to take the camera from your eye just turn the shutter dial or the aperture dial when you want to go manual.
There are two quirks with the Olympus 35RC shutter priority program that you may want to watch out for.
a) You cant press the trigger very fast. Slow/Moderate speed is the way to go. If pressed too fast the program will not select the correct aperture. The system is partly mechanic and need it's time to move the parts.
b) If you are at the edge of the aperture range you may want to switch to manual. Even if say 1/60s shows f5.6 and you then decide to move the dial to 1/250s in order to go to f2.8 the camera may refuse to release the shutter. The reason is that the aperture is not only in full stops in automatic mode. So the camera block you as you may actually need f2.5 which you don't have. The solution is simple when heading for f2.8 then switch to manual mode. The above case would be turn the dial to 1/250s and turn the aperture ring on the front to f2.8 and press the trigger. A little awkward, I know, but if you need to be sure it triggers this is the way to avoid frustration.
The light sensor is right next to the lens and will be covered by any filter attached, this removes the need to manually compensate for this.
The ISO range goes from ISO 25 to ISO 800 beyond this you need to use manual mode.
Focusing, the focus ring has a short swing and the rangefinder patch is relatively easy to line up. Making it quick to focus with, if one now can say that for a non AF camera.
One feature that you may encounter, while reading up on this camera, is Guide Number automatic flash exposure. While it is a nice feature to have that simplifies flash photography, it seldom comes to use. I bought a small flash, for the time, with the camera when I acquired it but used it only a few times.
A) Simple head on flash seldom makes nice photos.
B) The camera is small. This is beauty of the camera! Putting on a normal flash and it immediately becomes unbalanced and bulky.
I guess the flash was more useful when the camera was introduced on the market and most films were slow. With ISO400/800/1600 films it seldom feels justified to work with the flash.
Either way here is how to use it, you set the GN number of you flash on the small lever on the lens. Then just focus and the camera will automatically calculate which aperture you need. Could not be simpler.
It is also possible to calibrate the sensor by unscrewing the bottom of the camera and turn a dial to compensate. See Rick Oleson's drawings.
And oh , don't forget to set the aperture ring to off when you don't use the camera to avoid draining the the battery
 |
| Pimped Olympus 35RC |
First of all my appreciation of it has actually grown over time. When I first got it, it was just a camera to me, nothing more nothing less as I had very few perceptions of what it could do or what I wanted.
I dabbled with with black and white in our ad hoc darkroom that we setup in our sauna from time to time.
Today I think the camera is over rated and under rated. Let me explain why.
Over rated
It is often raved about as having a very sharp contrasty lens. I don't think this is the case, the lens is sort of sharpish but not very sharp. Let me put it in my order of 35mm rangefinders that I have owned or been able to test.Sharpness in falling order
1) Voightländer Vitessa with Ultron 50/2.0
2) Yashica Lynx, Yashinon 45/1.4
3) Fujica Compact deluxe, Fujinon 45/1.8
4) Olympus 35 RC, Zuiko 42/2.8
5) Yashica GSN, Yashinon 45/1.7
6) Ricoh 500 38/2.8
With 1,2,4,5 I and my friend Zheng Li did a target test on tripod 10 years back so I know the order between them. The others are more of my feeling on where they belong based on results.
Given some of the very upbeat web reviews about the lens I was for a while wondering if my sample was a lemon but having browsed 100s of Olympus 35RC photos on Flickr , I have come to the conclusion that it is not. Do not despair though, while not the sharpest of the sharpest it is good enough to enjoy and better than many other same era rangefinder lenses.
The lens itself is 42mm f2.8 using 5 elements in 4 groups. So somewhere between a normal 50mm and 35mm. I do prefer this slightly wider focal width vs 50mm
Under rated
So to the under rated part. Two things stands out as I see it, the size of the camera and the ease of operation.While it is not the smallest camera on the market it is still pocketable in a overcoat which is a big plus, avoiding to drag a camera bag around
The camera can operate with or without battery. Without battery you must manually set shutter and aperture. A feature while may seem simple should not be under estimated. I have several times found myself with fully automatic cameras having the battery fail on me, not fun at all.
Operations & metering
When operated with a battery the camera can be set in shutter priority mode. |
| Shutter speed selector |
 |
| Viewfinder with shutter speed at the top and aperture at the bottom |
There are two quirks with the Olympus 35RC shutter priority program that you may want to watch out for.
a) You cant press the trigger very fast. Slow/Moderate speed is the way to go. If pressed too fast the program will not select the correct aperture. The system is partly mechanic and need it's time to move the parts.
b) If you are at the edge of the aperture range you may want to switch to manual. Even if say 1/60s shows f5.6 and you then decide to move the dial to 1/250s in order to go to f2.8 the camera may refuse to release the shutter. The reason is that the aperture is not only in full stops in automatic mode. So the camera block you as you may actually need f2.5 which you don't have. The solution is simple when heading for f2.8 then switch to manual mode. The above case would be turn the dial to 1/250s and turn the aperture ring on the front to f2.8 and press the trigger. A little awkward, I know, but if you need to be sure it triggers this is the way to avoid frustration.
The light sensor is right next to the lens and will be covered by any filter attached, this removes the need to manually compensate for this.
 |
| Light sensor inside the filter ring |
The ISO range goes from ISO 25 to ISO 800 beyond this you need to use manual mode.
 |
| ISO selector |
Focusing, the focus ring has a short swing and the rangefinder patch is relatively easy to line up. Making it quick to focus with, if one now can say that for a non AF camera.
 |
| distance scale |
One feature that you may encounter, while reading up on this camera, is Guide Number automatic flash exposure. While it is a nice feature to have that simplifies flash photography, it seldom comes to use. I bought a small flash, for the time, with the camera when I acquired it but used it only a few times.
A) Simple head on flash seldom makes nice photos.
B) The camera is small. This is beauty of the camera! Putting on a normal flash and it immediately becomes unbalanced and bulky.
I guess the flash was more useful when the camera was introduced on the market and most films were slow. With ISO400/800/1600 films it seldom feels justified to work with the flash.
Either way here is how to use it, you set the GN number of you flash on the small lever on the lens. Then just focus and the camera will automatically calculate which aperture you need. Could not be simpler.
 |
| GN selector |
Battery
Talking about batteries, the camera is designed for a PX625
mercury battery which is long out of production. One can replace it
with Wein Cell MRB625 but I have so far using another cheat, hearing aid
batteries (zinc air) that deliver 1.4V. They drain quite
quickly and cost a fraction of the Wein Cell but as I have many camera
that need to have film run through them from time to time it is an
adequate solution for me. I have also tried normal 1.5V button cells and
it also works but the metering is not correct and one need to use the
ISO dial to compensate which is not so difficult, as almost all of us
has a smartphone where a light meter app can be downloaded and used for
calibration.
It is also possible to calibrate the sensor by unscrewing the bottom of the camera and turn a dial to compensate. See Rick Oleson's drawings.
And oh , don't forget to set the aperture ring to off when you don't use the camera to avoid draining the the battery
Samples
As usual no tool is better than it's master. I am not claiming I do the Olympus 35RC justice but here are a few samples from my private collection that I like. |
| Hangzhou, China Olympus 35RC, Kodak Tri-X 400 |
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| The Vyne, foggy morning, Olympus 35RC, Afga 400 (V34) |
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| The Vyne, foggy morning, Olympus 35RC, Afga 400 (V34) |
 |
| California, USA, Olympus 35RC, Fuji Astia |
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| California, USA, Olympus 35RC, Fuji Astia |
 |
| Manhattan, NYC, USA, 1980s Olympus 35RC, Fuji ISO100 film |
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| Me at Suzhou, China Olympus 35RC, Fuji Astia |
