Olympus Trip 35 – Shooting my black camera in Munich

The streets of Munich were the perfect place to put my black Olympus Trip 35 to the test. There’s nothing like exploring new places to get enthusiastic about taking pictures. And Munich is a beautiful city.

The Back Story

I’ve been a Trip 35 user for the last 35 years and I am so enthusiastic about them that I set up my own small business specialising in Trips about 20 years ago. Trip Man has become my passion and I love restoring these old mechanical cameras. I occasionally get out with my own, fairly rare, black Trip 35.

I’ve been a follower of Analogue Insights on YouTube for some time and one day, to my surprise, I got an e-mail from Max, asking for some information about the Olympus Trip 35, because he was about to do a video review of the camera. He asked if he could do a short on-line Q&A session with me. I said “better than that, why don’t I pop over and visit you to discuss it in person?” So off I went to Germany with my camera.

My Black Trip 35

I buy and sell lots of Trips but I only get a few black ones each year. This is mainly because relatively few were made in comparison with the chrome ones. The black cameras were only made for a few years and they have 6-digit serial numbers (most Trips have 7-digits), from the same era as the very early Trips made between about 1968 and 1970. My camera has a serial number of 587618 and the film pressure plate inside shows a date code of B 0-9 (September 1970).

The black cameras were made to the same high quality as the very early Trips. I think they were slightly over-engineered, with extra screws and some harder-wearing components, like some brass cogs compared to some synthetic ones of the later models. Don’t get me wrong, later Trips were all very well made too and the large numbers that have survived are testament to the Olympus build quality.

My camera must be a low-mileage one. I can tell from the lack of wear on the original leatherette and the fact that the black paint is pretty unmarked; no dents or scratches. These black cameras can look nice when the paint wears on the edges, showing gentle patina. Of course, I have serviced it and replaced the light seals. The selenium light meter is working properly, with the red flag popping up when the light is too low to take an image without flash.

Why I took this particular camera to Munich

The black Trip was ideal for this journey because I knew Max already had a chrome one and I was sure he’d be interested in my black one for his review. But also, because I love using it for walking the streets and not standing out; my camera is pretty stealthy, being small and black. Trips are nice and light (weighing just 410g) for travel photography.

Zone focus is easy using the Trip 35. I can set the focus scale to the red ‘group’ setting (3 meters) and using a fast film like Ilford HP5, I get decent aperture and shutter speed combinations in bright light, so that most things are sharp and in focus. The black Trip 35 has a top film speed of 400 ASA, the same as all later Trip 35 cameras. It has only 2 shutter speeds, 1/40 and 1/200. The slower speed is used in low light and with flash.

So, for walking around the back streets of Munich, all I had to do most of the time was wind-on and press the shutter. Nice and quick when a situation presents itself Infront of me. I carry my camera on a Gordy’s leather wrist strap so it is ready for action and I know it is safe. I love these straps and the more I use them, the softer they get, so it’s perfect for a classic street-shooting camera.

The quality of images from the Trip 35

The Trip 35 has the wonderful Zuiko 40mm, a simple Tessar-style (4 elements in 3 groups) f2.8 lens. The quality of this lens is what makes me want to keep taking the camera out on my journeys. The Tessar is a lens design conceived by the German physicist Dr. Paul Rudolph in 1902 while he worked at the Zeiss optical company.
I originally used my first Trip 35 for family holidays and I was amazed at the sharp images I was getting. I know that I am going to get plenty of keepers from each roll of film. The camera’s automatic exposure ensures I get nicely exposed images too.

Useful Tips

One tip for users of this camera, possibly not well-known, is the ability to lock exposure settings by depressing the shutter button half way, then recompose and shoot. This helps to get the exposure right when shooting in backlit or contrasty scenes.

Another thing worth remembering, is to check the distance scale underneath the focus ring on the lens when zone-focussing. I’ve got used to the symbols on the top of the lens but if in doubt, I check the actual distance on the scale when I need to be more accurate e.g. for closer shots. There are parallax composition guide lines in the viewfinder.

I recommend storing a Trip 35 in a case or pouch. This protects the camera from knocks and also preserves the life of the selenium light meter cells. With the original Olympus pouch, just be careful not to scratch the camera with the zip; the base of the camera should be closest to the zip. I use an original Olympus lens cap and UV filter to protect the lens.

Trips are very reliable – they are purely mechanical and do not require batteries. Built mostly from metal, they are sturdy, but there is always a possibility of denting the body or the filter thread. You can get a metal Olympus or rubber Hoya lens hood, which helps to prevent glare and protects the filter rim.

Munich

I loved walking around the city with Max. Not just admiring the grand architecture like at the Marienplatz, as beautiful as it is, but the side streets, residential areas and parks. Some of my favourite images are of local scenes and local people, like youngsters playing backgammon in the park. I like to take pictures of independent shops and self-portrait reflections in windows.

I even found some old furniture in the street! It is a very clean and tidy city, but there is some street art/graffiti that makes for interesting shots. Getting around is easy with trains, trams, buses and taxis. The city centre is easy to walk around and there’s plenty of high-quality German food and drink to enjoy. Travelling light with my Trip 35 was a pleasure.

Conclusions

The Trip 35 was perfectly named by Olympus. It was designed for sightseeing, travelling and holidays. It is also great for portraits, street photography and landscapes. All Trip 35 cameras were built to last and make the ideal companion for a city break. Basic, small, easy to use and perfectly capable of sharp, well-exposed images.
I happen to like black classic cameras and I’m not alone. The price of black Trips is on the increase and they are a good investment.

You can see Max’s video review (featuring Trip Man!) on YouTube here.
You can visit my website at www.tripman.co.uk

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