A Trip through the woods

<p>Wasn't sure if this would still fit in this section of the forum, but Moderators, please move this to the section you think that suits it best. As it is about a classic camera, it just isn't manual ^_^</p>

<p>I picked up a little Olympus Trip 35 at a flea market 2 weeks ago (for € 0.50 I got the camera, a poor leather case and a small flash unit). I researched it on the net; Gave it a good clean; Listened to the shutter in various lighting conditions; Replaced the seal next to the hinge inside the back (which I'm also going to have to do to the Yashica TL Electro I picked up a week before this one).<br /> The code under the pressure plate told me it was made in October 1976.</p>

<p>Last Sunday it was very nice to be out and about, so I took a walk into the woods, carrying the little Trip loaded with Fuji film 400 X'tra. Images were scanned with Vuescan, 1200dpi and as Generic Color Film</p>

<p><img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/trip01.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="660" /><br /> At the edge of the 'Plantloon' Woods, there's a fenced off area with some deer, lamas, goats, chickens and peacocks. We call it the 'Deer Camp' for obvious reasons. This chicken was giving me the 'evil eye', probably thought the Trip was mocking it. I often get this purple sheen on my scans from the negatives for some reason. Anybody know what causes it?</p>

<p><img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/trip03.jpg" alt="" width="660" height="430" /><br /> Half a mile or so on, I climbed a path onto a dyke that separates several wooded areas that will flood in case of high water in the nearby canal. This picture needed a bit of a contrast boost.</p>

<p><img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/trip04.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="660" /><br /> Down the other side I followed this well-worn path. This is a planted forest criss-crossed with ditches that sectioning off certain parts and allows for easy irrigation. This path is one of many that run through it.</p>

<p><img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/trip06.jpg" alt="" width="660" height="430" /><br /> These days dead trees are left where they fall. Until a few years ago they were usually cut down and cleaned out to keep the woods nice and tidy. Now they are left to make the woods look more natural....This negative was quite dark for some reason</p>

<p><img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/trip09.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="660" /><br /> On the way back I walked past the "Galgenwiel", the 'wiel' was created when the Maas river flooded through a breach in the dyke on the 4th of March 1658. It got its name "gallows lake/pool" from a gallows pole built here during a dispute between the Lord of Loon and the Lord of Waalwijk 2 centuries before.</p>

<p><img src="http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg143/albums/userpics/10001/trip10.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="660" /><br /> And finally some plant life at the edge of the lake. The place is thick with ferns at this time.</p>

<p>The Trip is a fun little package, but I felt a little limited when using it. Focusing with the icons was a little iffy in some pictures. I should have used the distance scale on the bottom of the lens instead of the icons. <br /> I keep reading about a red flag popping up in the VF when there's not enough light for the camera to do its magic. I've not seen this happen on mine. Possibly that was a later addition or mine is broken.<br /> That Tessar style 40mm f/2 Zuiko lens is nice and sharp, though. Not bad for 50ct camera.</p>

<p>Now, back to waiting for my Leica IIIcK + War-time Summar lens to arrive.<br /> Cheers,</p>

<p>Rick</p>

<p> </p>

<p>That's quite a bargain you got there. The photos are sharp and it is a fun post. I've never shot with an Olympus camera. Maybe I should.</p>

<p>The Trip must have been one of the most successful small cameras of all times, selling millions throughout the evolution of it's various models. When I was involved in running Minilabs, it seemed every second customer owned a Trip; I was forever loading them up with new film for the older patrons. Good, reliable little workhorses...</p>

<p>Nice pics, <strong>Rick</strong>, the "wiel" being an especially beautiful location. They demonstrate the consistency of exposure the camera is capable of, and the quality of it's lens.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I have always managed to resist the urge to get a Trip! Instead had focused my attention on obtaining the original XA, however, they've gone over my allocated budget! I can't justify getting another 35mm camera as much as I enjoy looking through offers. Your pictures are tempting through. It is just the right sized body for my small hands.</p>

<p>Funny, but the little Trip has become a bit of a Fad here in Australia, there was a time that you couldn't give them away, but a good Trip now sells for more that $60.00!<br>

As Rick says, they were hugely successful, and sold in the millions. Very reliable with a great little lens.<br>

That wood looks like a special place indeed.</p>

<p>Nice pictures, especially the last-but-one. Trimming the woods and upkeep are probably becoming too expensive, now, due to the premium on manual labour. Thanks for the pictures. sp.</p>

<p>Thanks for the comments everyone,</p>

<p>I'm told the selenium meter is very reliable on these cameras. I was a little sceptic, but the results speak for themselves.</p>

<p>I couldn't find a single word translation in the English language for "wiel". It is literaly a pond or pool gouged out of the earth by a kolk, an underwater vortex, created by water flowing rapidly through a dyke breach.</p>

That's a really cool little camera, Rick. I just looked it up, and I'm going to have to add it to my ever-growing wish list!

 

You definitely have some really nice pictures here. I'd say my favorite one is the 3rd one, with the path leading into the distance. You got some really nice reflections in that photo of the small lake too.

I think the main reason the Trip 35 produces such sharp pictures is the fixed 1/200 shutter speed. Many people brag they can hold a camera steady down to 1/x shutter speed. Yaah.

<p>With a Leica you can hand hold for an hour and thirty seven minutes. Its true. ;)</p>

The lowest shutter speed I'll go down to without a tripod is 1/60. I have gone down to 1/30 every now and then when I didn't I have a tripod and I REALLY wanted to get a picture. But then it's kind of "shoot and hope."

 

Peter, as much as a Leica costs, that thing should be able to create a time warp and take pictures from last week.